The Filipino Hospitality

A Filipino trait that is known everywhere is the Filipino’s brand of hospitality Filipinos welcome their
guests and tourists as if they are their own brothers and sisters, they always make their guests feel at
home, offering them something to eat, or even a place to stay. They will bring out their best sets of
plates and chinaware for their honored guests and would even go as far as spending a lot of money and
going into debt just so they can satisfy them. In most local shops, Filipino salespersons will greet their
customers with warm welcome and say thank you when they leave even without buying anything.
Filipinos also anticipate giving tours to friends who will visit their hometown and treating them to the
best restaurants and delicacies for free. During festivals or festas, Filipinos serve heaps of festive food
and invite the whole barangay over. They are also fond of giving pasalubong or tokens from their travels
and pabaon or farewell gifts to their visitors.

Respect for Elders

Filipinos greet their elders by kissing their hand while saying “Mano pol” and constantly using “po” and
“opo” in conversations Forgetting to address older people properly will regard them as rude and
impolite. There is also a wide array of references to elder people such as ate for older sister; kuya for
older brother, Tito and Tita for uncle and aunt, respectively; Lolo and Lola for grandfather and
grandfather, and Manong and Aling for older people outside the family.

Close Family Ties

Filipinos maintain a tight relationship with their families regardless if the children are old enough and
already have families of their own. They are also fond of family reunions during birthdays, holidays, or
fiestas year-round. Some Filipino families even opt to live in a big house where everyone can stay
together. Nursing homes are almost always not an option for family members and choose to take care of
their elders themselves.

Cheerful Personality

Filipinos have a habit of smiling and laughing a lot. They smile when they are happy, or sometimes even
when they are sad or angry Smiling has been a coping strategy for many Filipinos especially during trying
times and calamities For instance, Filipinos smile and wave at the camera while being interviewed even
after a fire or flooding incident. They always try to maintain a positive outlook in life which makes them
resilient and able to manage almost everything with a simple smile
Self-sacrifice

The self-sacrificing attitude of Filipinos can be seen as an extension. The Filipino hospitality Filipinos go
out of their way to extend help to their friends, families, and loved ones. They wish comfort and better
lives for their loved ones and would even go to the extent of working abroad hundreds of miles away to
earn more money and save up for them. Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) sacrifice a lot, that is why
they are regarded as the modern day Filipino heroes. There are also times when the eldest among the
children of the family would give up schools to work and provide for the rest of the family and educate
his or her siblings

Bayanihan

Bayanihan is the spent of communal unity and cooperation of Filipinos tha also about giving without
expecting something in return. Filipinos are always ready to share and help their trends and loved ones
who are in need. It may not always be in monetary form, but the time and effort they give also count as
a form of help for them. This that is particularly manifested in how Filipinos rally themselves to send aid
to those who are severely affected by natural calamities.

“Bahala Na” Attitude

Bahala na is the Filipino version of the famous line “Hakuna Matata” meaning no worries. The phrase is
said to have originated from “Bathala na,” where Bathala means God, and the phrase meaning leaving
everything into God’s hands It can also be viewed as something similar to the cheerful and positive
attitude of Filipinos and allowing situations take care of themselves instead of worrying about them.

Colonial Mentality

Colonial mentality is regarded as the lack of patriotism and the attitude where Filipinos favor foreign
products more than their own. This does not only concern goods, but also the desire to look more
foreign than local and keep up with foreign beauty trends. It is attributed to the centuries of colonization
Filipinos had experienced under the Spanish, American, and Japanese

“Mañana” Habit

This is the Filipino term for procrastination. It was derived from a longer Filipino phrase called “Mamaya
na meaning dawdling things, which could have been done at an earlier time. It is a poor habit of laziness
that results in heavier workloads.
“Ningas Kugon”

“Ningas” is a Filipino term for flame and “kugon” is a Filipino term for Cogon grass that easily burns out
after it is put into flames. Ningas kugon refers to the attitude of eagerly starting things but quickly losing
eagerness soon after experiencing difficulty, just like how fast the fire of a Cogon grass burns out
moments after being ignited, Laziness is a common problem among Filipinos; that why Filipinos are
regarded as “Juan Tamad” or Lazy Juan.

Pride

Most Filipinos hold on to the pride as if they are more precious than keeping a good relationship with
family and loved ones. When two parties are not in good terms, they find it so hard to apologize and
wait until the other party asks for an apology first.

Crab Mentality

This is a toxic trait among Filipinos where one resents the achievement of another, instead of feeling
happy for that person. Just like crabs in a container, they pull each other down and ruin each other’s
reputation rather than bringing them up resulting to no progress. Filipinos should change this
troublesome attitude and focus more on their own inadequacies to improve one’s self.

Filipino Time

Filipinos have this common attitude of arriving late at commitments, dinner, or parties especially if they
are meeting someone close to them, they tend to not observe punctuality altogether. The 7:00 am call
time becomes adjusted to 7:30 and almost everyone arrives at the same time because everyone is using
Filipino time.