May 28, 2025
MANILA – A recent viral tweet showcased a comment that criticized Filipinos for “overdressing” when traveling, with others in the replies and quote tweets adding that these are the same people who also book “cheap” hotels and “only” fly with budget airlines, all punctuated with all-caps “hahas” and uncalled-for laughing emojis.
Some of these responses have since been deleted. Still, many ridiculed those who document their nice outfits and post them on social media, mocking how they are, apparently, “masquerading” for social media while, in reality, returning to their “have-not” status by opting for piso fare flights and more affordable accommodation.
While plenty were quick to pile on and laugh and call out people who were “triggered” by the comment, saying they know so many people who love to embellish when traveling but can’t afford to stay in a 5-star hotel, many others questioned why this “call-out” was necessary in the first place. They rightfully cited that what people did with their hard-earned money to indulge in a luxury was their business—why did people feel the need to comment on how they presented themselves when traveling?
To clap back at the post, several netizens showed off their travel outfits; shared their stories about saving up for months to afford the trip; and talked about how travel moments were rife with opportunities for photos, so why shouldn’t they make the effort to look good? There was pushback on the original post from many who tried to address the original commenter (whose social media is private) and asked why it was such a big deal for them anyway, and to leave fellow Filipinos just trying to enjoy their vacations and hard-fought escapes alone.
We all pay travel tax anyway
Since when was it cool to put someone down for taking part in an expensive luxury like travel when most of us are putting in the hard work to do it at all?
Filipinos (OFWs and some special cases excluded) have to pay travel tax when traveling internationally anyway—we’re all putting down hard-earned cash to reach our dream destinations. You’d think that having to pay taxes to travel would unite us rather than divide us, especially considering that other countries tax tourists and not their own countrymen for traveling.
According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, only about 110,000 Filipinos (aged 15 and over) traveled outside the country in 2022, with only about 62 percent of that number being for vacation purposes (others were for business or miscellaneous purposes). In 2022, the Philippine population was at a massive 114 million people. That is less than a percent of Filipinos traveling, and an even smaller number traveling for fun.
This argument over less than a percent of people choosing to dress a little differently from their everyday attire starts to sound ridiculous when the numbers put things into perspective.
If anything, for a people with a weak passport, limited options, and saddled with the additional burden of travel tax, we should celebrate each other’s opportunities to see the world. Instead, it becomes a competition online of who can humiliate those who deviate from a “norm.”
Gatekeeping travel
This discourse also revealed even deeper implications: that many upper-class Filipinos feel entitled to gatekeeping travel as a luxury only they can dabble in. They feel there is a “right way” to travel, one that aligns with spending more and staying in only the finest of establishments, eating the best food, and flying the most luxurious airlines. And if someone who doesn’t match them in social or class standing does it and deviates from expensive hotels and champagne in their plane seat, then they’re “doing it wrong” and should be humiliated for it.
The fact that these more affordable options exist directly contradicts this ideal. Travel has become more affordable and, therefore, more accessible. It shouldn’t be a rich kids’ playground, but something that people who aren’t in the upper echelons of society can aspire to as well. Seeing Mt. Fuji or tasting fried milk in Taipei should not be reserved for those who flew Emirates and stayed in penthouses. Hostels, budget trip packages, and flight sales exist to sate wanderlust without having to turn out your pockets completely and risk your lifestyle altogether. Those who live more modestly can still tick off places on their bucket list without worrying about forking over millions of pesos.
The wonders of the world do not discriminate against the have-nots. I assure you that Machu Picchu, the Great Wall of China, and even Brazil’s Christ the Redeemer do not care how much money you (or your parents) make. They also don’t care what you do or don’t wear. So if you have an opportunity to take a photo near the Tower of Pisa or a tilted-up panorama of the aurora borealis, and you want to match their beauty with your clothes, then do it. Don’t let some snotty kid online say you can’t.
Travel is a luxury—let’s not make it more difficult and more expensive by demanding people abide by made-up rules.
“Overdressing” is subjective
Many also commented that just because everyday dress for Filipinos is less elaborate and more simplistic (often jeans/shorts, a T-shirt, and simple shoes—and this varies too with different social classes, careers, and how the weather is), it doesn’t mean that deviating from this norm is already considered “overdressing.” And even if it is, that is another person’s agency, body, and comfort, not yours to pick apart or dissect.
And even without the lens of travel, those who dress differently face constant criticism here anyway. When kids in BGC were dressing up or embracing alternative subcultures and styles, they were made fun of, too. You don’t have to look far for people unnecessarily shaming other Filipinos for what they wear or “overdressing” in their eyes.
People complained about these kids “trying too hard” when going out with their friends, not needing all these long-sleeved shirts, boots, or hats. People prefaced their criticism by saying, “it’s way too hot to wear these” or “good luck sa init” even though many of these friend groups were inside where the aircon was. And even if they weren’t, it’s their comfort, not the dissenters’, so why all the fuss?
Anything that isn’t a T-shirt and shorts combo is considered too much already, and that in itself is pretty laughable.
There’s this obsession with the straight and narrow in Philippine society that anyone who tries to zig when others zag is immediately ridiculed, even if what they’re doing or wearing hurts exactly zero people. It doesn’t impede anyone’s agency, it doesn’t offend anybody, and it certainly doesn’t affect anyone’s day-to-day life. But in a culture that loves to point and laugh at difference (and has even cautioned against not blending in because it’s nakakahiya) and digs its heel into that humiliation, many feel the need to unhinge their jaws to laugh, even when it’s unnecessary, only because they have the time to.
This just feeds the shame machine that pressures everyone to conform. Filipinos operate in shame—in that we do most things to avoid it (even sometimes things that are against our principles), or we feel it very deeply when we are consumed by it. We refuse to disgrace ourselves and our families, so we conform even if it makes no sense and doesn’t affect anybody. This is often seen in shushing crying kids, in sweeping things under the rug (and refusing to talk things out), and in curating our lives to seem put-together. And when we do feel it, it is deep and gutting, sometimes outweighing what brought it on in the first place. So to avoid this feeling, we comply or risk being called out—even if the call-out is baseless, vicious, and unnecessary.
Do what you want, f*** the haters
When people make these callous “unpopular opinion” takes that try to strike down people who aren’t doing anything harmful, they’re often coming from a place of boredom, insensitivity, or downright bullying. These are bullies hiding behind anonymity with no better use of their time because tearing people down has become second nature to them.
We’re all forking over money we worked hard to earn in job environments that aren’t always the greatest after covering our bases with rent, food, and utilities. We’re all trying our hardest to see the wonders of the world that are constantly being shoved in our faces via social media algorithms, Reels, and TikToks telling us that they’re “must-sees” or “places to go before you die.” We’re all handing over that extra travel tax as a sprinkle of extra pesos on top of it all to witness what we’ve only ever dreamed of, seen on screens, or read about in books. Does it matter how we look doing it, where we stay for it, and what plane seat we sit for hours in to get to it?
What you put on your body to do and see these things is your prerogative. Some unkind stranger on the internet does not dictate what you can or can’t wear based on a norm rooted in a tropical country with a climate that favors a certain kind of wardrobe because of comfort. Be ornate, embellish yourself, seek out that means of expression through your clothes. The person laughing at you from the other side of the screen in some hateful anonymous comment isn’t going to do it, but that doesn’t mean you can’t.
If you want to lean into your photo ops in a place you’ve never been to before, then do it. Dress to match the Eiffel Tower. Sport a kimono in Kyoto. Get your nails done just to hold up your bowl of khao soi. Enjoy your trip the way you want, not the way others do.
Let people wear what they want when they travel. Whether it’s their first ever self-funded trip to Japan, a trip to Singapore for the Lady Gaga concert, or even a domestic trip, their clothes affect you in zero ways. So maybe it’s time to reevaluate your audacity or turn off your phone for a bit.
You decide.