Baron wrote:Winston..
This country has about 90M population. 10% are Freaking Rich who don't give a flying crap about foreginers like us. (Unless we are like CEO or executive level foreigners).
There is NO real such middle class in this country.
10% Rich who holds 90% of the country's wealth.
20% People who can barely manage their own lives...
70% People who live with $2-5 bucks per day
You can still manage yourself to meet those 20% but however, since they are financially capable of taking care of their own things, they don't really mingle with foreginers unless they see you attractive...
Top 10% = If you don't live a freaking high class life, don't even bother talking to them and realize that they treat you like an insect.. To these 10%, we are really not welcomed unless you can show them you have the social status already.
I'm sorry but I beg to disagree. Although it's a possibility and I presume that you based your comments from your experience(s). The seriously rich (and old rich at that) here are mostly polite and don't treat people like dirt/an insect. There are some uppity ones but there are many that are low-key and humble, too, despite being rich for centuries. Most of them, especially the old Spanish-Filipino families, have this paternal attitude to those who have "less" in life. They were brought up that way and politely at that. And many have friends from other social statuses too. Some marry beneath their "social level". I have many classmates at primary school and dated a few guys that are rich-rich, even by Western standards. My own family (meaning my father, mother, siblings & I) don't belong to that category although there are "richer" branches of the family/clan, and my paternal side is from the Mandarin/Scholar-Official/Landed Gentry class in China while my maternal side (although "tainted" by being an illegitimate daughter of a Spanish friar) were part of the local aristocracy/local leaders in the Spanish/early American colonial times, had lost their lands in the early 20th century and thus, definitely poor. My mother had to work her way through high school and college and actually worked as a nanny.
Many of the elite here do not care about social status, since they have that from birth. Perhaps you met a few rude ones? However, from my own experience, they are not like that. For inheritance reasons - which tend to be familial and inter-generational feuds - many now have a prenuptial agreement, whether the guy is also lrich or not. I guess that's what matters to them, especially if the family wealth is tied-up into complicated trusts/feuds. However, I should distinguish between the true elite ("Manila's 400") and the "celebrities" that seem to be "elite" and being built up by media as such. They are definitely not the same and they don't usually mix. Should they happen to be at the same event, the former will be polite to the latter but tend to be wary and stick to their own. The cattier ones will be laughing at the latter, especially if they are blatant, tacky and have airs.
I know of a rich-rich heiress (in the Forbes Billionaires List) who married a not-so-wealthy lawyer. She is the oldest sister of a classmate. Her family loves the guy - might not be rich but certainly a good asset to the family, being a top notch lawyer who is connected with the top law firm here, very decent and responsible. His salary as a partner of the firm is indeed substantial but that isn't the point. In other words, he did bring something into the family.., that is, his skills and knowledge, but definitely no serious wealth.
On a more 'reachable' level, many of the middle class (including upper middle class ones who always lived very comfortable lives and had gone to the best schools here and even abroad) would at least be open to dating foreigners. Open being the keyword. What happens next depends on personal preferences, shared goals and values, and of course, chemistry/attraction.