The Filipino value system or Filipino values refers to the set of

values that a majority of the Filipino have historically held important in

their lives. This Philippine values system includes their own unique
assemblage of consistent ideologies, moral codes, ethical practices,
etiquette and cultural and personal values that are promoted by their
society. As with any society though, the values that an individual holds
sacred can differ on the basis of religion, upbringing and other factors.
As a general description, the distinct value system of Filipinos is rooted
primarily in personal alliance systems, especially those based in kinship,
obligation, friendship, religion (particularly Christianity) and commercial
relationships.
Simply put, this refers to the behavior of preventing someone from
achieving something due to jealousy or envy. Instead of praising or
rendering assistance, someone with crab mentality would think “if I
can’t have it, then you can’t as well” and will purposely try to bring
his/her victim down. And just like the crabs who could have escaped
from the bucket if they only stopped pulling each other down, nothing
ever gets accomplished.
One reason why we sometimes exert half-hearted effort in our
undertakings is due to this attitude. Translated to “burning
cogon grass” in English, this idiom is meant to illustrate how
Filipinos initially exhibit great enthusiasm at the beginning of a
project. Our eagerness however, fades away just as quickly as
the fire is extinguished, leaving our work either half-baked or
unfinished.
It is ironic that the Spanish would accuse Filipinos of being lazy
when they themselves taught us the mañana habit in the first
place. Known as “tomorrow” in English, the habit encourages
procrastination, an “ability” we Filipinos have since turned into an
art form. Even the most urgent of projects and tasks can be
relegated for some other time; we are only forced to work on
them when the deadline is near. It’s a miracle we get things done
in this country.
Related to the mañana habit, Filipino time refers to the
Filipinos’ own unique brand of time, which is known to be
minutes or hours behind the standard time. In other words,
we tend not to observe punctuality at all. This behavior
usually drives time-observant foreigners crazy. While we
Filipinos with our easy-going ways have somewhat become
used to Filipino time, it still is a bad habit that needs to be
dropped.
We Filipinos are famous for being onion-skinned or easily
slighted at perceived insults. While it’s perfectly normal for us to
taunt and criticize others, we can’t handle the same when it’s
being hurled back at us. Incidents showcasing our extra-
sensitivity to insults usually involve a foreigner making either a
bonafide racist remark or a humorous jab at us Filipinos. True
to form, our reactions would range from righteous indignation to
excessive grandstanding. While it is alright to feel incensed,
throwing a fit in front of the world would inevitably do us no
good at all.
Why is it so hard for Filipinos to obey the rules? This
social phenomenon is not exclusive to hardened
criminals either—a look at everyday life in the
country shows Filipinos from the entire social strata
nonchalantly breaking the rules, whether it is
something as benign as jaywalking or as dangerous
as beating the red light.
Probably one of the biggest flaws we have as a nation is our colonial
mentality, defined as a preference for all things foreign over our own, a
negative trait we acquired from our days under the Spanish and the
Americans. As a result, we Filipinos have been indoctrinated with the
misconception that our culture is inferior to that of our past colonizers.
Glaring examples of colonial mentality include patronizing foreign
instead of local brands, favoring foreign values over our own, and even
desiring to look more “Western” (think whitening products). If we can’t
even have pride in our own country, then unfortunately we will always
be stuck with this self-defeating mentality.
While there is nothing wrong with giving gifts to one’s family and
friends (we Filipinos do highly value them after all), it becomes a
different matter when said family and friends either misconstrue or
abuse the OFW’s generosity.
In local parlance, this has become known as the “Balikbayan box
mentality.” People ingrained with this mentality either become
exploitative or jealous of the success of the OFW, not knowing that
he/she is working hard away from his loved ones in a foreign
country. Some also believe that the practice undoubtedly
contributes to the Filipinos’ colonial mentality.
Roughly translated as “come what may”, this is the Filipinos’ own version
of fatalism, the belief of leaving everything to the hands of fate.
This attitude, while not inherently detrimental in itself, is still a double-
edged sword. On one hand, positive aspects of this behavior include
belief in Divine Providence and national social responsibility. On the other
hand, the attitude can also promote a sense of helplessness and
resignation of one’s fate at the local level, and a countrywide lack of
empathy and collective action on the national level. This is also the
reason why we tend to have amnesia over past wrongdoings committed
by our leaders.
One of the biggest social ills our country has continued to face since
time immemorial is the issue of corruption. Let’s face it, our “culture of
corruption” is embedded deep within our system and reinforced by a
complex web of economic and social factors which include personal
ambitions and a twisted sense of loyalty to friends and kin. The
Philippines is in for a long haul if our officials and we ourselves do not
get rid of this very negative habit.
This behavior can be observed in just about every sector of Philippine
society, with the most common example being the condemnation of
an adulterous woman while applauding a polygamous man. On the
national scale, we see politicians spouting promises of reform and
good governance only to break them in the end. Long story short,
some Filipinos are hypocrites to the core.
Now there’s nothing wrong with enjoying a fiesta and party every
now and then, it’s just that we Filipinos tend to overdo it. Birthdays,
anniversaries, graduations, and even somber funerals are celebrated by
Filipinos like there is no tomorrow. Sometimes we even make up the
slightest of reasons just so we could have an excuse to party. What’s
more, a host would sometimes even strain his own finances just to
impress his guests.
As for fiestas, it seems that every LGU down to the smallest barangay
in the country has a fiesta to celebrate. Like we said, it’s alright to party,
but we should really focus on austerity and working hard first.
13. Shame
14. Rationalization
15. Complacency
There may be negative traits that are common to many
Filipinos, such as crab mentality (envy and insecurity),
mañana habit (procrastination) and tardiness, that are
hindering our country’s progress and human development
index. But on the other side, we also have several positive
traits that make us one of the most admirable people on
Earth. The following good habits make the Filipinos great
people and the Philippines a great country. Let us do our best
to preserve them.
1. Hospitability. It’s one of the most popular traits of
Filipinos. We are usually friendly and welcoming to our
guests. This Filipino attribute makes the Philippines one of
the most favorite destinations by tourists who want to enjoy
the beauty of our nature and the friendliness of our people,
not to mention we can also understand and speak English.
2. Adaptability and resilience. Despite of all the
calamities that struck our country, like the strong
earthquake and Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan)
that devastated the central part of Visayas in 2013,
Filipinos are persistent enough to get back on their
feet, even without the solid help from the
government. We can also adapt to any type of
environment and mingle with any kind of people all
over the world.
3. Resourcefulness and creativity. Filipinos are
known for ingenuity. We are creative in many ways,
whether it’s in art, music, science, technology and
business. Some of our smartest countrymen can
come up with a brilliant idea despite of poverty or
lack of financial resources. We are also good in
recycling trash and turn them into ingenious
products.
4. Faithfulness. 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.
5. Unity in bayanihan spirit. We are in close relationship with our
neighbors. In barangays and most subdivisions, the people in the
neighborhood know each other, talk each other, help each other,
and protect each other. Our communities are organized. We help
each other to make our fiestas, festivals and other events lively
and colorful to make sure that our visitors will have a great
experience.
6. Thriftiness. There may be Filipinos who are living
beyond their means. But on the brighter side, there are
also many Filipinos who are frugal. We shop wisely to save
our money for future important uses. We are conscious on
the price tag, discounts and quality of the products we buy
to get the most out of our money. Filipino parents also do
sacrifices like skipping the stuff they want to buy for
themselves just to save their money to buy things that can
make their children happy.
7. Politeness. Filipinos are courteous people. The children
and young Filipinos will always use the words “po” and
“opo” to show respect to someone who’s older or who’s in
the higher position than them. We also do the “mano po”
gesture (bringing the back of the hand of an elder to one’s
forehead) as a sign of respect to our elders. Moreover,
Filipino workers will always address their customers with
“sir” or “ma’am” to show humility and honor to serve them.
8. Family-oriented. Filipinos are willing to make big
sacrifices just to make sure that their loved ones will
have a good life. Our parents will do anything just to
give us a brighter future. They are even willing to work
in a foreign soil just to achieve such goal. And in return,
we study hard and even sacrifice our personal love life
just to fulfill the dreams of our parents for us. 🙂
Furthermore, many Filipino breadwinners work
extraordinarily hard just to earn money to support their
family.
9. Bravery. There’s a hero’s blood running on our veins.
We have the most fearless heroes who only think of
defending our homeland. Remember Lapu-Lapu, Andress
Bonifacio and Jose Rizal. Moreover, our soldiers are
probably the bravest in the world. General Douglas
MacArthur was even quoted saying “Give me ten
thousand Filipino soldiers and I will conquer the world.”
10. Jolliness and sense of humor. The Philippines is a
country of smiles. Nothing can take away the humor and
jolliness of many Filipinos… not even super typhoon
Yolanda – the strongest recorded typhoon that made a
landfall. Despite of the tragedy, Yolanda survivors can still
be seen smiling, positive and hopeful to rebuild their lives
even better. The Filipino humor is evident everywhere, from
comedy films, TV shows, to every Filipino you will meet.
11. Discretion and dignity. Perhaps many of our
politicians don’t have a delicadeza. But our people,
especially the Filipinas, still observe delicadeza. Despite
of the growing number of Filipinos who are giving up
their delicadeza, there are still many Filipinos who
always think twice before they make a decision that can
affect their dignity and honor. Thanks to their parents
who raised them up with high moral standards.
12. Gratefulness. Aside from being hospitable, Filipinos
are also thankful. We don’t forget anyone who helped us,
whether he (she) is a Filipino or not. We even build
monuments to show our utmost respect and gratitude to
our heroes and other foreign personalities who helped the
Filipino people. We show our warmest gratitude to the
international communities who helped us rebuild our lives
after Haiyan and other disasters struck us.
13. Honesty and commitment. Perhaps “palabra de
honor” is not evident among our politicians, but it’s still
evident among the common Filipinos. When we make a
promise, we try our best to fulfill that promise even if it will
undermine ourselves. For us, to fulfill a promise to others is
a great self fulfillment. We are also candor. What we see in
you, we will tell you frankly.
14. Helpfulness. Finally, even if the Philippines is not a big and rich
country, we still grant aids to other countries in need. We also send
our brave soldiers to protect other nations from threats and to
preserve world peace.
 15. Loving and Caring.

Originally, we are rich in good values, morals, attitudes and

habits. They are the legacies that our ancestors have left us.
Maybe some of these qualities are already fading and becoming
rare among Filipinos. But we can still do something to preserve
them. Let’s protect our moral treasures! Let’s start preserving
them within ourselves. Then let’s serve as a model of these
good habits to inspire our countrymen to do the same.
 FILIPINO WORK VALUES

1. ORDERLY ENVIRONMENT
2. STRONG FAMILY TIES
3. INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP
4. MATERIAL WELL BEING
5. OCCUPATIONAL EXELLENCE
6. RELIGIOSITY
UNIT TEST