Philippines Values: Strengths to Filipino Characters

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Close family ties

To a Filipino,
family
comes
first & family is
everything.
He
lives with it and
depends on it.
His
dreams,
aspirations and
life are always
centred on his
family.
This
family solidarity
keeps a Filipino to be positive amidst everything. He works hard to ensure a better life
for the family. Family is evidently highly valued in the Philippines, thus, the government
also strengthens Filipino family and in great support to ensure work-family balance.
Utang na loob or debt of gratitude Filipinos always recognize ones indebtedness.
This means that he owed to a person who has helped him through the trials he had
undergone. He repays that person in whatever kind, whatever time and situation. It is
one way of showing deep appreciation for lending out a hand.
Hiya It is a Filipino value that is difficult to translate. Literally it has several meanings
such as shy, timid, sensitive rather than ashamed. Filipinos believe they must live up to
the accepted standards of behaviour and make it a point not to cause another persons
embarrassment. Each is anticipated to havehiya in the way they behave to win respect
from the community. This is a value that gives a Filipino a sense of social decency and
politeness.

Pakikisama There is no exact English translation for this word. It means getting along
with others to preserve a harmonious relationship. It invites the Filipinos to do good and
to be a nice companion. The value of pakikisama results in camaraderie and a feeling of
closeness to one another. Pakikisama is also sharing ones wealth, talent, time and self
with fellow human beings and working together for a common good. This value bridges
the gap between cultures.
Respect to Others - Filipinos regard others with dignity and respect This is being
observed in a basic sense of justice, fairness and concern for others fellowmen, nature or
animals.

The
above

values are the root of many other values. Close family ties makes a Filipino a
hardworking and industrious person. A Filipino will do anything for his family that also
makes him optimistic, flexible, adaptable, and creative.
Hiya, pakikisama, utang na loob & respect to others make a Filipino an individual with
unique moral obligation to treat one another resulting to community ties. These values
make Filipinos friendly, hospitable, polite & loyal.
In brief, the Filipino core values influence how they behave in any situation. The
Philippines is recognized in having collectivist culture indicated by close family ties
and community ties in society. Filipino values are centred at preserving social harmony,
motivated mainly by the desire to be accepted within a group. This makes a Filipino a
reliable person that can easily integrate and work with anyone, anytime, anyhow &
anywhere.
Core value or Kapwa (togetherness)[edit]
Kapwa, meaning 'togetherness', is the core construct of Filipino Psychology. Kapwa
refers to community; not doing things alone. Kapwa has two categories, Ibang Tao (other
people) and Hindi Ibang Tao (not other people). Filipinos value conformity because
unlike non-Asian countries, its culture is predominantly Confucian. This runs into
conflict with individualism (kanya-kanya) which was brought about by Western
colonialism.
Ibang Tao ("outsider") There are five domains in this construct:
Pakikitungo: civility - In Confucian ethics, right behavior meant right
demeanor towards authorities (Parents, Elders, etc.).

 Pakikisalamuha: act of mixing - This is a social value that is primarily

communitarian and Confucian. It espouses the ability to adapt.
Pakikilahok: act of joining - This translates to participation of the entire
community to help a person.
Pakikibagay: conformity - This runs into conflict with individuality which
many Filipinos in fact willingly throw away in favor of conformity with
demands of those who are in charge.
Pakikisama: being united with the group.
Hindi Ibang Tao ("one-of-us") There are three domains in this construct:
Pakikipagpalagayang-loob: act of mutual trust
Pakikisangkot: act of joining others
Pakikipagkaisa: being one with others
Pivotal interpersonal value[edit]
Pakiramdam: Shared inner perceptions. Filipinos use damdam, or the inner
perception of others' emotions, as a basic tool to guide his dealings with other people.
Linking socio-personal value[edit]
Kagandahang-Loob: Shared humanity. This refers to being able to help other
people in dire need due to a perception of being together as a part of one Filipino
humanity.
Accommodative surface values[edit]
Hiya: Loosely translated as 'shame' by most Western psychologists, Hiya is
actually 'sense of propriety'.
Utang na loob: Norm of reciprocity. Filipinos are expected by their neighbors to
return favorswhether these were asked for or notwhen it is needed or wanted.
Pakikisama and Pakikipagkapwa: Smooth Interpersonal Relationship, or SIR, as
coined by Lynch (1961 and 1973). This attitude is primarily guided by conformity
with the majority.
Confrontative surface values[edit]
Bahala Na: Bahala Na translates literally as "leave it up to God (Bathala)" and it is
used as an expression, almost universally, in Filipino culture. Filipinos engage in the
bahala na attitude as a culture-influenced adaptive coping strategy when faced with
challenging situations.
Lakas ng Loob: This attitude is characterized by being courageous in the midst of
problems and uncertainties.
Pakikibaka: Literally in English, it means concurrent clashes. It refers to the
ability of the Filipino to undertake revolutions and uprisings against a common
enemy.
Societal values[edit]
Karangalan: Loosely translated to dignity, this actually refers to what other people

see in a person and how they use that information to make a stand or judge about
his/her worth.
Puri: the external aspect of dignity. May refer to how other people judge a
person of his/her worth. This compels a common Filipino to conform to social
norms, regardless how obsolete they are.
Dangal: the internal aspect of dignity. May refer to how a person judges
his own worth.
Katarungan: Loosely translated to justice, this actually refers to equity in giving
rewards to a person.
Kalayaan: Freedom and mobility. Ironically, this may clash with the less
important value of pakikisama or pakikibagay (conformity).
Abstract: Pakikisama refers to an interpersonal relationship where people are
friendly with each other and is a typical personality trait of the Filipino
people. It is expressed in their private lives, public workplaces, and relationships
with neighbors. The purpose of this paper is to study this trait in detail.
This study addresses Pakikisama as it is observed in the contexts of
youth, workers, and national development. These examples will serve to
better understand the value of pakikisama.
Pakikisama is a basic tendency for Filipinos, and is expressed in their private lives, their public
workplaces, and in their relationship with their neighbors. According to our results of the survey,
the Filipino trait most taken up was Pakikisama. This indicates that this is a typical Filipino trait.
Pakikisama refers to an interpersonal relationship where people are friendly with each other. To be
with someone and to get along with each other indicates basic human friendliness and affinity.
The purpose of this paper is to study about Pakikisama as the typical personality trait of Filipinos
in detail. The fact that this tendency was most taken up in Filipino trait studies means that
Filipinos are friendly and feel strong affinity towards others. From my own personal experiences,
and accounts from foreigners whom I ve met, Filipinos are friendly people. This can be considered
as a result of very friendly and amicable tendencies.
This Pakikisama trait comes from the word sama, which means to go along(Andres, 1994;
Limpingco, et al, 1999) and yielding to the will of the leader or majority so as to make the group s
decision unanimous.Interestingly, this trait is not to be described as a closely shut shell, but
to have a rich as well as broad connotation which can be in fact understood in practice through
different
levels and in varied interpretations of the term, both positive or negative.