Filipino Time

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We Filipinos are very relax when it comes to time. Because in the Philippines, it was like time is just dancing around the corner and being swayed by the wind. You can always relax and can even call for another five minutes. I don't know if how many times my folks snooze their alarm clock before waking and get up from bed.

When your mother already shouted to you "hey, wake up" its like the words "later" just spoke without you noticing, I know for sure some of you heard the "later". How many school projects did you laze up on and after you somehow become a Superman on chasing the deadline for it? Though we do not have superpowers to freeze time, we Filipinos can always find the reason not to do something immediately.

It was said in a quote that "Don't put off until tomorrow what you can still do on the day after tomorrow." The drama is always "coming soon", that's why if a Filipino told you that he's coming, expect it that he just woke up and just going to take a bath. When also said "on the way" the truth is they just got out of the house and when said "almost there" it means they're still halfway there. And when they arrived, the excuse is always "sorry its traffic".

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I have so many classmates and friends that are like this. It is not surprising that when it comes to some campaigns that says be on time, they're always come late. People are just laughing on the slogans that says "Filipino time is on time". It's like a dream that is yet to come true. Anywhere in the Philippines you go, when said 9:00 AM, the program will likely start at 10:00 AM.

It is useless on blaming one another. My chronic late comer friend once said that he is not late, we are just arrived too early. He even was the one that got angry when we accosted him. So why are we like this? What cursed fruit did we eat that is like a disease that hosted everyone and until now the cure is unknown?

But as the time passed by, many Filipinos have learned to observed "on-time" especially to those who are in the corporate world. They have to discipline themselves to keep up on the job requirement. One possible reason why most Filipinos have this culture and tradition with time, is that they are convenient enough because they know that their peers can understand.

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Most of the time this happen when the person who was late is in the position to get late, like the "bosses." Yes its true, Filipino time does exist but it was placed accordingly. We could not just applied it to any events. Filipino time is just a matter of feeling convenient towards the person who waits for them.

Source:
Pinoy Big Values
By: Rei Lemuel Crizaldo