We’re Not Resilient. We’re Just Out of Options.

Filipinos deserve better.

There is something deeply frustrating about being a customer in an industry where you don't really have a choice. Take utilities and telecommunications. We are constantly asked to be patient, to understand that technical problems happen, that repairs take time, and that not everything is within a company's control. And yes, we do understand. Filipinos have always been remarkably understanding and resilient. But perhaps we have celebrated that resilience for too long.

Because being resilient should not mean being expected to tolerate poor service.

Take Globe, for example. They have done meaningful work through their CSR initiatives and campaigns, and those efforts are worth recognizing. But there is another side of corporate responsibility that happens much closer to home: the everyday experience of the customer.

When your connection goes down, when a problem isn't resolved as expected, or when you have to follow up repeatedly just to get an update, those are the moments that shape how people actually experience a company.

And this isn't really about Globe alone. It is about what happens when essential services operate in markets where consumers have limited choices. In a truly competitive market, poor service gives customers the power to leave. But what happens when there are only a few major providers? What if switching isn't practical? What if your work, business, education, or everyday life depends on the service? You stay. You wait. You adjust. You become patient because you have to.

And somewhere along the way, we started calling this resilience.

But is it really resilience when people are simply enduring something because they have no alternative?

Maybe resilience should be about how we rise after adversity, not how much inconvenience, inefficiency, or poor service we can continuously absorb.

Companies will always have problems. Systems will fail. Unexpected things will happen. We aren't asking for perfection. We are asking for accountability, communication, urgency, and respect for the people who depend on these services.

Corporate responsibility isn't only about the big things a company does for society. It is also reflected in the thousands of ordinary interactions between a company and its customers every day.

And perhaps it's time we stopped romanticizing the Filipino's ability to “tiisin na lang.” We shouldn't have to be endlessly patient simply because we have no choice. We shouldn't have to celebrate ourselves for surviving experiences that could have been better in the first place.

Filipinos deserve better.

Better service. Better accountability. Better choices. And companies that don't mistake our patience for acceptance.

Because being resilient is admirable.

But having to be resilient all the time is exhausting.

And maybe the goal shouldn't be to raise a generation of Filipinos who can endure anything.

Maybe the goal should be to build a country where Filipinos don't have to.

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P.S. Day 7 without internet. The 5th tech visit has now been rescheduled. 

So yes, this piece on patience and resilience may be a little more personal than I intended.