What time is Filipino time?

In a place where tardiness is the norm, being a stickler for time makes one stick out like a sore thumb. I’m usually punctual for appointments and events; I make it a point to be. But on several occasions, it took all my willpower to be intentionally late for 15 minutes and still I’m the first one to arrive. I suppose with those failed attempts at being “fashionably late”, I’m no fashionista.

In my circle of friends, we have one friend who is constantly late. As a joke to prompt punctuality (though jokes are said to be half-meant), we agree on a particular time but we give an earlier time to our friend who is chronically late. This has saved us hours of waiting on several times, till she finally caught on and we all laughed it off.

Despite the expected tardiness, I strive to make it to appointments and events on time. I’m an advocate of “Filipino time is on time” and I’m hoping intolerance of tardiness will help stave it off.

Customary to our culture, “Filipino time” is equivalent to “better late than never”. This has prompted us to give our events or appointment up to one hour leeway, knowing most of the guests will trickle in well past the set time. And don’t expect many guests to issue apologies.

Filipino time seems to be defined as the period between 30 minutes after the agreed time you’re supposed to be there and 30 seconds before the person you’re meeting decides to go home. Just when you think the late person has stood you up, you give them a call or text message and they tell you, “Padung na ko diha.” Unfortunately that’s euphemism for “Padung na ko ligo og ilis sanina.”

Back in college, one of my teachers once told the class that punctuality is respect for other people’s time. Punctuality is also very professional in business dealings. It does seem quite inconsiderate to agree to meet a person at a certain time, and then not make an effort to arrive on the dot, making others wait for you. Unless we are very busy people (even then, good time management prevents habitual tardiness), then what other good reasons are there for being late?

A coffee shop argument with friends has prompted heated exchanges on these ideas. Some argue that with our relaxed time slots and tolerance for tardiness, there is less stress and anxiety. Instead of always rushing to meet deadlines, we can make the distinction of being punctual on matters where time is critical -- life and death situations, or work matters (deadlines!) that are very important. But with everything else, we can afford to relax and not pressure ourselves too much.

But that’s exactly the point. If time is gold, then unfortunately, many of us seem to take our wealth for granted. In life and death situations, many times people are saved or killed by the difference of a single second of time. At the deathbed, some arrive an hour or even minutes too late to catch a loved one’s last whispers. Ask a busy executive the value of one working day in chasing a sudden hot deal or ask a mother the impact of one month on her premature infant. The thing is, you have to value time because you can never see the unexpected things in the future. You have to set time allowances for yourself for contingency purposes, in case something suddenly comes up. Do the things you can do today, do the things you can do right now, instead of procrastinating and putting things off for later or tomorrow. The stress and anxiety of doing things last minute is twice as heavy as proper time management.

And how fast time flies. It seems like only recently we heralded the start of 2007 and now we just blasted our way into 2008. Let’s start it off with respect for other people’s time and an appreciation for all the time we’re blessed with.

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