How people greet is determined by the age, status, and relationship of the

people.
1. “Hi/Hello”– common greeting used internationally to strangers, family,
peer, and friends. There is no Filipino word on saying Hi/Hello in the
Philippines. However, foreigners are taught that “kumusta ka?” is an
alternative way of saying “Hi/Hello” in Filipino which literally translates
as “How are you?” in English. Due to other countries colonizing the
Philippines, the Filipino is a mixture of local and foreign languages and
dialects, the latter mostly are English and Spanish. English has always
been one of the official languages of the Philippines; a language of
commerce and law as well as the primary medium of instruction.
2. Greeting based on time- This goes back to the sample greetings from
the table above. The greeting depends upon the time of the day.
3. Handshakes- It is one of the first signs of communication when people
meet face-to-face. Matching it with a genuine smile and making eye
contact. A handshake, with a welcoming smile, is the standard greeting.
At a formal setting, men and women shake hands with everyone present
at business meeting or social occasion and when saying “goodbye”.
Handshakes should be friendly and informal but limp. A man should
wait for a woman to offer her hand before shaking it. It conforms to the
Filipino norm of conservatism on women.
4. Daily Life Meeting and Greetings
Strangers meeting and greeting
➢ Men - Soft handshake accompanied with a smile is common
➢ Among women - a smile and a hand wave are the usual
greeting
Close friends and family
➢ May accompany a handshake with a pat on the back,
usually for men.
➢ Women may hug and lightly kiss each other’s cheeks or
touch their cheeks to one another (beso-beso) to greet each
other.
➢ “Best Friend Handshakes” – creating secret and unique
handshakes that only best friends know about. It can also be
a common gesture; for instance, fist bump, high fives, and
the kinds.
 5. Mano (bless) – is performed as a sign of respect towards elders and as a
way of accepting a blessing from the elder.
➢ The one who does mano will bow towards the offered hands of
elders (usually to lolos and lolas, aunts and uncles), sometimes
they touch their foreheads on the back of the offered hand.
➢ When hand is not offered, the person who wants to perform will
say “mano po” – as a way of asking permission to perform the
gesture.
Some informal greetings, usually done by close people, may be observed.
Simply having eye contacts with at least a friend or family passing by,
accompanied by eyebrow raises whether with a smile or none, is a simple way
of acknowledging their presence; some will just put smile on their face, or just
wave or raise one hand, etc.
Additional information:
Filipinos are widely known of greeting mostly with physical contacts. However,
on 2019, COVID-19 broke out. The people were advised to avoid having
physical contact with other people because the virus is said to be highly
contagious. On January 2021, the House Representatives has passed a bill
(House Bill No. 8149 or Bating Filipino Para sa Kalusugan Act (A Filipino
Greeting for Health Act.) that would institutionalize a “new and safe” way for
Filipino to greet each other. The bill authored by Marikina 1st District
Representative Bayani “BF” Fernando, argues that the state is expected to
promote the health and wellbeing of every citizen, then it should ‘set standards
of social contact such as safe and proper gesture to express and convey
respect, goodwill, or praise among persons.’
According to the approved by the House of Representatives, the new gesture
will involve “gracefully laying the right-hand palm over the center of chest while
simultaneously lowering the head, their eyes must either be closed or cast
down”. An alternative greeting for mano and handshakes to lessen the
physical contact during the pandemic.