A.Javier Y. Martinez SA 21- G Cielito Gono 30.06.15 “Violating Filipino Time: A Sociological Perspective”
Filipino Time, simply put is the Filipino sociological for starting late; like how it is more socially acceptable to arrive late at a social event than to arrive early. Before talking about violating the norm, it would be beneficial to explain what a “norm” is. A norm—at least in the context of sociology—is a set of informal understandings that govern individuals' behaviour in society (Goffman). For example, sit is okay for couple to hold hands but not have coitus in public, which is an example of a social norm. Filipino Time—for the purposes of this paper—will be defined as the acceptance of not arriving on time. This norm, like any norm, is a tool for social control. In this case, we should look into the origins of the term “Filipino time”. It should be noted that there’s no Filipino term for the concept of “Filipino Time”i; compared to terms such as “utang-na-loob” ii
or “pakikilahok”iii, which are social norms which are considered Filipino as well, but have a
proper Filipino term for it. This is a sign; this norm is not something that was present in precolonial Filipino culture. It is assumed then, that “Filipino Time” comes from one of our colonisers, and signs point to Spain. iv “Filipino Time” as a norm, like all other norms, is a tool for social control. It can be argued from a functionalist perspective vthat the function of “Filipino Time” is to help build bonds between members of society, although people are late, they have no problem if it is friends or family, allowing lateness in this case prevents conflicts from arising due to tardiness as well. Filipino culture is in between Multi-Activeviand Reactivevii cultural types; this places us at a cross between the Latin Cultures and Asian ones. We have traits of both, such as the Asian emphasis on tradition, but the Latin love of focusing on relationships.
To violate the norm, all I did two things: First, arrive exactly on time—if the host were to say 1500, I would be there at 1500. Second, if I were the in charge for some sort of social event or gathering I would start exactly on time. My hypothesis going into this study was that people would react with hostility towards being early—however due to Philippine cultural practices—they would react in a passive-aggressive manned. I suspected that the reactions would range from complaining, ignoring (me) or even uncooperativeness. My norm violation would take place over a two-week period, in a variety of locations. Some were at the local mall; some were at the university; the more common factors was the people I was testing this one. I was testing on people who I considered close to me: my circle of friends and my immediate family. Another factor was that I chose to deal in small groups was because a large amount of people is unwieldy to handle. The reason for this choice of people to experiment on was simple, they were probably the most likely to display and communicate their reactions to my behaviour, if I were to pick a different group they might have not as been as honest. Over the span of two weeks, I began showing up early, or rather on time. First occasion was when a couple of friends agreed to have a drink at Walrusviii, agreeing to meet up around 1800. I was there at 1745, and waited. The first one—out of four—arrived at 1805, five minutes late. The last one came at 1900; ironically, that person being the one to arrive was the one who said to meet up 1800 originally. I was also invited to a debut, and I arrived at the time stated on the invite, which was 1700. What happened when I arrived was the preparations were still happening, the debutante was still putting on her make-up; the catering had yet to arrive. Once again, this is because I arrived on time. The last event that was part of the experiment, I was the one hosting, and it was movie night at my house. I normally set call time at 1800, and my friends all know this. Not that they arrive one time, so I start it once everyone is here. However I decided to start it at 1800
as we previously agreed upon, which meant by the time the first guest arrive the movie was halfway though. The common reaction that I received was that of shock. Mild annoyance was the best way I could describe their reactions. However, I feel that the only reason the reactions were so mild was personal relationship to the experimenter, which I think although was detrimental in achieving my hypothesis to a certain extent, it did make me think about trying this with a group without any form of connection to me, they may have run amok. The feeling I got was a mild sense of guilt, but I did manage to rationalise it and say, “They chose to be late”. However, a common complaint was that I was being inconsiderate—which would make sense considering our society’s focus on conformity. The biggest take-away I have from this experiment was that by being punctual and on time, actually can derail plans, which goes to show how strong a cultural mechanism is it. To summarise, how we view time is a cultural matter (Bluedorn, 2002). The Filipino is not the American, or the Arabian or Argentine. How it affects us is strongly tied to how we see ourselves and as Filipinos, our perception of time is ours. Through Western eyes, is it inefficient? Yes, but to us it is what works. The learning that can learned from this is “Filipino Time” has it’s purposes as a norm, and being deviant on an individual basis will merely ostracize you as part of the group
i There are words such as “huli” or “tala”, but they do not encapsulate the essence of the English word; like how saying “shame” is not the same as “hiya”. ii Returning for favours—whether asked for or not—when it is needed and/or wanted. iii An act of joining, i.e. participation of the entire community to help a person. iv Why the Spaniards and not the Americans? America’s culture, similar to that of the British, East Asian and Germanic culture is one that thinks of time as a strict set of tasks—the proper term is monochronic—compared to the Latin, Arabic, Southern Asian and African cultures who view it differently—their view is polychromic. They view time as a guideline and focus more on building the relationships of people. Therefore, it can be wise to assume that the concept of “Filipino Time” is from the Spanish rather than the Americans.
v Although conflicts theorists—especially post-colonial ones—might say that “Filipino Time” is a method of keeping the Filipino down, as it has been recorded, in certain historical accounts that the Spaniards would encourage Filipinos arriving later than them, thus making them seem more important. However due to the limited length allowed for this paper, this possibility will not be explored. vi The culture group, which includes the Latin countries, Sub-Saharan Africa, Arabic Asian and Eastern Europe. (Lewis, 2005) vii The culture group, which includes East and Southeast Asian countries. (Lewis, 2005) viii A bar along Katipunan
References Bernad, M. A. (2002). Filipino Time. Budhi, 3(6), 207-213. Retrieved June 28, 2015, from http://journals.ateneo.edu/ojs/budhi/article/view/586/583 Bluedorn, A. (2002). The Human organization of Time: Temporal realities and experience (1st ed.). Stanford: Stanford University Press. Retrieved June 28, 2015 Dyer, R. (2002). Stereotyping. In R. Dyer, The Matter of Images: Essays Representation (p. 357). New York: Routledge. Enriquez, V. G. (1976). Sikolohiyang Pilipino: Perspektibo at Direksiyon. In R. Pe-Pua (Ed.), Sikolohiyang Pilipino: Teorya, Metodo, at Gamit. (pp. 5–21). Quezon City: University of the Philippines Press. Foucault, M. (1975). Panopticism. In M. Foucault, Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Paris: Gallimard. Keating, J. (2013, January). Why Time is a Social Construct. The Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved June 28 2015, from Smithsonian.com: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/sciencenature/why-time-is-a-social-construct-164139110/?no-ist Lewis, R. (2005). When Cultures Collide, 3rd Edition: Leading Across Cultures (3rd ed.). London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing. Retrieved June 28, 2015 Ramirez, J. (2013, Feb 11). That peculiar 'Filipino Time'. Retrieved June 28, 2015, from Rappler.Com: http://www.rappler.com/move-ph/ispeak/21275-that-peculiar-filipino-time
Torres, S. d. (2002). Understanding Persons of Philippine Origin: A Primer for Rehabilitation Service Providers. University of the Philippines, College of Education. Quezon CIty: University of the Philippines. Retrieved June 28, 2015, from http://cirrie.buffalo.edu/culture/monographs/philippines/
