Auch in eigentlich rein geschäftlichen Angelegenheiten zählen die persönlichen Beziehungen. Beim Einkauf auf dem Markt zieht der Käufer Läden vor, wo man ihn freundlich behandelt, bevorzugt bedient, ihm nur Waren bester Qualität anbietet, besondere Preise macht und der Stammkundschaft eventuell sogar Kredit ("utang") einräumt. Diese zwischen Kunden und Marktverkäufern weitverbreitete Beziehung wird "suki" genannt. Ich habe dies bei meinen Marktbesuchen von Anfang an schätzen gelernt.
Personal relationships also count in purely business matters. When shopping at the market, the buyer looks for shops where he/she is treated in a friendly manner, preferably served, only offers goods of the best quality, makes special prices and possibly even gives credit ("utang")to the regular customer. This widespread relationship between customers and market vendors is the so-called "suki". I learned to appreciate this from the very beginning when I visited my market after moving to the Philippines for good.
The word palengke is a local variant of the Spanish word palenque, literally meaning "(wooden) palisade or stockade" and by extension the area enclosed by such a structure for defense, public festivals or some other purpose. The Spanish word is also used to describe a pathway or cluster of tables set up at some place of gathering such as a theatre, tournament or market, and it is from this latter sense that palengke likely derives its usage in the Filipino context.
A palengke is usually composed of several dozen stalls arranged in rows under a shared roof. Management is usually by the local governmental units whose jurisdiction encompasses the physical location of the markets. Certain pieces of legislation, however, such as the Cooperatives Code (RA 7160) and the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (RA 8435) have prescribed that management of the markets be accomplished through cooperatives. There is little control over the day-to-day management of individual stalls, including commodity pricing. This has resulted in what has been called "palengke mechanics". A cited example would be the price of chicken during the local 2007 holiday season; lack of demand for the product resulted in prices going up rather than down. It was stated that this was the result of local retailers raising prices to recover financial losses from low demand. The Philippine government retains some control over the price of some commodities sold in palengkes, especially critical foods such as rice. The National Food Authority calls this regulation campaign (specifically for rice), Palengke Watch.
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