What's On & Expat - Philippines

D. Richard Carlson
American
Writer


      No, says my Filipino roommate from Bacolod.

Mikael Makinen
Finnish
Project Analyst, FinPro

   No, Filipinos are not too sensitive on that matter.

Gino Delfin
Filipino
Facilities Engineer, Chevron Geothermal Philippines

   Yes, Filipinos are too sensitive about the jokes. And in the end, the joke ends up being us.

Bill Hopson
American
Former President
AT & T Philippines

               We should laugh at our differences, be they jokes about Filipinos, or the Irish, Italians or Jews. We all have to be able to lighten up and laugh at our ourselves and at our differences, because we’re all different.

 

Jaime Ruiz de Haro
Spanish
President and CEO
Cemex Strategic Philippines, Inc.

  Filipinos are sensitive people in general terms. And far from being a flaw, this is one admirable trait in a world with too much indifference. It’s actually good to care and to resent unfairness.

Chris Proemer
Austrian
Businessman

            No, I don’t think so. My experience is from the community I know, from the people I know, once you are close to them, they are not so sensitive. They can be on top of the jokes as well.
 

George Siy
Filipino-Chinese
Vice President for Services
Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industries

    Sometimes but not in this case because it affects the industry we’re trying to promote. It gives the impression that when you’re the butt of jokes, you’re basically incompetent. But it’s actually one of the few fields in which the Philippines have a pretty good record of even in the US. Eighty percent of the foreign nurses are Filipinos. They are preferred like the doctors and they are competitive even in the US.