Reader’s Digest: Filipinos pass honesty test

Surprise, surprise.

Most Filipinos tend to act in an honest fashion when confronted with everyday dilemmas testing their sense of right and wrong, according to an Asia-wide survey conducted by Reader’s Digest magazine.

Over 1,600 people in nine Asian countries were asked what they would do in 10 everyday situations. The "honesty test" was carried out by researchers in shopping malls in the Philippines, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand.

Filipinos, according to the survey, have few qualms about turning a shoplifter in or telling a friend his or her spouse was having a romantic dinner with a stranger.

Eighty-two percent of Filipinos will alert security officers to a shoplifter, the highest score from all the Asian countries included in the survey.

The lowest score came from Taiwan — 48 percent — where personal safety ranked high among people reluctant to get involved. "What if he turned out to be a gangster?" asked a middle-aged female professional.

Philanderers beware, as 52 percent of Filipinos said they would tell their friend if his or her spouse was seen having a romantic dinner with a stranger. However, an elderly man in Manila said, "I did this once and my friend turned his back on me for telling, instead of his unfaithful wife."

Indonesia had the lowest score, with only 33 percent saying they would. "It’s none of my business," a man from Jakarta noted, then added, "When I’m having an affair, I don’t want someone telling my wife about it either, right?"

If they find the cashier at the supermarket has given them too much in change, 82 percent of Filipinos said they would give the money back.

However, Filipinos are not always pillars of honesty.

Almost half (46 percent) of Filipinos surveyed said they would use illegal pirated software. But they fared relatively better than respondents in Singapore (62 percent), Hong Kong (63 percent) and Malaysia (64 percent).

Indians were the most honest, with only 39 percent saying they would use pirated software. "I feel strongly about piracy, it’s ruining the market," said a young sales executive in Mumbai.

The survey also found that a relatively low 79 percent of Filipinos said they would return a wallet with an address and phone number inside, compared to 96 percent in both India and Indonesia. The lowest score came from Singapore — 74 percent.

Jim Plouffe, senior editor of the magazine’s English Asia edition, conducted most of the survey.

"At first I was concerned that people were telling me what they thought I wanted to hear," he said. "But after compiling almost 1,800 answers and listening to hundreds of stories about people doing the right thing, I am convinced that Asians are intrinsically honest."

Peter Dockrill, editor-in-chief of the edition, said the light-hearted survey illustrates that honesty is endemic across the region.

"The results shouldn’t be seen as a scientific barometer of Asian virtue, but rather as an intriguing exercise in self-assessment — and ultimately as a test of people’s candor in answering our questions honestly," he said.

"In the end we realized that people across Asia share a common trait: the propensity to do the right thing when their honesty is tested. We also found that they have no trouble sharing their stories about succumbing to temptation!" Dockrill added.

The quiz also found that 36 percent of Filipinos declare less than their actual income on annual tax returns if they think they can get away with paying less taxes. The highest scores belonged to Malaysia (55 percent) and South Korea (51 percent).

A third of Filipinos (33 percent) said they will take envelopes and pens from the office for their family’s personal use, placing a close third behind South Korea at 37 percent and Singapore with 34 percent.

One-fourth of Filipinos have no qualms about embellishing their resume if they do not have the exact qualifications for a job, confident they can quickly learn the skills if they are hired. Only South Korea and Taiwan scored lower than the Philippines at 24 percent.

Only 11 percent of Filipinos will walk away with a hotel’s towel inside their suitcase, compared to 17 percent of Taiwanese, 14 percent of Singaporeans, 13 percent of South Koreans and Malaysians, and 12 percent of Hong Kong nationals.

A relatively low percentage (11 percent) of Filipinos will not hesitate to take a quick look at an absent colleague’s bank account statement if they happen to be dropping off a file on the colleague’s desk, compared to 30 percent of Taiwanese, who had the highest score.