Middle-income Filipinos don’t look so middle income these days, sporting their newly acquired designer bags and gold jewelry. The Vuittons and gold charms aren’t quite brand-new, but they could pass for it.
Along a quaint street in Manila’s business district, women are gushing over Tresorie and the store’s pre-loved bags. Here, a Vuitton Monogram Speedy fetches P30,000 (about $630), vs. P80,000 for a new one. Bottega Veneta, Hermes and Balenciaga bags carry similarly “practical” tags. Travel a few blocks more and you’ll come across Secondo, which sells “upscale, pre-owned” jewelry. A gram of 24K gold that usually makes you instantly poorer by P5,000 goes for less than a third of that amount.
For this good fortune, the middle class has only the upper crust to thank. The recession has forced the top 1 percent of our population to rethink their extravagant ways and become more entrepreneurial to sustain their lifestyle. So they trade in their old handbags and jewelry in order to afford new things. Everybody comes out happy.
Your spare change can make wishes come true at your friendly neighborhood store. If you wish for fair, flawless skin, your P5 coin grants you a packet of Pond’s Clear Solutions. If you wish to quench your thirst, your P5 coin grants you a bottle of your favorite soda. And if you wish to make your lungs unhappy, your P5 coin grants you a pack of three Marlboro sticks.
We were surprised late one night to find dozens of taxi drivers gathered over plastic plates in NAIADSS, virtually turning the LPG fueling station into a cafeteria. As it turns out, in addition to the obvious fuel savings, taxi drivers now have more incentive to stay loyal to LPG stations. A huge banner shouting, “Refill with LPG for P500. Get yourself a free meal” greets drivers, who can get lunch and dinner with a minimum purchase at the NAIADSS chain.
Texting is the Filipino’s cheapest form of entertainment, and recently it’s gotten even cheaper. In the Philippines, where most homes get by on 
