EGE 324: Philippine Popular Culture

Lesson 4: Food and Fashion

➢ Street food

➢ Fast-food

➢ “ukay-ukay”

➢ World-class Filipino designers

➢ Traditional attires-modernized

I. Street Food
• https://www.esquiremag.ph/food-and-drink/food/filipino-street-food-a1729-20170526-
lfrm
• https://pepper.ph/the-secret-origins-of-6-pinoy-street-food-
staples/#:~:text=Exactly%20when%20street%20food%20first,nation%20had%20more%
20sinister%20roots.

II. Fast food

Fast Food in the Philippines

by Mark Joshua Ramilo

Food is one of the basic necessities of man in order to stay alive. Whether he likes it or
not, man needs sufficient amount of food to sustain his being. This need to meet the food intake
parallel with the essential meals per day results to the materialization of the food service industry
which deals with preparation and sale of food items or products. Therefore, the food service
industry will always remain in high demand because of its category. This industry embraces but
is not limited to businesses such as fast food restaurants, school and hospital cafeterias, catering
operations, food carts, and bakeshop.
 EGE 324: Philippine Popular Culture

The term “Fast food” is commonly attributed to restaurants sometimes known as a quick
service restaurants or QSRs. It is a specific type of restaurant characterized both by its fast food
cuisine and by minimal table service. The growing popularity of this type of restaurant resulted
to changes in the world society. The fast food industry brought shifts to the consumers’ diet,
economy, workforce and popular culture.

Restaurants and fast foods are meant for same services except that restaurants offer a
large menu including a variety of cuisines as compared to fast foods, which usually offers a small
menu with quick service. Another difference between a restaurant and fast food is, restaurants
offer meals that are cooked and prepared and is eaten at the premises while fast food usually is
pre-cooked meals or serves meals that are cooked easily. Diners may eat it inside the store or
they can order their food “to-go”. In fast foods you usually pay before eating unlike full service
restaurants. (http://manilareviews.com/2010/07/food-service-industry-philippines.html) Like
every other country, the food industry has flourished very well in Philippines. Filipinos love to eat
and that’s the reason why you will see a lot of restaurants and fast foods restaurants scattered
in the cities.

These restaurants and fast foods can be local or international food chains. Filipino food
and chefs are considered one of the best in the world. Some of the popular fast food chains of
Philippines are Jollibee, McDonald, KFC, Chowking, etc. and popular restaurants being Abe,
Chelsea, Friday’s, Chili’s and a lot more. More and more studies prove the extraordinary growth
of the Fast food service industry in the country. In a recent study, fast food retains its position as
the largest and the fastest-growing category in the Philippine consumer food service industry.
During 2012, this category reported total foodservice revenue of Php 121.9 billion taking 30% of
total value sales in consumer food service. Growth in terms of outlets, transactions and value
sales remains vibrant brought by the support of increasing number of shopping centers and small
community supermarkets in Metro Manila and key cities nationwide.
(http://www.marketresearch.com/Euromonitor-International-v746/Fast-Food-Philippines-
7890756/)
 EGE 324: Philippine Popular Culture

Food served in fast food restaurants typically caters to a "meat-sweet diet" and is offered
from a limited menu; is cooked in bulk in advance and kept hot; is finished and packaged to order;
and is usually available ready to take away, though seating may be provided. Fast food
restaurants are usually part of a restaurant chain or franchise operation, which provisions
standardized ingredients and/or partially prepared foods and supplies to each restaurant through
controlled supply channels.

Include: https://pepper.ph/american-food-popular-philippines/

III. Ukay-ukay

Everything you need to know about ukay-ukay and its illegality

by Camelle Austria

Ukay-ukay refers to the secondhand market in the Philippines. It came from the Filipino
word ‘halukay’ which means ‘to dig’ and is also synonymous with wagwagan, which came from
the verb ‘wagwag’ – the act of dusting off. One word but interestingly versatile. Ukay-ukay could
refer to the secondhand item, the act of buying it, and the place where you buy one. You could
say “ukay lang ‘to”, “nag-ukay ako”, “sa ukay lang ‘to” and any Filipino would understand what
you mean.
For some, it’s an alternative market but, for others, it is their only option. But as the ukay-
ukay culture grew predominant, even the rich have taken an interest. So, what is it with ukay-
ukay that Filipinos from all walks of life makes it thrive?
In light of recent events, where ukay-ukay warehouses are being raided, a puzzling and
even surprising question arises among Filipinos: why and how come it is illegal? Let’s explore the
history of ukay-ukay, understand consumer motivation, and define how it became illegal and on
what grounds.
 EGE 324: Philippine Popular Culture

The beginning and rise of Ukay-ukay in the Philippines

According to Ma. Rina Locsin – in her research about Baguio’s ukay-ukay – it’s hard to
pinpoint the exact beginning of the secondhand industry in the country. However, three factors
led it to its thriving: donation, fundraising, and Hongkong OFWs.
After World War II, access to secondhand clothing grew within Southeast Asia. According
to anthropologist Lynne Milgram, this coincides with the time the United Nations Relief and
Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) gave billion-dollar worth of donations to Asia around
1943 and 1949.
Fast forward to the 1980s, this continued to flourish as non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) in the country sold donations they received, supposedly for their needy members, as a
fundraising activity.
Filipino domestic helpers from Hongkong are also seen as crucial players of the ukay-ukay
industry. There are two versions of how this came to be. The first pertains to how Filipina OFWs
would buy old clothes for disposal while the second version points out that it was their personal
belongings or Salvation Army thrift finds. Either way, these are shipped as balikbayan boxes and
sold to Baguio.
In the Philippines, Baguio City is seen as the ground zero of the ukay-ukay business.
Veronica Isla – in her investigation about secondhand consumer culture in the country – points
out that Baguio City’s Session Road used to be the most-known hub of ukay-ukay in Luzon,
although the trade still expands to other parts of the country. Eventually, sellers from Baguio
branched out to areas within Metro Manila.
From here, ukay-ukay has found its way to the rest of the country and is now a national
phenomenon.

Ukay-ukay to Filipinos of today

According to Isla, affordability is the main driver of ukay-ukay consumption, especially,
majority of its consumers are those from the lower-income group. For Filipinos of this bracket,
their circumstances necessitate the choice, but it also satisfies the desire to be fashionable at the
least price. Abueg further explains that some resort to ukay-ukay because it’s homogeneous to
 EGE 324: Philippine Popular Culture

mall quality. Luxury brands become affordable while ‘good finds’ yield thrill and satisfaction
because it’s unique, affordable, and not mass-produced.
These motivations have most likely reached the middle class up to the bourgeoisie and
encouraged them to join the patronization.
Today, almost all walks of life celebrate ukay-ukay. We even see social influencers
produce content such as ‘ukay-ukay hauls’ or ‘ukay-ukay challenge’. But not only did the target
market expand but the platform too.
The wagwagan culture has found its way to our social media. Instagram alone has
witnessed a rise in online thrift shops where ukay-ukay items are presented more appealingly
and resold with a tag higher than its buying price. Meanwhile, a new form of shopping has
boomed inside Facebook called ‘live selling’. From the words themselves, it’s where a seller live
streams to show off items for sale and any viewer who wants to buy an item can comment ‘mine’.
It’s an emerging business that has become a hit during the pandemic. Items for sale range from
clothes, bags, and even bedsheets. Some are brand new but ukay-ukays or ‘preloved’ items are
more common.
Live selling showed how both sellers and consumers adapted to the circumstances of the
pandemic – a lot of people lost their jobs while everybody’s mobility had been reduced so
shopping had to be brought to our feeds.
The existence of ukay-ukay, from the streets to our screens, proved how penetrating and
prevalent it is in the Filipinos’ lives but there’s an underlying truth about this industry that leaves
most of its consumers confused.

Illegality of ukay-ukay and its rationale

Despite the long-running existence of these thrift shops, how deeply embedded they are
in our culture, and the magnitude of its demand, importation of ukay-ukay has been illegal in the
country for 55 years.
In 1996, RA No. 4653 was rectified and it forbids importation of used garments for
commercial use to protect two things: Filipino’s health and the nation’s dignity.
 EGE 324: Philippine Popular Culture

To be exact, RA No. 4653 is defined as “an act to safeguard the health of the people and
maintain the dignity of the nation by declaring it a national policy to prohibit the commercial
importation of textile articles commonly known as used clothing and rags.”
Anyone who’s deemed guilty of violating this law can pay the fine of P200 to P200,000
and face 2-5 years of imprisonment. The confiscated items are expected to be burned in the
presence of officials from the General Auditing Office, the Department of Finance and the Office
of the President.

Include article: https://pop.inquirer.net/112685/the-devil-wears-ukay-how-thrifting-is-done-in-

the-new-normal

IV. World-Class Filipino Designers

• https://www.brittany.com.ph/blogs/filipino-fashion-designers-altering-the-fashion-
industry/
• https://primer.com.ph/beauty-fashion/world-famous-filipino-fashion-designers/

V. Traditional attires-modernized
https://vintagallery.com/blogs/news/the-filipiniana-dress-the-rebirth-of-the-terno