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It's more emotional in the Philippines, says US pollster


A survey by US research firm Gallup ranks the Philippines the most emotional society in the world—not at all a surprise for a country where a senator ends his privilege speech in tears, another senator becomes a byword as much for hilarious pick-up lines as for her heated outbursts on the senate floor, and where everyone loves a good melodramatic teleserye. According to a report on Businessweek, Gallup polled over 140 countries, asking respondents questions that reveal emotions—for example: "Did you feel well rested yesterday?" or "Did you smile or laugh a lot yesterday?" The poll also asked respondents if they experienced certain emotions such as worry, sadness, stress, anger, enjoyment, or physical pain. Based on the results, 60 percent of Filipino respondents answered the questions in the affirmative—the highest rate among all the countries surveyed. Meanwhile, Singapore came in as the least emotional society, with only 36 percent of respondents answering the questions affirmatively. “If you measure Singapore by the traditional indicators, they look like one of the best-run countries in the world,” said Gallup partner Jon Clifton in the Businessweek report. “But if you look at everything that makes life worth living, they’re not doing so well.” The result of the Gallup survey doesn't necessarily mean that Filipinos are the happiest people in the world—emotions, after all, refer to both positive and negative feelings. In a global study published in October, the Philippines was counted among the least happy countries, ranking 103rd out of 155 surveyed countries in the 2012 World Happiness Report. Emotional Filipinos also reportedly suffer the highest incidence of depression in Southeast Asia. Perhaps still not surprisingly, a slew of Latin American countries joins the Philippines at the top of the emotional heap: El Salvador came in second place, Colombia came in fourth, and Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Bolivia, Ecuador, Dominican Republic, Peru, and Nicaragua came in fifth place. Rounding out the top five spots are Bahrain in third place, Oman tying with Colombia for fourth, and Canada and the US helping to form a 10-way tie for fifth. — Amanda Lago/BM, GMA News

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