Is it true that before the 1980's, the Philippines was like a "ghost town?"?

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annabelle p

Yes, it's true. The celebration of Holy Week started from Monday till Saturday unlike now when people only celebrate Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. You seldom see people walk in the streets; they stayed inside their houses and listened to "Siete Palabras" (Seven Last Words). All broadcasts, TV or Radio, stopped airing from Monday and only resumed on Easter Sunday. It was a meatless week for all Catholics, no exemptions.

When you compare the bygone years with the present, you can see a big difference in how Holy Week is being celebrated today, even by Catholics. The solemness, the holiness, even the semblance of the occasions, are lost. People are not as religious as they used to be. Well, it has been foretold in the Bible that in the latter years, people will be lovers of money and material things rather than of God. Many will turn away from worshiping God and will become lovers of the dark. I hope it isn't too late for all of us.

J@ps

That's all so true. Although you can open your tv, no cable yet & catch movies such as the The Ten Commandments and other biblical stories. And a few movie houses are open & they are showing the old Lenten movies as well. You can walk down most streets for it is almost like a ghost town in most places. But it will never be that way anymore with modern communications & technology.

RHEA

pre-80's - observance of the holy week more solemn or more somber (but not ghost town-like)

nowadays - with more people and with more hi-tech gadgets, there is a difference - expectedly!

James

I remember in the 1970s that the Philippines have only a handful of tv channels/radio stations and most of them are off-the-air during the holy week. There will be a few movie houses that will be open and they will be showing Gospel movies. Most if not all businesses are closed and there is no internet, no dvds and no cds. And I remember that Metro Manila and most of the towns were like "ghost-towns" and those were the days. And is some ways it is still the same today but in others I believe it is not and will probably never be.

Leander

It's still true to this day but probably not to that extent.. It is considered as a time for praying and reflection of sins for Catholics... This is why there's almost not much activity going on anywhere and everybody is silent or noises are kept to a minimum.. The Lord is dead at this time so no one should play loud music or yell have a party or merry making except in Churches because it is considered to be a time of mourning..The shows on TV all have either a drama theme or a hope theme and the hours are very limited during the day only... The cable channels, of course, are still the same.. Local channels are the ones who mostly observe this.. Some establishments declare the whole week a holiday and some starts on Ash Wednesday... It is also a mark for school vacation so there's definitely not a lot of activity going on except for really urgent ones... This is more prevalent on Good Friday.. Meat are not being sold as much because fasting is supposed to be practiced by Catholics which meat is omitted from the diet... Seafoods go high because it becomes a necessity and marketable and also because of not a lot of vendors available to sell it due to the holiday as well...

house_music_addict

this is true to the provinces, but not in big metropolis like metro manila. in the provinces, even the babies are scolded for crying out loud.

battgirl

true. even during the '80s. it's only a decade ago when people start to travel to Boracay, Palawan, Tagaytay.. for Holy Week. Whatever happened to reflecting on Holy Week? I remember when I was young the only thing to do was sleep or watch the candles melt.

anna m

seems like an ordinary day to me (except the fact that major establishments are closed)

todays holy week is far off from what it was like during the 80's.

oragon daa?

.......?????? The people had no internet access,??????? no dvds or cds to watch.?????????? And all the music one could hear were slow mellow musics or instrumentals.Videoke were non existent then.

Internet, dvds and cds too were non existent then.

anyway, thats not the whole point

Ghost Town??
In today's point of view, yes it looks like one.
I was was then in my early teens in the late seventies.
holy week is not boring as what you imagine. There was a lot of church activities you can join.

alan

not like a ghost town. just few people walk around. now, very much diferent.

heartburn

you can run naked with nobody noticing you.

ken_r41

I have read the other answers and disagree for the most part. I think it all depends upon what location in the Philippines you are referring to.

I have lived and worked in Angeles City for more than six years from 1980 to 1988. Check this video link and tell me if this looks like a Ghost Town:http://tinyurl.com/ysgulf

mighty i

no!

Beth J

yep!

dave i am

I don't know, but I remember during '88 I was about 3 years old, during holy week, I was not allowed to go outside cause my mother told me that Christ is dead and getting an injury would be fatal because Christ would not be around to heal it... Well I could only imagine what the street looked like during those time

yuanyuan

You were told those were before the 1980's, why do you ask if it is still the same now? Why would they say "before the 1980's" if it is actually up to this time? Where's the logic?

Chaco

Definitely not. Although TV channels may have special programming (7th Heaven or movie marathons) radio stations still broadcast albeit with programmed lineup without any live DJs. Malls close from Maundy Thursday to Good Friday. Internet? no disruptions at all! Wet markets aint offerin meat? aint true! but they do close down early than usual especially around Thursday to Saturday. Its full blast to normality by Easter Sunday. Hope that clarified everythin.

the italian idol

maybe you mean metro manila, the entire philippines could not be a ghosttown, where would they all go? and even mmla was not a ghosttown, very few people but not a ghosttown

diego s

that would be cool if that happend.my mom is filipino and spaniard

Kami ay mga Dukha

no, no! of course no..

people just tend to go to province to meet the holy week

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