Living in Cebu

In early 2006 I will be moving to Cebu, Philippines with the entire family.

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Making A Living
in the Philippines

“MAKING A LIVING IN THE PHILIPPINES!”

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Chaos on Philippine Roads

Driving in the Philippines is something else. The average Filipino would believe they are the best drivers in the world. The opinion of just about anyone from the West is that they are among the worst. In many ways the conduct of the Filipino on the road reflects their entire culture. They have a total disregard for all rules and all other drivers. The idea of cooperation is totally alien to driving in the Philippines. Much of the traffic problems they complain about are caused by their own selfish attitude to driving.

Anyone that has been to the Philippines will have observed the apparent chaos on the roads. Things that Filipinos do to each other here would result in extreme road rage back home. Here is just accepted that others will cut you off and not give even the slightest allowance to others. The driving style here is very aggressive but the actual driver is not really in an aggressive state. It’s a give no one else a break attitude because they will not give you a break. Occupying every bit of space on the roads is the norm and often results in four traffic lanes being created where the road is only designed for two. This exacerbates the traffic problem but the Filipino is only thinking of himself.

Very few people use indicators. Most of the will abruptly turn in front of you cutting you off. Likewise many do not seem to use the review mirror. The onus is on the driver behind to use their horn to alert the driver in front that they want to pass or that should not attempt their lane change/turn or you may hit them. At that point they will usually look and assess the situation. If they still think they can proceed they will. Most of the time it is a game of bluff. Two vehicles edge closer and closer to a single objective. With only inches between them one vehicle will be triumphant and gain right of way.

Might is right is also another aspect of driving on the road here. The bigger your vehicle the more right-of-way you will receive. This law of the Jungle goes all the way down to pedestrians who are at the bottom of the pecking order. A pedestrian must give way to any vehicle at all times, not from a legal perspective as I don’t even know what the laws are concerning pedestrians, but from a matter of self preservation. There are lots of pedestrian crossing in the Philippines but the only time I have seen a vehicle give way to one is when a Traffic Officer is guiding people over it (and that is very seldom).

As I said at the beginning the Filipino driver really thinks he is a better driver so nothing is going to change in a hurry. The problem is also inherent in Filipino culture and their attitude to the fellow citizen. The police can try to enforce more sensible and responsible driving but as soon as they are out of site, the Filipino will revert to his selfish attitudes on the road. I also said that the situation on the road is a reflection of how the Filipino conducts themselves in most other aspects of Filipino life. In a nutshell the Filipino selfish attitude to their fellow citizens needs to change before we will see any real improvement on the road.

Posted: Friday 14th July 2006, 10:08 PM

Learn To Speck Cebuano

If you are planning no living in Cebu then its a good idea to learn the language and I have found a great teacher here in Cebu. He can also assist you online and is available to translate any documents.

If you plan to live in Cebu then why not learn to speak the language and earn to Speak Cebuano - Translation service also available