Andrew E's Song 'Alabang Girls' Can Teach Us a Thing or Two About Economics

[_Cathy_]

It's true. I think the middle class grew a lot in the 2000s

Just a moment...

I removed the quote so it's easier to read:

It can sometimes be tricky to understand macro-economic concepts. We hear the terms GDP, inflation, debt and recession, among others, but many of us can’t really make sense of them and how they relate to us directly.

A Facebook user tried a more practical approach to help people understand at least one of these economic concepts. To illustrate the exponential growth of the middle class and purchasing power of the ordinary Filipino over the past 30 years, Jethro Trogo posted a status update using the lyrics of Andrew E’s song “Alabang Girls” as an example.

The song came out in 1992 and was part of Andrew E's extensive oeuvre from the era. It was a big radio hit, so much so that it was eventually turned into a movie, which featured the singer in the lead role, of course.

If you have trouble remembering the song, or have never heard of it at all, here’s a refresher:

And here are the full lyrics of the song:

S'ya'y isang girlie na mahilig mag-beach (yeah)
Mataas ang kanyang level at hindi mo siya ma-reach (uh-huh)
Taga-Forbes, taga-Dasma, ang hilig n'yang ka-mingle (really?)
Wala lamang mayaman 'pag ang ere n'ya, nag-jingle (uh)

Silang mga babae na bihirang ngumiti (ooh)
Walang kaguhit-guhit ang kanyang binti (is that so?)
Walang kaduda-duda, porselana'ng kanyang face (oh)
At 'pag s'ya'y ngumiti, up and down ang kanyang brace (say what?)

Kung, kung, kung s'ya'y pagmamasdan, s'ya'y cool na cool (cool)
Mas cooler pa sa water ng kanyang swimming pool (hm-mm)
At 'pag s'ya'y kausap na, malakas ang dating (oh)
Fav'rite hamburger, Burger King or nothing (nothing else)

Ang gusto n'ya, Kellogs, ayaw n'ya, Cheese Curls (that's true)
'Pag s'ya ay nag-party, suot na ang kanyang pearls (uh-huh)
Imposibleng hinding-hindi mo s'ya papansinin (why?)
'Pag nakita mo s'yang sakay ng kanyang limousine

Palagi n'yang hawak, kanyang cellular phone (really?)
Pabrika at kumpanya, things they own (oh, my God)
Baskin Robbins ang kanyang ice cream (what's that?)
At s'ya'y nagba-ballet pagdating ng dilim (oh)
Puro credit cards at wala s'yang cash (wow)

Laging kinu-curl ang kanyang eyelash (disgusting)
Kapag s'ya'y nasa mall, mga heads ay nagtu-twirl (really?)
Iba talaga'ng dating, ang galing ng Alabang Girl (yeah)


In a nutshell, the song talks about a well-off woman living in a swanky part of town (Alabang) and her penchant for the proverbial “finer things in life.”

Trogo calls it "the best pop cultural evidence of generational growth of the Filipino middle class.”

“This is how Andrew E portrays what he thinks means being the pinnacle rich during that time—Kellogg's Corn Flakes, Baskin Robbins, Burger King, credit cards, corrective braces, and mobile phones—almost all of these things are now considered middle class affairs, but at the time, true enough, were well out of a lot of Filipino families' reach.”

He’s right. None of the things mentioned in the song are particularly associated with just rich folk today. Heck, even the most socially disadvantaged living in depressed communities can afford things like flatscreen TVs and mobile phones these days.

“The 30-year economic boom afforded by the growth of OFW remittances, job outsourcing, the IT revolution, and the increasing competitiveness of the semiconductor industry have allowed for a new generation of middle class to arise—a class awash with previously nonexistent purchasing power and latent with an appetite for consumer goods and services.

“This in turn fueled the growth of retail, services, importation, and manufacturing that provided a healthy enough ecosystem to attract further investment into the industries, leading up to where we are today.”

Trogo’s point is clear: items that were once regarded as “luxury”—what Andrew E. considered posh and what he associated exclusively with the affluent—are now so common that they’ve lost their luster as status symbols. Growth in income and spending power, according to Trogo, also contributed to more people eventually being able to afford these so-called “luxury items.”

Who knows? The things we think are lavish and out-of-reach today—electric or hybrid cars, foie gras, trips to Boracay or Palawan—may be considered ordinary, perhaps even cheap, in another 30 years.

“Andrew E. likely never had economics in mind when he wrote his song, but it accidentally became a time capsule of sorts that offers us a snapshot of how big of a difference a matter of 30 years can make.

“Yeah, Alabang Girls."

What do you think?

Jethro Trogo
about 2 years ago
The best pop cultural evidence of generational growth of the Filipino middle class is Andrew E's rap song Alabang Girls. The song was released 30 years ago and describes a stereotypical rich girl.

This is how Andrew E portrays what he thinks means being the pinnacle rich during that time - Kellogg's Corn Flakes, Baskin Robbins, Burger King, credit cards, corrective braces, and mobile phones - almost all of these things are now considered middle class affairs, but at the time, true enough, were well out of a lot of Filipino families' reach.

The 30-year economic boom afforded by the growth of OFW remittances, job outsourcing, the IT revolution, and the increasing competitiveness of the semiconductor industry have allowed for a new generation of middle class to arise - a class awash with previously nonexistent purchasing power and latent with an appetite for consumer goods and services.

This in turn fueled the growth of retail, services, importation, and manufacturing that provided a healthy enough ecosystem to attract further investment into the industries, leading up to where we are today.

In the 30 years since the song has been released, the growth in income and spending power has allowed an unheard of number of families to jump economic classes and bring the bar of access lower for once luxury items to become middle class expenses.

Economic growth is slow and steady and can be quite hard to feel and observe without the correct perspective and data - no different from how plants and trees grow but occasionally we get reminders of how far we've gotten.

Andrew E likely never had economics in mind when he wrote his song, but it accidentally became a time capsule of sorts that offers us a snapshot of how big of a difference a matter of 30 years can make.

Yeah, Alabang Girls.

[uls]

tapos naiinis mga sosy sa mga bagong asenso haha

dahil mga bagong asenso walang pedigree

may pera pero walang breeding

kaya may class warfare which i've been pointing out sa mga election thread

rockwell class vs the sm class

[dr. d]

the original meaning of middle class,
you're not royalty, nor are you serf or peasant..
"you're in the middle."
hence the term.
la lang.

nowadays,
wee have sub-classes of middle class.
lower middle class,
upper middle class,
and the middle middle class.

what i see, is not the re-arrangement of middle class.
what i see, is the increased ready availability of goods, and using this affordable availability as part of the definition.

[_Cathy_]

the original meaning of middle class,
you're not royalty, nor are you serf or peasant..
"you're in the middle."
hence the term.
la lang.

nowadays,
wee have sub-classes of middle class.
lower middle class,
upper middle class,
and the middle middle class.

what i see, is not the re-arrangement of middle class.
what i see, is the increased ready availability of goods, and using this affordable availability as part of the definition.

Doc nung 90s travel abroad, nice cars and designer items were considered luxury. Now it's not.

Who makes me cringe so much? Yung internet rich Zeinab and her BF and all their posse. Poster couple ng tacky. I don't even want to know them but they've practically become household names The likes of them ruined a lot of brands

Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

[dr. d]

The likes of them ruined a lot of brands

Sent from my SM-N960F using Tapatalk

talaga?
were they sued by the brands that they ruined?
baka naman, perception lang yan at hindi naman talaga na-sira ang brands...

[_Cathy_]

talaga?
were they sued by the brands that they ruined?
baka naman, perception lang yan at hindi naman talaga na-sira ang brands...

I mean they made the brands tacky

True story doc, I was in the mall with my shopaholic friend and I asked her if she wanted to go to X store. She said no because X brand e favorite ng mga (can't say the word here haha). then a group of loud girls wearing X brand passed by, nagkatinginan kami and I said to her "spot on" So some people have stayed away from brands they deem have become tacky. I think that's the reason why some brands are raising their prices to trim their customer base further. Hindi talaga maalis na some people like exclusivity. That friend of mine, she comes from a good background, the type that a man's mother would approve of, pero yun lang she's a closeted snob (and I think a lot of people are!)

[uls]

talaga?
were they sued by the brands that they ruined?
baka naman, perception lang yan at hindi naman talaga na-sira ang brands...

"ruined a lot of brands"

luxury goods that only the rich (people with pedigree) can afford

ngayon madami walang pedigree kaya bumili ng luxury goods

kaya ruined brands

haha

[BratPAQ]

when this song came out only the rich can afford to carry mobile phones so it's a "status symbol" at that time.[emoji16]

[ice15]

when this song came out only the rich can afford to carry mobile phones so it's a "status symbol" at that time.[emoji16]

nung 90's, medyo masakit naman talaga sa bulsa yung 8pesos/minute calls.

[BratPAQ]

nung 90's, medyo masakit naman talaga sa bulsa yung 8pesos/minute calls.

When I 1st started owning smartphone during late 90s nasa 7 per minute sya, then later on na lang yata bumaba sa 6, then pag same network mas mura. Tapos free pa text noon, kaya mas uso ang text kaysa tawag, tapos miss call pang call ng attention pag hindi nag reply.

[ice15]

When I 1st started owning smartphone during late 90s nasa 7 per minute sya, then later on na lang yata bumaba sa 6, then pag same network mas mura. Tapos free pa text noon, kaya mas uso ang text kaysa tawag, tapos miss call pang call ng attention pag hindi nag reply.

hahaha.. 8 ako sa Smart. tapos wala pang text yung phone ko.

battery life is 2 calls lang

[thephantom]

When I 1st started owning smartphone during late 90s nasa 7 per minute sya, then later on na lang yata bumaba sa 6, then pag same network mas mura. Tapos free pa text noon, kaya mas uso ang text kaysa tawag, tapos miss call pang call ng attention pag hindi nag reply.

Free sms ba siya or parang 150 per month na you need to line up and pay extra? Hindi ko na maalala. Or maybe it was free at first then nagkaroon na ng charge for unlimited text and mostly it was several "good mornings" when you wake up and "goodnights" before sleeping. Yung number of greetings depende na lang on the capacity of the sim to store contacts.

[BratPAQ]

Free sms ba siya or parang 150 per month na you need to line up and pay extra? Hindi ko na maalala. Or maybe it was free at first then nagkaroon na ng charge for unlimited text and mostly it was several "good mornings" when you wake up and "goodnights" before sleeping. Yung number of greetings depende na lang on the capacity of the sim to store contacts.

Texting was an added value back then. Feature lang sya basta may load. Then napansin siguro ng telco na wala gumagamit ng calls puro free text lang kaya they started charging ng ₱1 per text. I remember dami nag rereklamo when they started charging text. I'm not sure about line, prepaid lang ako noon. ₱1k pa dati ang prepaid sim card noon. Dati magka kasunod pa numbers pag bumili ka. Magka sunod number namin mag asawa since sabay kami bumili.

[uls]

more pinoys umaasenso

Pinoy multi-millionaires to triple by 2030 ? HSBC | Philstar.com

MANILA, Philippines — British banking giant HSBC said the number of adults holding wealth of at least $250,000 would triple by 2030 amid the deepening pool of local savings providing a measure of resilience against external financial headwinds.

In a report titled “The Rise of Asian Wealth: Building Depth and Resilience,” HSBC chief Asia economist Frederic Neumann said economies that are growing more rapidly such as the Philippines tend to accumulate wealth faster.

“Economies that grow faster naturally accumulate wealth at a quicker pace,” Neumann said.

However, HSBC pointed out that faster growing economies often also tend to be poorer, thus starting off from a lower base.

It added that the Philippines, Vietnam, and India are expected to see more than double the number of adults holding wealth of at least $250,000.

“In these economies, in short, the middle class continues to expand rapidly. While this is often talked about in the context of growing consumer markets, where a rising share of household spending is deemed ‘discretionary’ (powering demand for things like cosmetics, cars, and computers), when it comes to wealth, this signifies growing demand for more sophisticated financial services, such as wealth and pension planning, and demand for insurance products,” the bank added.

The report showed that the number of adults with wealth of at least $250,000 would hit five million by 2030 and 8.1 million by 2035 from about 1.6 million last year.

The number is higher compared to Singapore’s 3.5 million but lower than Indonesia’s 16.8 million, Taiwan’s 11.4 million, Malaysia’s 9.9 million, Thailand’s 9.7 million, and Vietnam’s 6.4 million.

In terms of percentage share of population, HSBC said the number of adults in the Philippines with wealth of at least $250,000 would more than double to 6.2 percent by 2030 and 9.2 percent by 2035 from the current 2.4 percent.

On the other hand, the number of Filipino adults with wealth of at least $1 million is seen to quadruple to 400,000 by 2030 and 700,000 by 2035 from the current 100,000.

In terms of share of population, it is projected to increase to 0.6 percent by 2030 and 0.8 percent by 2035 from the current 0.2 percent.

HSBC said that the Philippines would book the sixth fastest projected growth in aggregated financial wealth between 2022 and 2030, after Vietnam India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and China.

The country is projected to grow its gross domestic product (GDP) by 6.5 to 7.5 percent this year after emerging from the pandemic-induced recession with a 5.7 percent expansion last year that reversed the 9.6 percent contraction in 2020.

GDP expanded by 7.8 percent in the first half of the year despite the disappointing 7.4 percent growth in the second quarter that was slower than the 8.2 percent recorded in the first quarter of the year.

[Yatta]

It's true. I think the middle class grew a lot in the 2000s

Just a moment...

I removed the quote so it's easier to read:

It can sometimes be tricky to understand macro-economic concepts. We hear the terms GDP, inflation, debt and recession, among others, but many of us can’t really make sense of them and how they relate to us directly.

A Facebook user tried a more practical approach to help people understand at least one of these economic concepts. To illustrate the exponential growth of the middle class and purchasing power of the ordinary Filipino over the past 30 years, Jethro Trogo posted a status update using the lyrics of Andrew E’s song “Alabang Girls” as an example.

The song came out in 1992 and was part of Andrew E's extensive oeuvre from the era. It was a big radio hit, so much so that it was eventually turned into a movie, which featured the singer in the lead role, of course.

If you have trouble remembering the song, or have never heard of it at all, here’s a refresher:

And here are the full lyrics of the song:

S'ya'y isang girlie na mahilig mag-beach (yeah)
Mataas ang kanyang level at hindi mo siya ma-reach (uh-huh)
Taga-Forbes, taga-Dasma, ang hilig n'yang ka-mingle (really?)
Wala lamang mayaman 'pag ang ere n'ya, nag-jingle (uh)

Silang mga babae na bihirang ngumiti (ooh)
Walang kaguhit-guhit ang kanyang binti (is that so?)
Walang kaduda-duda, porselana'ng kanyang face (oh)
At 'pag s'ya'y ngumiti, up and down ang kanyang brace (say what?)

Kung, kung, kung s'ya'y pagmamasdan, s'ya'y cool na cool (cool)
Mas cooler pa sa water ng kanyang swimming pool (hm-mm)
At 'pag s'ya'y kausap na, malakas ang dating (oh)
Fav'rite hamburger, Burger King or nothing (nothing else)

Ang gusto n'ya, Kellogs, ayaw n'ya, Cheese Curls (that's true)
'Pag s'ya ay nag-party, suot na ang kanyang pearls (uh-huh)
Imposibleng hinding-hindi mo s'ya papansinin (why?)
'Pag nakita mo s'yang sakay ng kanyang limousine

Palagi n'yang hawak, kanyang cellular phone (really?)
Pabrika at kumpanya, things they own (oh, my God)
Baskin Robbins ang kanyang ice cream (what's that?)
At s'ya'y nagba-ballet pagdating ng dilim (oh)
Puro credit cards at wala s'yang cash (wow)

Laging kinu-curl ang kanyang eyelash (disgusting)
Kapag s'ya'y nasa mall, mga heads ay nagtu-twirl (really?)
Iba talaga'ng dating, ang galing ng Alabang Girl (yeah)


In a nutshell, the song talks about a well-off woman living in a swanky part of town (Alabang) and her penchant for the proverbial “finer things in life.”

Trogo calls it "the best pop cultural evidence of generational growth of the Filipino middle class.”

“This is how Andrew E portrays what he thinks means being the pinnacle rich during that time—Kellogg's Corn Flakes, Baskin Robbins, Burger King, credit cards, corrective braces, and mobile phones—almost all of these things are now considered middle class affairs, but at the time, true enough, were well out of a lot of Filipino families' reach.”

He’s right. None of the things mentioned in the song are particularly associated with just rich folk today. Heck, even the most socially disadvantaged living in depressed communities can afford things like flatscreen TVs and mobile phones these days.

“The 30-year economic boom afforded by the growth of OFW remittances, job outsourcing, the IT revolution, and the increasing competitiveness of the semiconductor industry have allowed for a new generation of middle class to arise—a class awash with previously nonexistent purchasing power and latent with an appetite for consumer goods and services.

“This in turn fueled the growth of retail, services, importation, and manufacturing that provided a healthy enough ecosystem to attract further investment into the industries, leading up to where we are today.”

Trogo’s point is clear: items that were once regarded as “luxury”—what Andrew E. considered posh and what he associated exclusively with the affluent—are now so common that they’ve lost their luster as status symbols. Growth in income and spending power, according to Trogo, also contributed to more people eventually being able to afford these so-called “luxury items.”

Who knows? The things we think are lavish and out-of-reach today—electric or hybrid cars, foie gras, trips to Boracay or Palawan—may be considered ordinary, perhaps even cheap, in another 30 years.

“Andrew E. likely never had economics in mind when he wrote his song, but it accidentally became a time capsule of sorts that offers us a snapshot of how big of a difference a matter of 30 years can make.

“Yeah, Alabang Girls."

What do you think?

Which kind of flies in the face of Andrew E's benefactor's claim of a Golden Age pre-1986.

[_Cathy_]

when this song came out only the rich can afford to carry mobile phones so it's a "status symbol" at that time.[emoji16]

I still remember yung mobile phones na yung battery halos kasing laki ng battery ng car. My successful Uncle had that, we were in awe. hahaha!

Which kind of flies in the face of Andrew E's benefactor's claim of a Golden Age pre-1986.

small circle ang mayayaman that time

[dr. d]

... puro credit cards at walang cash...

that's not rich!
that's... mis-guided optimism!
heh heh.

[uls]

... puro credit cards at walang cash...

that's not rich!
that's... mis-guided optimism!
heh heh.

doc madami mapera ngayon