Three Days in Manila – a Commentary

The Jeepney, Manila's most popular art form and public transportation

What I love about business travel is the opportunity it provides to experience how other cultures live and behave at work.  Sometimes its the little things – the way they serve their coffee, what time they take their lunch, the hours they work and their average commute times that open up doors to much more interesting facts about how different cultures  live and view the world.

Last week in Manila, after a single three-hour business meeting, I immediately felt at home inside a business office there.  Yes, it was 100 degrees outside, and yes the doorman had a machete and a bomb sniffing dog and took my temperature when I entered to verify I was not spreading H1N1.  But once in the office, everything felt very “normal.” The method in which the meeting was conducted, the roles within the room, the small talk, even the lunch break.  It was a very pleasant and productive business meeting with a client I am thrilled to be working with.  Thus it was so very perplexing when I left the meeting and walked outside into the streets of a world reminiscent of a scene from Mad Max and the Thunderdome.

I’m still not sure I’ve got it all figured out. And I’ve been thinking about it a lot. But after 3 days in Manila I have some theories about what is going on there.

First, What’s Behind that Feeling of Constant Chaos
The 2000 census noted Manila as the most densely populated city in the world with 1.66 million inhabitants.  In retrospect, this explains that overwhelming feeling of panic that swept me when walking  about the hot, messy downtown.  There is no western equivalent to the constant swarm of masses and vehicles moving about  in multiple directions — the closest analogy I can muster is the adrenaline rush that Black Friday at Macy’s sets in motion… but with a messier “watch your wallet” or  “I think I’m about to faint” feeling added to it.  Perhaps it’s closer to the feeling of being in the mosh pit at Lalapalooza and suddenly realizing you are way too drunk and its only 3 pm.  Add to it all a layer of throat-coating smog and claustrophobia is bound to set in.

As a westerner, the extreme number and activity of people was most unsettling.   I’d been to crowded cities across the US and Europe, but despite their hustle and bustle, those cities have the infrastructure and the social order to keep it all just a little bit more under control.

But to the locals of Manila, this chaos seemed perfectly normal.  And when I would query someone about it, they would only smile if it was an endearing trait in a new beau to be treasured.

Enjoying being a "have" in the Manila Peninsula Hotel Lobby

Second, Classism is Alive and Well
I’m no politico. But if I were to sum up the economic situation, it seems the upper and middle class “bourgeoisie” have learned how to concurrently take full advantage of the benefits having an underclass creates, and yet tune out the depressing physical state that has resulted from it.  This is not a dig, as it appears no more malicious than North Americans taking advantage of opportunities afforded to us by cheap Mexican labor.  But make no mistake, this issue creates an economic advantage for many.

There is a multi-generational, semi-impermeable barrier between “haves” and “have-nots” here.  As a business person, I met with some of the lucky “haves” who are a lot like us North Americans.   All of them have been to college, vacation to the islands, earn good wages,  own laptops and iPhones, shop and eat cheaply, keep the birth rate at 1-2 per couple, and live in nice condos or gated communities. These folks are raving fans of Manila, and wanted me to appreciate their deep and rich culture, food and environment as they do.

I tried. But one look outside any window and I could not help but notice the seemingly desperate state of the “have-nots” who subside in a dog-eat-dog world they have little hope of ever escaping, despite the richness around them.  The “have-nots” drive taxis and bicycle tuk tuks for pennies per hour, they multiply themselves X 6, live in sweltering shanties without AC in trash-infested squalor, and if they are lucky… export themselves to raise the “have’s” children as nanny or driver.

These two cultures are a world apart in life experience, but just a $2 taxi ride away from any downtown hotel, existing on a parallel plane, walking the same streets, but rarely crossing paths except to serve or be served by the other.

This chasm has created a society that on one hand supports a thriving international business culture, and on the other hand suffers sky-high kidnappings, robbery and crime rates.

All this brings me to the third point – what’s up with all the security everywhere?

Third, In Manila an Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Real Police Protection
At every entrance to every public location in Manila you will see security guards with metal detectors and dogs.  They may frisk you or look in your purse or ask you to step through a scanner. But these are not police. In fact there is a noticeable lack of true police presence anywhere.   Asking around, I learned that police are considered ineffectual, understaffed and poorly managed… aka they cannot properly prevent and prosecute crime.

Part of the issue seems to be that many poor Filipinos do not possess birth certificates or IDs and thus are literally invisible to the state.  As a result, robberies frequently go unsolved or even un-investigated as the police lack a proper method for tracking criminals.  So to attract visitors, the private community has taken up private security operations to discourage theft and general hanky-panky.  Labor is cheap so this is easily possible even for smaller stores.  And this is why there are TSA-style security scans and armed guards at the entrance to every public place – malls, hotels & even restaurants.

Halo-halo dessert, a Filipino specialty featuring shaved ice, milk, sweet beans, ice cream and jellied fruit.

In the end, was Manila a pleasant place or not?  I want to say yes – as I seek to always find the best in every culture.  The city is a short plane ride from some of the most glorious islands in the world.  And the food was at least interesting.   And in Manila I can say I met some very terrific people.  They are genuine, proud of their independence and culture, and spirited.  Many people I met choose to live there when they could live in US or Canada.   So while I cannot say it I fell in love with Manila, I will say it is a place on the eve of change with newly elected government that seeks to make positive forward progress and fight the history of corruption.   And for that I will give Manila a cautiously optimistic “one thumb up”.