Thursday, June 22, 2006

Filpinos: The most courteous in Asia, according to Reader's Digest "Politeness Put to the Test", for which they sent reporters to major cities in 35 countries where their magazine is published.

GMA7's 24 Oras evening news reported about it yesterday. One of their test was the reporter dropped something while walking and in some instances, she got help but, there were times people either looked at her or ignored her. In fairness to what I had seen, sometimes, pickpockets' modus operandi in Metro Manila would dropped something intentionally infront of passersby while they're walking so when the victim picks it up, the robber will pick the money or cellphone from the bag. Maybe this is one reason why people ignored the said reporter when she dropped her things.

Anyway, I find time to visit Reader's Digest website and was dismayed that even if we're the most courteous in Asia, we still ranked at 22nd place with 48% rating. New Yorkers topped the list with 80% while Mumbai, India got 32%.

World of Courtesy: Ranking of 35 Cities*

80% New York, USA
77% Zurich, Switzerland
70% Toronto, Canada
68% Berlin, Germany
68% São Paulo, Brazil
68% Zagreb, Croatia
67% Auckland, New Zealand
67% Warsaw, Poland
65% Mexico City, Mexico
63% Stockholm, Sweden
60% Budapest, Hungary
60% Madrid, Spain
60% Prague, Czech Republic
60% Vienna, Austria
57% Buenos Aires, Argentina
57% Johannesburg, South Africa
57% Lisbon, Portugal
57% London, United Kingdom
57% Paris, France
52% Amsterdam, Netherlands
48% Helsinki, Finland
48% Manila, Philippines
47% Milan, Italy
47% Sydney, Australia
45% Bangkok, Thailand
45% Hong Kong
45% Ljubljana, Slovenia
43% Jakarta, Indonesia
43% Taipei, Taiwan
42% Moscow, Russia
42% Singapore
40% Seoul, South Korea
37% Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
35% Bucharest, Romania
32% Mumbai, India

* Source: Reader's Digest

As politeness put to the test, do you still say "Excuse Me" or "Sorry"?