The 'Queue' and A' of Shortcuts

There's something about a queue that sparks Filipino ingenuity. We don't just line up, we hack the system. Moms stake out parking slots with their bodies, pews are 'reserved' with Bibles, bags or umbrellas for companions still navigating traffic.

- RICARDO T. PAMINTUAN

I saw it again on election day, the long and winding lines of people with umbrellas and hats, anxiously waiting to enter the polling precinct. Together with my wife and son, we had arrived really early, hoping to beat the rush. We were ushered into the priority voting area, but by the time we cast our ballots and stepped outside, the queue had already wrapped around the block.

Wait. Line? Queue?

Here in the Philippines, we use both words interchangeably. It's one of the many quirks of our multi-cultural adaptation, like Hollywood meets BBC.

Simply put, "queue" is just a "line" wearing a bow tie and top hat. Queue has four superfluous letters that feel like they're standing in line themselves, waiting for their turn to matter. Why not just "Q"? Like the voting process, it's almost as if the word itself is testing our patience.

Patience, as it turns out, is not exactly our national strong suit.

Filipinos and lines have never really gotten along. We know they exist. We respect their purpose, for they represent order. But we also eye them warily, like that one strict high school teacher who made us learn, but also gave us PTSD: mentor and tormentor, Jedi and Sith, rolled into one. We admire lines from a safe distance and judge those who cross them.

There's something about a queue that sparks Filipino ingenuity. We don't just line up, we hack the system. Moms stake out parking slots with their bodies, pews are "reserved" with Bibles, bags or umbrellas for companions still navigating traffic, and toddlers are stationed to "hold" tables at packed inasal joints. By their teens, the kids know the drill: They stand in checkout lines beside a queue of empty carts, while mom zips through the aisles, dropping items in the carts, one by one, as she circles the store, ending precisely just as it's their turn to pay.