Meaning and

Nature of Values
“ A Product of Eastern and Western Cultures.”
 Three Aggrupations:

• They are the Vatican with Respect to faith and

morals.
The conference of Islamic Nations with respect
to national integration and / or segregation.
 And the United States of America with
respect to business, industry and economy.
“ A filipino has an American mind,
Spanish
heart, and Malay roots.”
 “Value” comes from the latin word
valere which means to be “strong and
vigorous.”
According to Edgar Shefield
Brightman’s Personalistic Value
Theory,
 Value means ‘’ whatever is
actually liked , prized esteemed ,
desired , approved or enjoy by
anyone at anytime.It is actual
experience of enjoying a desired
object or activity.Hence value is
an existing realization of desired.
•Values are our ideas of right or wrong,
good and bad, to which we are
committed and which influence our
everyday behavior an decisions.

•Values are standards of which group or

society judges the desirability and
importance of person, ideas, action
and goals.

•Values are shared conviction or beliefs

in what are considered contributory to
the welfare of the group.
 B. The Filipino Value System
 Cultural Values-
are shared assumption of what is right , good ,
or important.

 Values actually guide’s mans behavior and

action as they relate with others in most
situation in life.
 Personally the Filipinos value more their
honor(karangalan) and status than anything else.
Socially the Filipinos give more emphasis on
social relationships.
They engage themselves in mutual cooperation,
which is best pictured through the Bayanihan.
Bayanihan is coined from the root word
“bayad” which means to pay, and refers to
the asking for payment for service done
when there is not supposed to be any fees;
Bayanihan means “tulungan sa isang
gawain.”
Smooth Interpersonal Relationship (SIR) is
the strong cultural force among Filipino in
their effort to achieve social acceptance and
maintain harmonious relationships
The home environment

The social environment

Culture and Language

History
The educational system
 Filipino
Values and
Moral
Development

Strengths and Weaknesses of the

Filipino Character
 What are there in the
Pinoy Character that
makes us strong as a
people?

Atik!! Naa

Strength
kaha?

s in the
Filipino
Characte
r
Filipinos - open to others and feel one with others
regard others with dignity and respect
deal with them as fellow human beings.
Hospitality
• sensitivity to people’s
feelings (pakikiramdam)
• pagtitiwala or trust
• sense of gratitude or utang
na loob.
• very dependent on
interpersonal relationships;
gives sense of security
• camaraderie and a feeling of
closeness to one another.

Pakikipagkapwa-tao is a foundation for

unity as well the sense of social justice.
Pakikipagkapwa-tao
• basic sense of justice and
fairness
• concern for others.
• ability to empathize with
others
The greatest influence in the
formation of cultural value is the
family.
Filipinos possess a genuine •source of personal identity,
and deep love for family emotional and material support and
•one’s main commitment and
responsibility
 honor and respect given to parents and elders;
care given to the children; the generosity towards
kin in need, and in great sacrifices one endures
for the welfare of the family.
3. Joy and humor
 • Filipinos have a cheerful and fun-loving approach to
life and its ups and downs

…pleasant disposition, a sense of humor and a propensity

for happiness that contribute not only to the Filipino charm
but also to the indomitability of the Filipino spirit.
Laughing at ourselves and the mess we are in is
an important coping mechanism. ..playful,
sometimes, disrespectful, we laugh at those we
love and at those we hate and we make jokes
about our good fortune and bad.
4.Flexibility, Adaptability and
Creativity
We can adjust and to adapt to circumstances and
the surrounding environment, both physical and
social; adjusts to whatever happens even in
unplanned or anticipated events.
We possess a tolerance for
ambiguity that enables us to
remain unfazed by uncertainly
or lack of information.
• creative, resourceful, quick
learners; can improvise and
make use of whatever is at hand
in order to create and produce
• accepts change; adapts to life in
any part of the world, in the
ability to make new things out of
old scraps
Who says
Pinoys are
lazy?
• We have the capacity for hard work given proper conditions;
• to raise one’s standard of living and to possess the essentials of a
decent life for one’s family
• We are willing to take the
risks with jobs abroad and,
while there, to work at two or
three jobs.
• The result is productivity and
entrepreneurship for some and
survival despite poverty for
others
 6. Faith and Religiosity
Filipinos have deep faith in
God.
Have
FAITH
IN GOD
• Our innate religiosity
enables us to
comprehend and
genuinely accept
reality in the context
of God’s will and
plan.
• Religious expressions
is very tangible
expressed everyday;
we relate to God like a
human being –
threaten, thank, ask
forgiveness, appease
by pledges.
• tragedy and bad fortune
are accepted and some
optimism characterizes
even the poorest lives.
• related to bahala na
which may be considered
positively as a reservoir
of psychic energy, a
psychological prop on
which we can lean during
hard times.

This pampalakas ng loob

allows us to act despite
uncertainty.
Faith and Religiosity
Our faith and daring was manifest
at EDSA and other times in our
history even when it was difficult to
be brave
• Our faith and daring was manifest
at EDSA and other times in our
history; seen in the capacity to
accept failure and defeat
• we recognize forces external to
ourselves as contributing to how
events in our lives turn out.

The results of the Filipino’s faith

are courage, daring optimism,
inner peace, as well as the
capacity to genuinely accept
tragedy and death.
7. Ability to Survive
• Filipinos have an
ability to survive.

• Filipinos make do
with what is
available in the
environment.

…basic optimism,
flexibility and
adaptability, hard
work and a deep
faith in God.
 It is manifested in the millions of Filipinos who
bravely live through the harshest economic and
social circumstances. What we might be able to
do under better circumstances?
8. Resiliency
 COUNTLESS CATASTROPHES
VOLCANIC ERUPTION ENDLESS WARS IN MINDANAO

FLASH FLOODS landslides TYPHOON

 What about weaknesses
in character?

Daghan pod oy!

Weaknesses in the Pamalandungi ,dong.

Filipino CharacterS
1. Extreme Personalism
Filipinos view the world in terms of
personal relationship

Hoy, kung galit ka

sa akin, wag mong Hoy, bata!
pagalitan ang Hindi dito
bata! tinatapon ang
basura!
Filipinos view the world in terms of
personal relationships; no separation
between an objective task and emotional
involvement.
We tend to give
personal
interpretations to
actions, i.e., “take
things
personally”.

Thus, a sincere question

may be viewed as a
challenge to one’s
competence or positive
feedback may be
interpreted as a sign of
special affection.
There is in fact some basis
for such interpretations as
Filipinos are quite personal
in criticism and praise.

Personalism is also
manifested in the necessity
for the establishment of
personal relationships
before any business or
work relationships can be
successful.
2 Extreme Personalism
Because of this personalistic world view,
Filipinos have difficulty dealing with all forms of
personal stimuli.
We tend to be
uncomfortable
with bureaucracy,
with rules and
regulations and
with standard
procedures, all of
which tend to be
impersonal.

we tend to ignore
them or we ask for
exceptions..
 Personal contacts
are involved in any
transaction and
these are difficult to
turn down.

Preference is usually
given to family and
friends in hiring,
delivery of services
and even in voting.
Extreme personalism thus leads to the
graft and corruption evident in Philippine
society.
3.Extreme Family Centeredness
Excessive concern
for the family
creates an in-group
to which the
Filipino is fiercely
loyal to the
detriment of
concern for the
larger community
or for the common
good.
 Excessive concern for
family manifests itself in
the use of one’s office
and power as a means of
promoting the interest of
the family, factionalism,
patronage and political
dynasties, and in the
protection of erring
family members.
Family centeredness results to a lack of concern for
the common good and acts as a block to national
consciousness.
4. Lack of Discipline
The Filipino’s lack of
discipline is manifests in a
casual and relaxed attitude
towards time and space
which manifests itself in lack
of precision and
compulsiveness, in poor time
management and
procrastination.

an aversion for following

strictly a set of procedures
and this results in lack of
standardization and quality
control.
We are impatient and unable
to delay gratification or
reward, resulting in the use
of short-cuts, in skirting the
rules (the palusot syndrome)
and in foolhardiness.

We are guilty of ningas

cogon, starting out projects
with full vigor and interest
which abruptly die down
leaving things unfinished.
Our lack of discipline often results in efficient and
wasteful work systems violations of rules leading to
more serious transgressions and a casual work ethic
leading to carelessness and lack of follow-through.
5. Passivity and Lack of
Initiative
Filipinos are generally
passive and lacking in
initiative.

There is strong
reliance on others
(e.g., leaders,
government) to do
things for us related to
our need for a strong
authority.
 Filipinos tend to
be complacent
and there rarely
is a sense of
urgency about
any problem.

There is high tolerance for inefficiency, poor service

and even violations of one’s basic rights. In many
ways, it can be said that the Filipino is too patient
and long suffering (matiisin).
 Too easily resigned to one’s fate.
Filipinos are thus easily oppressed and
exploited.
6. Colonial Mentality
Filipinos have a
colonial mentality
which is made up
of two
dimensions: the
first is a lack of
patriotism or an
active awareness,
appreciation and
love of the
Philippines; the
second is an
actual preference
for things foreign.
 Filipino culture is
characterized by an
openness to the
outside—adapting
and incorporating
the foreign elements
into our image of
ourselves - not built
around a deep core
of Philippine history
and language.
The result is cultural
vagueness or
weakness that makes
Filipinos extraordinarily
susceptible to the
wholesale acceptance
of modern mass culture
which is often Western.
Thus there is
preference for foreign
fashion, entertainment,
lifestyles, technology,
consumer items, etc.
The Filipino colonial
mentality is
manifested in the
alienation of the elite
from their roots and
from the masses as
well as in the basic
feeling of national
inferiority that makes
it difficult for Filipinos
to relate as equals to
Westerners.
7. Kanya-Kanya Syndrome
Filipinos have a selfish, self-serving attitude that
generates a feeling of envy and competitiveness
toward others, particularly one’s peers who
seem to have gained some status or prestige.
 The kanya-kanya
syndrome is also
evident in the
personal ambition
and the drive for
power and status
that is completely
insensitive to the
common good.
Personal and in-
group interests reign
supreme.
This
characteristic is
also evident in
the lack of a
sense of service
among people
in the
government
bureaucracy.

The public is made to feel that service from

these offices and from these civil servants is
an extra perk that is to be paid for.
The kanya-kanya syndrome
results in the dampening of
cooperative and community
spirit and in the trampling
upon the rights of others.
8. Lack of Self-analysis and Self-
reflection
 There is a
tendency in the
Filipino to be
superficial and
even somewhat
flighty. In the
face of serious
problems, both
personal and
social, there is
lack of analysis
or reflection.
We joke about the most
serious matters and this
prevents looking deeply
into the problem. There
is no felt need to
validate our hypotheses
or explanations of
things. Thus, we are
satisfied with
superficial explanations
and superficial solutions
to problems.
We tend to emphasize on form (maporma) rather than on
substance; to be satisfied with rhetoric and to substitute
this for reality; rhetoric and endless words are very much
part of public discourse.

As long as the right things are said, as long as the proper

documents and reports exist, as long as the proper
committees, task forces or offices are firmed, Filipinos
are deluded into believing that what ought to be,
actually exists.
 The Filipino lack of self-analysis and our
emphasis on norms is reinforced by an
educational system that is often more form
than substance and a legal system that tends
to substitute law for reality.
 1.“Utang na
loob”or debt of
gratitude
 Filipinos always recognize
one’s indebtedness. This
means that he owed to a
person who has helped him
through the trials he had
undergone.
 He repays that person in
whatever kind, whatever
time and situation. It is one
way of showing deep
appreciation for lending out
a hand.
It is a Filipino value that is
difficult to translate. Literally it
has several meanings such as shy,
timid, sensitive rather than
ashamed. Filipinos believe they
must live up to the accepted
standards of behaviour and make
it a point not to cause another
person’s embarrassment. Each is
anticipated to have hiya in the
way they behave to win respect
from the community. This is a
value that gives a Filipino a sense
of social decency and politeness.
• It means getting along with
others to preserve a
harmonious relationship. It
invites the Filipinos to do
good and to be a nice
companion.
 The value of pakikisama
results in camaraderie and a
feeling of closeness to one
another. Pakikisama is also
sharing one’s wealth, talent,
time and self with fellow
human beings and working
together for a common good.
This value bridges the gap
between cultures.
 BAHALA NA
- is an expression
which expresses that fatalistic
outlook of the Filipino. It
happens when one simply
resigns to the consequences of
life’s difficulties.

It is believing that life depends

on:
 Swerte or buenas (good luck)
 Tadhana (decried by fate)
 Malas (bad luck)
Expressions which reflect
bahala na are:
 iginuhit ng tadhana (decried
by fate)
 malas (bad luck)
 swerte (good luck)
 gulong ng palad (life’s ups and
downs)
 tsamba (undeserved success
brought about by luck)

 In every positive way, bahala

na is what makes people move,
take risks and plan for the
future (Panopio & Rolda, 2000).
5. Authoritarianism

The dependence of Filipinos in a paternalistic rather than in

a stern way upon the elders of the family, upon their boss, if
employed, and upon people in authority as their father
figure.
 6. Amor-propio
The Individual’s highly
emotional reaction to
protect his honor and
dignity when they are
threatened or questioned
and to retaliate.
Common forms of amor-
propio are “hele-hele
bago quire” or “pakipot”
which shows at the outset
a person initially refusing
an offer even if he really
wants very much to accept
it.
Amistad
Kimberly L.