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Is "borrowing" money and not paying back a custom and part of the culture in the Philippines?
Is borrowing just another word for asking for money? This is a real head shaker for me. My in-laws always seems to get suckered in to this. Its usually relatives or domestic help who "borrow" money. Its been happening quite a bit. A relative comes knocking and asks for php40,000 for tuition of their child!! What the hell! Then the maid asks to borrow Php200,000 so she can buy her father's house in the province. Then later Php20,000 for her father's expenses. Then later another Php30,000 for her son's tuition!! WTF!! All promising to pay it by a certain date after her sister gets a loan from the GSIS....bwahahaha.... I keep telling my in-laws to kiss those monies goodbye!! Well, they are supposed to deduct it from her salary.... That means she'll be working till her her hair turns gray. As to the relative who borrowed for tuition months ago, the payment still remains to be seen.
So back to the question. Is this common practice? Is it better not to lend money?
These requests are quite common in parts of Asia where large number of people can't afford health care, education, housing and food. When a person is perceived to be rich, including foreigners from the US, Canada and Japan, they usually are the persons people may rely on. Many are actually honest poor people while some are scammers. The cultures about money are too different from western countries.
You better check before you give out your money, unless you are very rich.
People in the Philippines are family oriented to the point that those who find employment overseas send money home to support the family. Overseas Filipino workers (OFW's) take jobs around the world for low pay as it is still better than none or limited opportunities at home. And a large portion of that is sent home to their families.
Total of 33 billion dollars last year which is 10% of Philippine GDP was sent home from overseas.
Sons and daughters will work overseas and send money home to support family and many times their own children who are being taken care of by other family members. Anyone in the family who has any kind of income is going to get hit on for money from multiple directions. Some have very large families.
Now the water buffalo dying is another thing altogether. I think more common in Thailand is the set up where western men are sending money to their Thai girlfriend who they met on their last visit. Do some research. She may have several western boyfriends sending her money making thousands of dollars a month. And she will make up a crisis on a regular basis and hit on each boyfriend for money to save her sick mother, father, niece, etc. Maybe pay the kidnappers ransom to get her hamster safely returned? And she no longer works in the bar as she is saving herself for when he returns?
this is common in every culture,think back then there is no such thing as credit card with line of credit or consumer loan or student loan,you just have to turn to a relative,employer,pawn shop pr shark loan .
When I was in NYC back in 1980s,someone 's cousin borrowed $200 with her gold chain ,thats NY,NY,USA
But remember the Philippines is mostly a bank less society. Many people don’t make enough money to have a bank account or utilize a traditional loan. There’s also a loan shark industry mostly dominated by Indians who charge exorbitant rates. So many “borrow” from friends or relatives with an unspoken understanding that it’s a gift.
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