Philippines Guides & Tips

7 Unusual Filipino
Practices Most
Foreigners Won’t
Understand

Holy Week crucifixion ceremonies in Pampanga, Philippines | ©

istolethetv / Flickr

KATRINA ESCALONA
UPDATED: 26 AUGUST 2017

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Even with the internet and the access to

countless guides, blogs, and articles
dedicated to travel, there are always
going to be new things for travellers to
encounter upon visiting foreign countries.
These include cultural practices
completely unfamiliar to them. The
Philippines has quite a few, so here’s a
guide to understanding these Filipino
habits.

Pagmamano

A scene that may seem rather peculiar to the

foreign traveller is when Filipino children
come up to their parents or grandparents
upon arriving home or seeing them, and
instead of greeting them with a hug or a kiss,
they take the elder’s hand and places the
back of it to their forehead. This gesture is
known as pagmamano. It is an act of respect,
usually done to someone either older or a
person of the religious order (usually a priest).
It is usually accompanied by saying ‘mano po’,
mano meaning ‘hand’ in Spanish and po, a
particle in Filipino speech used to express
respect. This saying is used to ask for the
elder’s hand, followed by a slight bow and the
act of touching the hand to the forehead.
People do this action as if to receive the
elder’s blessing, to which they would normally
reply, ‘God bless you’. Pagmamano is like the
Filipino counterpart to Japan’s bowing and
Spain’s double cheek kiss.

The act of pagmamano © DenAsuncioner / Flickr

‘Filipino Time’

While many Filipinos have recognised this

unfavourable stereotype and are making
attempts to change it, the country is still quite
known for running on what is known as
‘Filipino time’, which is essentially a
euphemism for saying that Filipinos are
always late. When Filipinos agree on a
specific time, say for a meeting or an event, it
is, more often than not, understood to actually
mean around 15 minutes to half an hour after
the agreed upon time. So don’t be surprised
when Filipino gatherings almost always turn
out to begin later than planned.

Inability to say ‘no’

A Filipino quirk that many a time frustrates

foreigners as much as it confuses them is
when locals refuse to give an outright decline
or negation. Filipinos, in general, don’t like
confrontations, and many avoid saying ‘no’ at
all costs. Instead, they’ll give the Tagalog
equivalent to a ‘maybe’, an ‘alright, we’ll see’,
or an ‘I’ll try.’ So should a Filipino be invited to
a gathering, and he says ‘I’ll try,’ there’s a
50/50 chance he won’t make an appearance.
Pay attention to the words they use and their
tone of delivery – you’ll soon recognise what
a Filipino ‘no’ sounds like.

Child in Puerto Galera, Philippines © Jun Acullador / Flickr

Being both religious and

superstitious

The country’s transitional history under

different foreign colonisers brought with it
varying influences, including that of religion
and belief systems. During pre-colonial times,
the area of what is now known as the
Philippine archipelago practised a form of
animism. Archaeological research also found
traces of Buddhism. Then, when the Spanish
came, massive movements to convert
Filipinos to Christianity took place, leaving the
country to this day with a majority of its
population Roman Catholic. And with many
Filipinos possessing Chinese ancestry, they
have adopted belief systems from that culture
as well. This diversity is why the Philippines is
so unique in its spiritual aspects. It’s a country
with millions of devotees cramming the
streets of Manila during the Feast of the Black
Nazarene and with people actually flagellating
and crucifying themselves during Holy Week
Good Friday. However, it’s also a country with
people who refuse to go directly home after a
wake (for fear that the spirit follows them
home) and forbid that the weddings of two
immediate family members fall within the
same year (in fear of bad luck).

Feast of the Black Nazarene © Denvie Balidoy / Flickr

Rare use of first names

Respect is essential in Filipino culture. There

are even particles of speech in Tagalog, such
as ‘po’ and ‘op’, that are used to express
politeness when speaking to elders. In fact,
these two words and their usage are taught to
children from a very young age so that they
may get used to it and grow up knowing how
to speak with respect. This high regard for
honour is also the reason that there are titles
used to politely address other people. First
names are almost exclusively used for your
peers of around the same age. For older
people, there are titles such as ate (older
sister), kuya (older brother), tito (uncle), tita
(aunt), lolo (grandfather), and lola
(grandmother), all of which are used
depending on the age of the person you’re
addressing, regardless of whether or not they
are actually related to you.

Typical table utensils are spoons

and forks

Usually, a very basic table set-up anywhere

else in the world includes a knife and a fork.
People will only see a spoon if there will be
some soup and a teaspoon for desserts. In the
Philippines, however, unless harder, larger
cuts of meat are part of the meal, the knife is
unnecessary, and a spoon takes its place.
Filipinos use forks and spoons essentially
because almost every meal always includes
rice. The spoon is much more useful in
carrying the rice and other food items, and the
fork is used simply to push them onto the
spoon.

Filipino breakfast with spoon and fork © Mabelleaf / Flickr

Greeting someone with ‘Have

you eaten?’

Perhaps to say the Filipino day (and life)

revolves around food would not be too big of
an overstatement. This country is a largely
food-loving one. With three huge meals a day,
several snacks in between, and every event
throughout the year celebrated with a feast—
food is at the heart of everything Filipino; this
is the main reason Filipinos are very fond of
greeting with ‘Kumain ka na ba?’ (‘Have you
eaten?’). They’ll invite you to join them for a
meal or snack, or they’ll simply feed you,
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especially if it’s an elder asking you, (they
really do take sheer joy in doing so). So if you
come across a Filipino and he greets you with
one of these instead of a ‘how’s it going?’, he
isn’t being nosy about your eating habits; this
is simply a very common way for Filipinos to
greet one another.

Happy Filipina holding plates of food © Deejaymarlon / Flickr

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