Lesson in Understanding the Self and Sikolohiyang Pilipino

1. Pilipino Values and Traits
Prepared by:
Orlando A. Pistan, MAEd-GC
Psychology Instructor

2. The Philippines
Emerged in the 1890s after over 3
centuries of colonialization of the
Spaniards.
Liberation from the last colonizers, the
Japanese, only occurred in 1946.
Colonial mentality remains.
An individual’s race, ethnicity and
physical characteristics are not the only
factors that makes a person’s national
identity.
Our values and traits are also important
indicators that set us apart from others.

3. Who is a Filipino?

4. Who is a Filipino?
Under the 1987 Philippine Constitution,
Article IV, Section 1, it states that: The
following are citizens of the Philippines:
1. Those who are citizens of the
Philippines at the time of the adoption of
this Constitution;
2. Those whose fathers or mothers are
citizens of the Philippines;
4. Those who are naturalized in
accordance of law

5. Who is a Filipino?
There are two (2) generally recognized forms of acquiring Philippine citizenship:
1. Filipino by birth
 Jus soli (right of soil) which is the legal principle that a person’s nationality
at birth is determined by the place of birth (e.g. the territory of a given
state)
 Jus sanguinis (right of blood) which is the legal principle that, at birth, an
individual acquires the nationality of his/her natural parent/s. The
Philippine adheres to this principle.
2. Filipino by naturalization which is the judicial act of adopting a foreigner and
clothing him with the privileges of a native-born citizen. It implies the renunciation of
a former nationality and the fact of entrance into a similar relation towards a new
body politic.

6. Culture and Self-Identity
1. Culture and history have greatly
influenced the manner Filipino
learn, live and behave.
2. Growing up in a particular
culture develops one’s
personality and values.
3. Cultural heritages and values is
being passed from generation
to generation.

7. The Filipino 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.

8. The Filipino Hospitality
In most local shops, Filipino salesperson
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 fiestas, 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.

9. Respect for Elders
Filipinos greet their elders by kissing their
hand while saying “Mano po”; 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 and Kuya;
Tito and Tita;
Lolo and Lola; and
Manong and Aling.

10. 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 choose 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.

11. Bayanihan
Bayanihan is the spirit of unity and
cooperation of Filipinos.
It is also about giving without
expecting something in return.
Filipinos are always ready to share
and help their friends 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.

12. Bayanihan
This trait is particularly
manifested in how Filipinos rally
themselves to send aid to those
who are severely affected by
natural calamities.

13. Self-sacrifice
Filipinos go out of their way to extend help to
their friends and family 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 income and save up for them.
OFWs sacrifice a lot; that is why they are
regarded as modern day Filipino heroes.
There are also times when the eldest among
the children of the family would give up
school to work and provide for the rest of the
family and educate his or her siblings.

14. “Bahala na” Attitude
“Bahala na” is the Filipino version
of the famous line “Hakuna
Matata”.. Which means “No
worries”.
"Hakuna matata" is a Swahili
language phrase from East Africa;
translated, it means "no trouble".
The word "hakuna" means "there
is not here" while "matata" means
"problems".

15. “Bahala na” Attitude
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.

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

17. Ningas Kugon
“Ningas” is a local term for flame and
“kugon” is a Filipino term for Cogon grass
that easily burns out after it is put into
flames.
The phrase refers to the attitude of
eagerly starting things but quickly losing
eagerness soon after experiencing
difficulty and negative circumstances.
Laziness is a common problem among
Filipinos; that is why Filipinos are
regarded as “Juan Tamad” or Lazy Juan.

18. High Pride
It is believed and observed that
Filipinos hold on their 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.

19. Crab Mentality
This is considered as a toxic trait
among Filipinos.
One resents the achievement of
other people, instead of feeling
happy for the person.
They ruin each other’s reputation
rather than bringing them up,
resulting to no progress.

20. Filipino Time
Filipinos have this common
attitude of arriving late at
commitments.
They tend to disregard punctuality
altogether.
The 7:00 PM call time becomes
adjusted to 7:30 PM or even
beyond, and almost everyone
arrives at the same time because
everyone is using this concept.

21. Filipino Values and Traits
Thank you for paying
attention.