Taking the Ukay Thing SERIOUSLY

Usually, old places and buildings here in Baguio will mean a scary scene in a Filipino horror movie. Their dull, dark, and creepy appearance will push people away from these structures. But then, when you come closer and get inside, you’ll find that buildings like those will not scare you at all, rather, some sort of excitement and agitation will come rushing through your senses when you see hundreds of thousands of clothes, bags, and foot wears displayed right in front of you. They’re just there, waiting for a patient individual to pick them from where they have been placed. Yes, patience. When one goes to places like these, which we call Ukay-Ukay, patience is really a virtue.

Baguio City is not just the Summer Capital of the Philippines but also the Ukay-Ukay Capital since this trend originated here sometime in the 1990’s. Ukay-Ukay in Baguio, Wagwagan as it was called before, is the ukay of all ukays. If you think that finding a 50-peso original Bayo top is a jackpot, well think again. Ukays in Baguio can even offer you apparels for as low as P5! If you want a “shopping galore,” as shopaholics call it, while spending not too much, you’ll be needing your 500-peso bill and just like what I’ve mentioned earlier, patience. Of course, you’ll need some extra strength for some extra arm and leg workout when you start rummaging through stacks of clothes and going up and down the stairs and hills of famous Wagwagans in the city.

When I was just a newbie here in Baguio, going to Ukay-Ukay meant getting itchy and enduring the odd smell of the old and rubbish clothes that were stocked in a bodega for a very long time. After more than three years of stay here, just a few months ago, a friend invited me to go with him on a Saturday afternoon in Kayang St. just at the back of the City Market. There, I enjoyed my first Ukay adventure. For only P400, I already have two black tops, one hot pink maong jacket, one white cotton jacket, a gray cotton trench coat-looking dress, and two other tops of different styles. Since then, whenever I have time and money of course, shopping in Ukay-Ukays would be my pastime. As of now, with only a few months of going to the Ukayans almost every other week, my closet is half-filled with Ukay apparels.

I was christened in the Ukay stuff in Hilltop, where the cheapest of the cheapest could be found, right there at Kayang St. Along the busy street at the back of the Public Market are hawkers spreading their goods when the clock strikes 6 o’clock in the morning, 12 o’clock noon, and 6 o’clock in the evening. Their goods sell from as low as P5 up to P40 for ordinary shirts and pants will not exceed P200. Bags and shoes are also available. Aside from the street peddlers, there are also a few wide stalls alongside the same street. The items from these stalls are a bit more expensive than the ones in the street.

Another huge Ukayan in the city is located right at its heart, at Session Road, corner Calderon St.—the Skyworld. This three-storey building used to be taller than it is right now before it fell down during the 1990 earthquake. Stalls here sell the premium items and designer brands which makes it a Wagwagan for the rich and most of the time, the tourists. Since it actually offers branded and newer items, prices are highest at Skyworld compared to that of the other Ukayans.

Of course, Harrison Road has a few Ukayans along which are almost the same as that of the Skyworld. Most often than not, hawkers also spread their goods from 7 until 10 in the evening and early morning along Session Road and in front of the Prime Hotel.

No matter where and when you plan to do some Ukay shopping, it is always advisable that you wear your most comfortable outfit. It is actually better if you wear the simplest clothes that you have. The rationale? The vendor should see you as poor and almost hopeless that you have come to their place as the last resort for buying some clothes. This will make it easier for you to haggle later on and get the items you want at even more lower prices.

The main concern here is to buy the best ones in their lowest possible prices. So when you go to Ukayans, it is best that you have lower amount of bills with you so that you would not appear to be rich. Having smaller bills will also be to your advantage because you’ll not be a target of snatchers or hold-uppers.

It is important that you do not speak English as much as possible if you really intend to get those items in their lowest prices. If you know how to speak their dialect, for example, Iloco here in Baguio, it would be better if you talk in Iloco to the vendors. Though sometimes, some tourists try to converse in Iloco that they sound trying hard and funny. The main thing to keep in mind here is that if you want to spend minimum amount, then act like you only have minimal cash with you.

Unlike in the shopping malls, items in the Ukays have no other stock. So when you spot something that you like, grab it immediately and don’t let it go until you reach the cashier to pay for it. Chances are, when you put it back, someone might be waiting for you to do so for her to get a hold of it. When that happens, you have no choice but to let it go totally. You cannot go into a fight with the other costumer because even informal shopping areas like Ukayans have some sort of shopping etiquette too. In addition to this, when you found something that you very much like and you can still have money left to buy it, buy it on the spot because if you decide to just go back for it, somebody might have already bought it.

And of course, the first thing that I have mentioned—patience. As much as possible, see to it that you have seen everything along the rack. Among the hundreds that are there, there will always be that one great item that you will find. Believe me, you’ll regret when you see your friend wearing that P50-original-Guess top that she got from the same rack that you refused to scan properly. It is also important that you scan the ones you will buy properly for damages. Buying a P25-blouse with an ugly and unfashionable rip it its sleeve is just like buying yourself a rug. When you get home, the first thing to do is to bring those that you have bought to the laundry shop to be cleaned off the dust and other unwanted and awkward smell from other costumers who once tried them on their selves.

“Ukay-Ukay is the answer to a bargain-hunter-slash-fashionista’s prayer. With the onset of the deflation of the economy, this whole Ukay-Ukay mania is not just a solution to the coinless purse, it also keeps the average Filipino in practical style, literally.”

Piracy in the Philippines: What a Shame

With the entry of the Philippines to globalization, the problem in piracy emerged. This kind of piracy has become a threat to the copyrighted industry locally and internationally. It caused a lot of losses and disadvantages.

The problem of piracy is not limited to the Philippines; it is everywhere. The difference is that, in our country, piracy is somewhat tolerated while in other countries, piracy is a very serious issue. As a proof, about 400,000 to 600,000 copies of films are produced illegally in the Philippines alone.

In our society, the practice of piracy has already been an accepted norm. People who are involved with it are simply acting according to the norms. In the Philippines, being a culture-dominated country, it is seen that Filipinos do whatever that they do based on the actions accepted by the society, whether it be legal or not. Thus, supporting piracy, although illegal, is considered a norm nowadays.

The problem of optical media piracy has caused a lot of harm to the different industries involved—the movie industry, music industry, and the computer and video game software industry. The same kind of harm has been caused by the piracy industry to the Philippines, specifically to the Philippine movie and music industry.

Such harms have made the Philippines famous all over the world for being one of the piracy capitals. This recognition, however, does not do anything good to our country; instead, it is currently giving all Filipinos a hard time to clean up its name after so many disgraces it acquired.

Piracy here in our country has always been an illegal act. It is considered a form of stealing in a way that when you use, which includes producing and selling, or buy pirated materials, you are already using one’s product without the owner or producer’s consent.

Although piracy is considered an illegal act, its rampancy is obvious nowadays. Filipinos are known to be movie and music lovers, and with the emergence of newer forms of technology, Filipinos are already into the use of computers for playing games and doing other things related to the use of these newer forms of technology, like mixing and editing sounds and making movies, which require installation of computer softwares.

These pirated materials became widespread during the late 1990’s. The existence of these gave the masses a chance to own CDs and DVDs that contain their favorite songs and movies and computer softwares that they needed without spending too much money.

By 2001, the Philippines was among the top three producers and sellers of pirated materials among the countries here in Asia and ranked number seven as worst Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) violator.

The Philippines was recommended by the International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), “a private sector coalition formed in 1984 to represent the U.S. copyright-based industries in bilateral and multilateral efforts to improve international protection of copyrighted materials,” to be on the Priority Watch List in 2002. On February 2006, the Philippines’ standing went down to just “Watch List.”

The inclusion of the Philippines in the Priority Watch List was due to the rampant production and existence of pirated materials throughout the country. An estimated loss of US$ 120.1 million on United States copyright industries was due to piracy in the Philippines during 2001.

The continuing existence of these pirated materials will surely cause the Philippine and international movie and music industry and the computer software industry to fall. The Philippine film industry used to produce around 240 films each year but in 2004, the number crashed down to 40 films per year. If piracy in our country will still go on, it would not be surprising anymore if the number will fall to only maybe 20 films per year. The Philippine movie industry loses around three billion pesos in income every year. Producers and owners of original materials will lose profits and eventually, they might just be part of the growing piracy industry.

We have many talented and great singers here in the Philippines yet they still cannot go higher than just a national singer or artist. Most of our singers want to make a name in the international scene but piracy is a huge hindrance for the achievement of these dreams. Piracy is sure to be one of the factors that limit the ability of our musicians and composers to gain international acceptance.

More materials will be pirated and with the continuing rise of poverty here in our country, more Filipinos will engage in the piracy industry—more Filipinos will produce and buy such products.