Holiday cheer despite miseries
Filipinos have always prided themselves on having the longest Christmas season in the world—from September when carols gleefully sneak into the malls’ sound system, to January, with the first Sunday designated as the Feast of the Three Kings.
This year though, the celebration around what most people—especially children—look forward to as the happiest day of the year—has noticeably become muted, tempered, and more reflective.
And it isn’t just that the monstrous traffic—expected but still frustrating—has put a damper on the spirit of the season. It’s that the ongoing probe on anomalous flood control projects has all but deflated our good cheer, as does the thought that billions of pesos lost to corruption had further shrunk the average Filipino’s already limited basket of goods and services.
It doesn’t help that the controversial death of a former public works official implicated in the shady deals has triggered a foreboding of doom. What secrets did she take to the grave? Has the pressure to reveal everything she knew been so relentless, and matters so hopeless and desperate that death seemed the only way out?
Just as grim is the struggle against inflation and rising prices experienced in most Filipino households, as indicated in the latest insights on consumer behavior by the TransUnion Consumer Pulse Survey.
Inflation and job security
The credit insights firm operating in more than 30 countries released a quarterly survey that assesses changes in consumers’ personal finances and their expectations for the future, mapping trends in income, debt, and financial identity.
TransUnion’s latest survey shows more Filipinos scaling back on holiday expenses this year, with inflation and job security named as the two main financial concerns pulling them back from the usual indulgences of the season.
The report covered the fourth quarter of the year, with 961 respondents from Generation Z to Baby Boomers.
TransUnion noted that 81 percent of respondents cited inflation as their main concern, as it rose to a six-month high of 1.7 percent in September before easing to 1.5 percent in November.
More than half, or 57 percent of respondents, identified job security as another worrying issue. The Philippine Statistics Authority has reported that unemployment spiked to 5 percent in October, the second-highest level in three years, despite the expected increase in seasonal hiring because of more holiday shoppers. This translates to 2.54 million unemployed individuals in October 2025, higher than the 1.97 million figure in October last year.
Practical optimism
While the trend “mirrors the wider economy,” Filipino consumers “are managing spending more pragmatically … a sign of practical optimism. People are still participating in the economy, but they are doing so on their own terms and with greater financial intent,” said Weihan Sun, principal of research and consulting for Asia Pacific at TransUnion.
Notwithstanding the restrained, more cautious spending, Filipinos have actively resisted being boxed within the Department of Trade and Industry’s (DTI) tone-deaf and insensitive suggestion of a P500 “noche buena” that many consider as an insult and a slap in the face.
Why should that measly budget be the standard when Filipinos certainly deserve much more, especially on this most celebrated occasion of the year? Already forced to stretch their minimal daily wages to cover basic necessities, why should they be expected to sacrifice even on Christmas when they look forward to a well-deserved break from life’s difficulties?
While the idea of a P500 noche buena was based on DTI’s price guide on common food items that it insisted could grace the festive table, the issue here is not price but dignity.
Shortage of optimism
Why confine ordinary folk to a subsistence meal, while public officials and contractors involved in the scandal-ridden flood control projects flaunt ostentatious lifestyles on taxpayer money?
But trust the Filipino’s unsinkable spirit that’s not about to be defeated by the government’s out of touch and unrealistic expectations. There may be less resources to go around, but always communal sharing, especially with family and loved ones, have prevailed. Weeks before this red-letter day, airports, bus terminals, and ports have been bursting at the seams with holidaymakers homebound across the islands.
The sentiment this season may be “cautious, but not fearful,” TransUnion noted. “The overall picture is one of families coping with familiar strain but keeping confidence in their ability to manage—a tone of watchful stability that defined much of the 2025 outlook … [and] continues to define the consumer landscape as 2026 approaches.”
Indeed, there is no shortage of optimism, boundless holiday cheer, and unflagging efforts among Filipinos to make Christmas, despite the sometimes daunting constraints, still the “most wonderful time of the year.”
