filipino manners (or the lack of)

I personally have brought this subject up in previous threads but i now feel i have to vent it again, yesterday my wife and i were in Robinsons cinema and a guy (filipino) sat directly behind us had 3 phone calls within 30 min (loud annoying ringtone, loud annoying speaking, we had the full experience) on this third occasion one of my top end gaskets blew and i turned around and told him to switch it off and made several other remarks, this was greeted with the usual filipino response of total silence and staring straight ahead as if i was not there but funnily enough there were no more phone calls and we could enjoy the rest of the movie in perfect peace and quiet apart from the sound of my boiling blood pressure.
Then we went to Sans Rizal on the boulevard, i went to the toilet and within 30 seconds there was a loud knock at the door, when i immediately opened the the door the filipino guy who had ben knocking said sori, sori for what, for knocking on the door, for being an a$$hole, for WHAT.
As i said at the beginning i have brought this subject up before and i could go on and on and on (rubbish on the beach, selfish driving,parking, stray dogs, all night kareoke zzzzzzzzzzz) i know many other expats feel the same way but i also know there is no cure (legal) for this kind of behavior, what can be done though is for filipinos to raise their future generations with some respect for the rest of the world and once this generation dies out the Philippines might be a half decent place to live.
And yes i know i could always live somewhere else.......

 

I'll have to agree with the OP for the most part (not the bathroom part). The problem seems to revolve around noise and they don't mind it at all. They have no respect for those around them when their own noise levels make it sh*t for others. This can be loud music, karaoke, fireworks, motorcycles, phone calls in a theater, or just sitting at a table in a restaurant. The last one is what just shows how they really think loud is better. Filipino women especially can sit around a table at a restaurant but will use such loud obnoxious voices that they drown out everyone else in the place. They have NO idea how to monitor their own volume and they act as if the louder they are the more right they are.

So if it comes down to something noise related they are extremely rude and insensitive to those around them. If the noise doesn't bother them surely it won't bother others even when they themselves are the noise.

 

Which starts an infinite loop. Someone is noisy, instead of getting them to control their level the next person is louder, and on and on. So much noise effects your hearing, gotta buy a loud muffler so you can tell your engine is running... huh? can't hear you, is that as loud as the karaoke machine will go? Get a bigger amp so my cousin down the street can hear.... huh? did I say something? can't hear myself typing because someone is hammering on concrete outside... huh, speak up...

 

And here I was thinking the reason many foreigners moved here was for the freedom to act like an *sshole.

I could have warned you about all this before you arrived. And foreigners might read this thread before they come here and they'll still b*tch about bad manners. Maybe we should put this thread up on a billboard in the airport. "People here have bad manners, prepare to b*tch about it. But don't b*tch to us about it. We have heard and seen it all before".

If you get past the billboard, congrats. Now you get your first challenge. Pushy pedicab drivers who want to rip you off to take you downtown.

 

I agree with most of what is posted here, but I also realize that I have very little understanding of the culture. The noise is not something new here, but has been a issue (or non-issue) for decades is my guess.
I looked at a picture posted on FB this morning and had to ask my GF what are they doing. She replied "planting rice by hand" . It just shows how little I know about the country here. With no understanding of the history, it is hard to form a good opinion on the present. What motivates the load music/voice is not apparent to me, but I am sure there is some reason (maybe?). If I knew the reason would it be easier to accept.... hmmm .... maybe... maybe not.

I realize that the immigrant problems the rest of the world is facing today are similar to the immigrant problems of understanding I am facing.... except this time I am the immigrant.

Just trying to wear the other man's moccasins, I mean slippers. (Probably only the US Expats will get the last line...it is a historic cultural thing... lol )

 

Noise: Let me tell you a story that has nothing to do with filipinos except that it happened in their country, in Liloan, Cebu.

My second visit to Philippines I stayed in an apartment compound operated by an American (I'd stayed there before and we got on well). I had a bachelor suite on the ground floor and one night a German guest decided to move the compound's Karaoke machine just under my window, put it to full volume, and sign off-key as loudly and drunkenly as he could for 9 PM on a weekend. He was not being an arse, he was just being Klaus. Its who he is. So I did not get extremely mad, I just left my room to go to a room at the back where an American friend of mine was staying. I complained to Tom about Klaus and his horrible racket. Tom asked if I had complained to the owner and I said no because I know how things work in Philippines. Tom says: "Well I'm and American and the owner is an American and we understand each other". So off Tom went to tell Bob that "Dave is complaining about the loud Karaoke and Klaus need to shut the f--k up". So Bob comes to me and says: "Were you complaining about the loud music". I said yes, but only venting to Tom. Bob says, and I quote: "We don't need complainers here, this is Philippines and its how it works here, you got two days to get out!"

No bull, no exaggeration, its how things can be here. So tell me again how rude the filipinos are?

 

Hmmmm, sounds like Robert's (Bob's) parents made a mistake, should have named him Richard (Dick)!!!