The Price We Need to Pay

I am a techie. I like gadgets and I enjoy learning various details about them. I think men are inherently audio-visual, and gadgets, with their inherent appeal to the senses and fancy specifications are natural temptations.

I am also a prudent shopper. I study my purchases well. I canvass for the best prices and scrutinize products for the quality that I want. I rarely buy on impulse.

So imagine me trying to buy a new laptop, one of the most complex gadgets in the market. It takes me ages to make a choice. My approach is systematic, taking into consideration every facet of the product. I prioritize over my preferences for mobility, computing power, cost and brand quality. I read reviews online and ask my fellow techie friends for their opinion. It looks like a lot of work but surprisingly, I actually find it fun.

Last August, I was finally able to buy my laptop. After months of intensive research and canvassing, I finally committed to a Toshiba M600-E630 Portegé. It’s a sleek 13” laptop balancing portability with processing juice. This was my second choice though. I actually wanted a Sony 11” TZ series Viao. But the darn thing was priced at 150,000 Php. Even with the promotional discount of 25,000 for cash purchases (and I cannot pay in cash), I was still not prepared to pay 125,000 Php for a laptop. So I decided to go for the Toshiba instead.

Now it turns out that the same Vaio is available in Malaysia at a price equivalent to 90,000 Php and at Singapore for the price of 85,000 Php. When I found out about this, I actually felt bad, not because I felt I could have bought my laptop there (because I still could not) but because I felt bad for the Filipinos who have no other choice but to purchase expensive electronic products.

It’s not just laptops. Almost all electronic products are cheaper in a lot of our Asian neighbours. It’s cheaper in Singapore, Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China ... it’s even a bit cheaper in Malaysia, Thailand and unless I heard wrong, Vietnam. On behalf of my fellow techies, I really cannot help but feel bad.

My guess is that is has to do something with the taxes. A lot is imposed on imported products that by the time it ends up on our stores, they have almost doubled their original price. But then again, don’t we have trade liberalization agreements that prohibit excessive tax imposition? Besides, normally, you tax excessively to protect the local market. That would be strange considering that I have yet to hear of a Philippine laptop brand.

Perhaps our legislators have a different definition of the word “excessive”.

Ah, perhaps indeed.

- Elgene L. C. Feliciano