It’s tough to take a hard line on rule of law here in the Philippines. We live in a culture that flouts laws and regulations regularly: have you seen the jeepneys that load passengers right in front of “No Loading/Unloading” signs, or the people that smoke beside “No Smoking” signs?

I get so disappointed every time I see something wrong and nothing done about it either due to apathy, or due to corruption. This really hit home today when I came down to the parking area through my condo elevator and saw stacks of grocery goods waiting to be carted up to the commercial-scale minimart operating inside my residential condo.

I already sent a letter of complaint to the developer, DMCI Homes, but didn’t receive any response on it. So I’m publishing my complaint letter here on my blog (with some redactions to preserve privacy) in hopes that this wakes up the head honchos to do something about this mess.

Why I even have to resort to public shaming to get wheels moving is a uniquely Filipino trait. There needs to be a threat of bad publicity before anything is done, both in the public and private sector. Hay nako.

UPDATE: A few days after I wrote this blog post, a circular was sent to all residents advising them not to patronize the store because it had already been served with a final and demand notice. Last week, the store closed and all its stock was removed.

I’m hoping that’s the end of it, so I’ve removed my complaint letter from this post.