{"id":72478,"date":"2025-12-01T17:10:52","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T09:10:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/?p=72478"},"modified":"2025-12-01T17:10:52","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T09:10:52","slug":"we-need-to-confront-normalized-kotong-while-on-the-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.upgrademag.com\/web\/2025\/12\/01\/we-need-to-confront-normalized-kotong-while-on-the-road\/","title":{"rendered":"We need to confront normalized ‘kotong’ while on the road"},"content":{"rendered":"

November 30, 8:29PM. Or thereabouts. While driving from S&R Bacoor to Escobar\u2019s Steakhouse in Versailles Town Plaza via Daang Hari Road. Right after the Daang Hari Road-Villar Avenue intersection, a traffic enforcer signaled for me to stop.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThat was a red,\u201d he said. He was, at least, smiling.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d I said. \u201cIt turned orange when I was already in the middle of the road, in the middle of the intersection.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMay<\/em> dashcam ka. Hanapin natin.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

So we did.<\/p>\n

But while doing so, the side comments kept coming.<\/p>\n

\u201cMatatagalan tayo nito.\u201d<\/em>
\n\u201cGagawin namin, kunin lisensiya mo.\u201d<\/em>
\n\u201cYung <\/em>clearance, Cavite lang magbibigay.\u201d<\/em>
\n\u201cMatagal ang proseso; tatlong araw din. <\/em>Three days ka wala lisensiya.\u201d<\/em>
\n\u201cTagarito kayo? Kung hindi, naku, malayo babalikan nyo niyan.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

I asked for the process: \u201cWhat happens now, then?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBibigyan ka ng<\/em> ticket.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then what?\u201d<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t explain. The aforementioned comments were just repeated. Or versions of them.<\/p>\n

He left the side of the car then; I was still surfing the video clips from the dashcam.<\/p>\n

Then a different guy appeared.<\/p>\n

\u201cNaku<\/em>, sir,\u201d he said, \u201cmatatagalan talaga tayo niyan<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

I asked again: What\u2019s the process to follow, then?<\/p>\n

Still nothing straightforward.<\/p>\n

Then, from beside me, A asked: \u201cKung magbibigay, magkano<\/em>?\u201d<\/p>\n

This time, the answer was blunt, fast: \u201cKayo bahala<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

He then moved to the other side of the car. To collect.<\/p>\n

And so yeah\u2026 that\u2019s how the third time I experienced kotong unfolded. The first was in Para\u00f1aque; the second in Cubao, Quezon City; and now this, in Cavite. Different places, but similar approach, with almost uniform spoken lines.<\/p>\n

And so, I now repeat some of them:
\n\u201cMatatagalan tayo nito.\u201d<\/em>
\n\u201cGagawin namin, kunin lisensiya mo.\u201d<\/em>
\n\u201cYung <\/em>clearance, Cavite lang magbibigay.\u201d<\/em>
\n\u201cMatagal ang proseso; tatlong araw din. <\/em>Three days ka wala lisensiya.\u201d<\/em>
\n\u201cTagarito kayo? Kung hindi, naku, malayo babalikan nyo niyan.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The difference I noted in Cavite was the blatant asking. That \u201ckung magbibigay<\/em>\u201d, \u201ckayo na ang bahala<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n

In Cubao, the person had to pretend to emphasize that he didn\u2019t ask for any amount, that it was us who offered the money. And yet he actually initiated the money exchange, even demanding we give a specific amount since he has to give his bosses their cuts. And he even had a \u201csystem\u201d for the money exchange so that the bill wasn\u2019t seen when he accepted it.<\/p>\n

Nakaw normalization in Pinoy culture\u2026 including in \u2018advocacy\u2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n