Strength of Filipino character

Faith and Religiosity

The Filipinos are one of the most faithful people in the world. Whatever our
religion is, we remain faithful and we don’t lose hope for a better tomorrow. Our
faithfulness and hopefulness keep us kind, positive, peaceful and determined to
achieve our goals no matter how impossible they may seem. This reflection of the
Filipinos' strong faith in God are seen in their various practices. This includes
the numerous Church Holidays they observe, the customary (and obligatory) Sunday
Mass, the individual's basis of their moral standpoints, the influence of the
Church on the minds, actions, and opinions of the majority, importance of the
Sacraments, Praying at almost any possible time of the day, the extreme practices
during Holy Week.

Pagpapahalaga sa Pamilya (Family-oriented)

Filipinos are known for having strong and close family ties. They place high regard
and put importance on their family before anything else. They work all day and do
all they can to feed and provide for their family.
In other countries, when a person turned 18, he/she can live away from his/her
family. In the Philippines, they value their family so much that they keep them
intact through the years.

Weakness of Filipino's character

Reasons which can explain why there are a lot of Filipinos in the country who lack
discipline.

Over-democratized lifestyle
After the Martial Law, the Philippines could not be happier to embrace democracy.
Filipinos learned to value liberty more—and this is actually good. However,
everything too much is negative. As people learn to fight for freedom, some have
forgotten that their rights end when the rights of others begin. For instance, some
men think it does not harm to pee on someone else’s wall. Some so-called
‘activists’ express their sentiments by vandalizing on public properties (not
understanding that these are not the government’s but the people’s) and even on
private ones. Without this kind of people realizing that democracy has limits,
discipline would not be an easy thing to spot in the community.
Lack of discipline at home
Parents are expected to be the first teachers. Home is the first institution where
good morals and discipline should be taught to children. However, many parents
these days lack control on their kids. As the country’s culture becomes more
westernized, children become more liberated and many could now give their parents
that ‘back off’ signal whenever they feel their independence is threatened. On the
other hand, some parents just lack the time and effort to sit down with their kids
and correct them whenever they do something wrong. For these reasons, a lot of
Filipino children grow up into adults with less regard to rules and regulations. As
an example, I have personally observed that children from families where proper
waste disposal is strictly applied usually grow up having respect for the
environment. Whereas, those who are not taught at home to throw waste directly into
the trash bin do not mind littering everywhere.

No role models
Another reason why Filipinos do not take discipline seriously is because they do
not see how serious it is. How would they when even government officials themselves
do not follow the rules they have implemented? Under the table transactions; vote
buying; VIP treatments in public activities and processes are just among of the
rampant forms of corruption in the government that remove the power of discipline
in the society. Some law enforcers are not being good role models too: Traffic
enforcers getting paid to let go of violators; and police officers involved in
crimes like kidnapping and drug trafficking. People do not see the need of
following rules or even taking the initiative to make some progressive moves,
because they know nothing would happen when the movement does not come from the
top.

No strict implementation
The lack of strict law implementation is also one of the reasons why there are
undisciplined Pinoys. No matter how good the regulations made are if the
implementing body does not have the teeth to make the society follow them, then
nothing will happen. As long as the citizens do not see any danger of not following
the law, they will not heed it For instance, the No Jaywalking regulation is
usually taken for granted by pedestrians in areas where no strict law enforcers and
penalty posts can be seen. However, in cities or places where violators face
serious penalties, people are observed to be compliant to the rules.

Impatience to self-gratification
When a person does not have enough patience to delay gratification, it leads to
lack of self-control. I do not know why, but many Filipinos fail in this. They want
to see results immediately. This is why shortcuts are popular in procedures. Some
people, who do not like getting into long lines when paying bills, try to insert
into the line or even use their connections to avoid the hassle. There are also
sick people who are told to stay away from fatty food or alcohol for a period of
time, but since they cannot resist the temptation, they simply indulge—reasoning
out that they take medications anyway.
Ligao Community College
Guilid, Ligao City

Characteristics
of
Filipino

Submitted to:
Mrs. Marife Tolarba

Submitted by:
Haironisah B. Ali
BSED 1 Values Ed.