Business Ethics and

Social Responsibility
Quarter 1 – Module 6
Filipino Values System

Compiled and Repackaged by:

JOE JAYSON CALETENA

Teacher II
Schools Division of the City of Batac
Business Ethics And Social Responsibility
Alternative Delivery Mode
Quarter 1 – Module 6: Filipino Values System
First Edition, 2020

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 Target

The Filipino value system or Filipino values refer to the set of values or the
value system that a majority of the Filipinos have historically held important in their
lives.
This module will provide you with information and activities that will help you
understand the Filipino value system and its impact in business.

After going through with this module, you are expected to:
1. provide a historical background to business ethics in the Philippines;
2. infer how Filipino value system influence business practices
(ABM_ESR12-IIIe-h-2.3); and
3. generate ways to improve business practices guided by the
philosophies, belief system or Filipino values (ABM_ESR12-IIIe-h-2.4).

Pretest
A. Direction: Write the letter that best and adequately answers each statement.
1. Refers to the set of values or the value system that a majority of
Filipinos have historically held important in their lives.
A. Filipino Value System C. Value System
B. System of Values D. Values Education

2. It means that one does not forget the good deeds that others may have
done to him or her especially in times of great need.
A. Amor propio C. Padrino System
B. Hiya D. Utang na Loob

3. What value is being illustrated in this situation, “a child may have

several godparents to ensure his future in case his parents will not be
there for him”?
A. Suki system C. Manana Habit
B. Padrino System D. Filial Piety

4. What value system is described when one gains favor, promotion, or

political appointment through family affiliation or friendship, as opposed
to one’s merit?
A. Suki System C. Filipino System
B. Padrino System D. Caste System

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 5. It is primarily in personal alliance systems based on kinship and
obligation.
A. Suki System C. Filipino System
B. Padrino System D. Caste System

B. Identify the value being described by each statement.

6. Filipinos are family-centered. Filipinos get strength from their family.
7. A distinct Filipino value system which is rooted primarily in personal
alliance systems based on obligation.
8. A system of patronage wherein a customer regularly buys their
merchandise from a certain client.
9. The quality of after sales service can also be a crucial factor when in
influencing any purchasing decision.
10. A distinct Filipino value system which is rooted primarily in personal
alliance systems based on religion.
11. This refers to the practice of hiring family members regardless of their
qualifications.
12. . It is the act of hiring friends regardless of qualifications.
13. This refers to the code in the Philippines that provides parents or those
exercising parental authority their duties and responsibilities to their
children.
14. This term means the way of life, or the ultimate purpose of enlightenment
in life.
15. Manifests the tendency of Filipinos to humbly submit everything to the
Higher Being during tough times.

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 Jumpstart

Activity 1 Take a Look!

Business Ethics in the Philippines

In 2006, the administration of De La Salle University (DLSU) in Manila

renamed DLSU’s business school as the Ramon V. del Rosario Graduate School of
Business (RVR-GSB). Del Rosario was an outstanding alumnus, entrepreneur,
business leader, and former ambassador to Canada, Germany, and Japan. He was
also vice-chairman of Caritas Manila, the social action arm of the Roman Catholic
Archdiocese of Manila. He remarked during the naming ceremony, “…Our mission is
not to produce MBAs (Masters in Business Administration)…It is to produce the
managers and business leaders with passion and commitment to help millions of
Filipinos out of poverty into lives of dignity and well-being” (Teehankee, 2012).

Guide Questions:

1. Why do you think passion and commitment are the keys to helping Filipinos out
of poverty?
2. Do you agree to the statement, “Our mission is not to produce MBAs? Why or
why not?

Discover

The Term Business Ethics in the Philippine Context

When talking about business ethics in the context of the Filipino values, we
should keep in mind that we do not claim that these values can be observed among
all Filipinos nor can it be found in the cultures of other societies.
Vitaliano Gorospe, a Filipino philosopher, emphasized that the difference lies
in the way these elements are ranked, combined or emphasized so that they take on
a distinctively Filipino slant or cast.

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 One can say that Filipino business values are greatly affected by family-
oriented laws prevailing in the country. The Family Code of the Philippines provides
the parents and those exercising parental authority shall have with respect to their
unemancipated or wards the following rights and duties:
1. to keep them in their company, to support, educate and instruct them by
right percept and good example, and to provide for their upbringing in
keeping with their means;
2. to give them love and affection, advice and counsel, companionship and
understanding;
3. to provide them with moral and spiritual guidance, inculcate in them
honesty, integrity, self-discipline, self-reliance, industry and thrift,
stimulate their interest in civic affairs, and inspire in them compliance
with the duties of citizenship;
4. to furnish them with good and wholesome educational materials,
supervise their activities, recreation and association with others, protect
them from bad company, and prevent them from acquiring habits
detrimental to their health, studies and morals;
5. to represent them in all matters affecting their interests;
6. to demand from them respect and obedience;
7. to impose discipline on them as may be requ ired under the
circumstances; and
8. to perform such other duties as are imposed by law upon parents and
guardians.
As a result of assimilation of culture, Filipinos derived values from their
counterparts both in the Western and Eastern parts of the world. For example, the
Confucian Ethics strengthened Filipino’s regards on social obligations, ethical
decision-making, positive business dealings and harmonious relationships within the
organization and good business management. We recognized also the practice of the
Tao – the way of life, or the ultimate purpose of enlightenment in life. Alongside with
this, we inherited the following values from the Confucian thought: Filial Piety,
brotherhood, peership, equality, loyalty and fidelity, trustworthiness, courtesy and
politeness, righteousness, right conduct and courage, uprightness, honor, integrity
and character and humility and shame.
On the other hand, the Spanish regime cultivated the Filipinos’ faith in the
Supreme being and introduced Christianity. With this, Filipinos have high regards for
honesty and respect as it is tantamount to respecting the Supreme being.
America’s greatest legacy in the Philippines was the introduction of the public
school system. This school system paved way for Filipino families to send their
children to school because they believed that when you have a good education, you
will have higher positions in companies or in the government.

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 Filipino virtue ethics is based on two foundational concepts in Filipino culture.
The first is loob, which can easily be misunderstood when literally translated into
English as ‘inside’ but which is better translated as ‘relational will’, and the second is
kapwa, which is literally translated as ‘other person’ but is better understood as
‘together with the person’. These serve as pillars for a special collection of virtues
(kagandahang-loob, utang-na-loob, pakikiramdam, hiya, lakas-ng-loob/bahala na)
which are not individualistic virtues in the same way as most of the cardinal virtues of
the Western tradition (i.e. prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude) but are all
directed towards the preservation and strengthening of human relationships.

Filipino Cultural Values

Utang Na Loob (Reciprocity). Obligation and responsibility are often viewed
in terms of reciprocity (utang na loob), comprised of debts ( utang), and inner-self free
will. The process begins with an unsolicited gift and continues going often into the
next generation.
The essence of “utang na loob” is an obligation to appropriately repay a person
who has done one a favor. The favors which elicit the Filipino's sense of utang na loob
are typically those whose value is impossible to quantify, or, if there is a quantifiable
value involved, involves a deeply personal internal dimension. This internal dimension,
loob, differentiates “Utang na Loob” from an ordinary debt (“utang"); being an internal
phenomenon, “utang na loob” thus goes much deeper than ordinary debt or even the
western concept of owing a favor.
In business, Utang na Loob may be good or bad for business depending on a
lot of considerations, but it affects the way business is conducted especially when the
business person is confronted with ethical issue.
Filial Piety. Filial piety is a virtue of respect for one’s parents, elders, and
ancestors. Filial piety is an important concept in Filipino culture. It is understood as
essential to maintain the collective face of the family and to avoid experiencing hiya.
In business, the Filipino family is so intact that it is common for members of the
same family to work for the same company.
Padrino System (Palakasan, Patronage). “Padrino System”, or patronage in
the Filipino culture and politics is the value system where one gains favor, promotion,
or political appointment through family affiliation (nepotism) or friendship (cronyism),
as opposed to one's merit.
In business, Nepotism is the practice of hiring family members regardless of
their qualifications. In some cases, a relative of a company executive may be qualified
to perform the job for which she is hired. The fact that she is an executive's relative
gives her an advantage over the other applicants. But when the employee is not
qualified to perform the job, then nepotism becomes counter-productive. Your

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executive staff begins hiring family members because they need jobs, But the family
members' lack of qualifications and ability can affect your company's profitability.
Cronyism is the other side of nepotism. It is the act of hiring friends regardless
of qualifications. One of the main problems with cronyism, which you also find in
nepotism, is the feeling of entitlement that employees hired under these circumstances
feel. Because they know or are related to an executive with the company, they feel
they deserve raises and promotions that should be reserved for more qualified staff
members. This creates conflict in the workplace and can result in losing qualified
personnel.
Suki System. “Suki” is a Filipino term which means “loyal customers.”
According to Ronald (1991), "in the commercial context, “suki” relationships (market-
exchange partnerships) may develop between two people who agree to become
regular customer and supplier. In the marketplace, Filipinos will regularly buy from
certain specific suppliers who will give them, in return, reduced prices, good quality,
and, often, credit."
“Suki” is a distinct Filipino value system which is rooted primarily in personal
alliance systems based on commercial relationships
In business, though a “suki” relationship usually takes time and many business
transactions to be solidified, suggesting a suki like relationship and backing it up with
concessions could be used as a measure to build trust and at the very least hasten
the development of a suki like arrangement.
Bahala Na. The word “Bahala” is actually a derivative of the word “Bathala”,
which refers to the ancient Supreme Being worshiped by Filipinos during the pre-
Spanish Period. It can be said that the proper use of this phrase should be in the
context of leaving things in the hands of the Divine Being. Simply put, “Bahala na” can
be the equivalent of the Islamic term Inshallah, which means “God willing” or “If Allah
wills it.”
“Bahala Na” has been loosely translated as “come what may.” Hence, it is
referred to as the Filipino version of fatalism, that is, leaving everything in the hands
of fate.
“Bahala Na” is an attitude of just letting things happen instead of doing
something to make things happen is not a genuine “Bahala Na” value. “Bahala Na” is
a distinct Filipino value system which is rooted primarily in personal alliance systems
based on religion. The use of the phrase “Bahala na” in the second context somewhat
manifests the tendency of Filipinos to humbly submit everything to the Higher Being
during tough times.
Filipinos usually say “Bahala na” when they are unable to decide their next
course of action or when they have no idea what will happen next. They say this phrase
as if all they want is to go with the flow, not minding what the outcome might be.

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 Mañana Habit (Procrastination). Mañana Habit comes from the Spanish word
"Mañana" which literally means "tomorrow” or "an unspecified future time." Hence,
“Mañana” Habit, refers to procrastination, or putting off for tomorrow what can be done
today. The “Mañana habit” is synonymous to the Filipino expression “Mamaya na,”
which is just another term for procrastination
In business, it reduced efficiency. It also caused damaged reputation if it gets
to the point where the effects of procrastination affect what and when you deliver to
customers you are obviously in trouble and it may cause a reputation for tardiness.
It can also cause missed opportunities if you are on top of your workload you
will also be a much better position to take advantage of new opportunities
Another implication to busines is roadblocks/bottlenecks, when you start
avoiding things it can interrupt the workflow in your business. Then, an accumulation
of things that haven’t been done leads stress for you and frustration for other team
members
Amor Propio. “Amor propio” best translates as “self-love.” “Amor propio” is a
Spanish word which means self –love; a sense of self-esteem or self-respect that
prevents a person from swallowing his pride.
“Amor propio” is part of the Filipino culture. The Filipino people are super
sensitive to the emotional imperatives that guide “asal” or conduct (behavior).
"Delicadeza” and “Amor Propio” are the two damdamin (emotional) norms which
govern our sense of propriety and self-esteem.
In business, Filipinos are not overly fond of saying “no” and therefore a “yes”
you received earlier in the day, might not actually pan out.

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 Explore

Activity 1 Write Me Up!

Upon reading the different cultural values that Filipinos possessed, select one
Filipino value and make an essay on its implication to business.

You will be graded on the following criteria:

Areas of
4 3 2 1
Assessment
Presents ideas Presents ideas
Ideas are too Ideas are vague
Ideas in an original in a consistent
general or unclear
manner manner
Some
Strong and No organization;
Organized organization;
organized lack
Organization beginning/middl attempt at a
beginning/middl beginning/middl
e/end beginning/middl
e/end e/end
e/end
Writing shows Writing shows a Writing shows Writing shows
Understanding strong clear adequate little
understanding understanding understanding understanding
Sophisticated
Nouns and
use of nouns Needs more Little or no use
verbs make
Word Choice and verbs make nouns and of nouns and
essay
the essay very verbs verbs
informative
informative
Sentence
Sentence Sentence
structure
structure is structure is No sense of
Sentence enhances
evident; limited; sentence
Structure meaning; flows
sentences sentences need structure or flow
throughout the
mostly flow to flow
piece
Few (if any) Numerous
Mechanics Few errors Several errors
errors errors

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Activity 2 Illustrate Me!
Direction: Create an illustration depicting the value “Bahala Na” and its impact to
business inside the box. Write a brief explanation of your work.

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 Rubric for Activity 2

Areas of
1 2 3 4
Assessment
Some
Most
instructions were Instructions
instructions
Does not meet followed. May followed and
Craftsmanship were followed.
expectations have done mastery of
Care was taken
carelessly or was work.
with work.
rushed.
No growth or A little growth or Growth can be Mastery of
Growth / Progress progress from progress in seen in artist's media in artist's
previous work. artist's work. work. work.
Complete
Unclear thinking. Shows good
understanding
No use of art Little use of understanding
Composition and and use of
principles or principles and of principles and
Design principles and
elements. elements of elements of
elements of
design. design.
design.
Seldom original
Originality and Usually original Unique and very
No original ideas. ideas. May have
Creativity and expressive. original.
been copied.
student was able student was student was
to convey a few able to convey able to convey
student was able to
ideas and several ideas several ideas
convey limited ideas
Explanation examples on the and examples and examples
and examples on
topic with some on the topic with on the topic with
the topic with little
degree of a good degree a high degree of
knowledge
knowledge of knowledge knowledge

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 Deepen

At this point, make a reflection on the pros and cons of the Filipino values and
their impact to business.
Activity 3 Let’s Reflect!

Filipino Values Pros Cons Impact to

Business
Utang na Loob
Filial Piety
Bahala Na
Padrino
Suki
Manana Habit

Activity 4: Let’s Apply!

Considering that you are a manager of your own company. How will you be
able to improve business practices? What philosophies or Filipino values will you
employ?
Ways to Improve the Business Philosophy/Filipino Values Employed

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 Gauge

Direction: Answer the following briefly but comprehensively.

1. Provide a historical background to business ethics in the Philippines.
2. Explain the major Filipino Values affecting business.
3. Enumerate various business ethics challenges flowing from the Filipino
business values.

Post Test
A. Direction: Write the letter that best and adequately answers each statement.
1. Procrastination is an example of the indolence of the Filipinos as in much
abused phrase "saka na lang".
A. Suki system C. Mañana Habit
B. Padrino System D. Filial Piety

2. It is fatalistic resignation that really represents withdrawal from

engagement or crisis or a shrinking from personal responsibility.
A. Suki System C. Caste System
B. Padrino System D. Bahala Na System

3. It is a simply means a way or path.

A. Tao C. Sikhism
B. Tau D. Epicureanism

4. A Spanish word which means self –love - a sense of self-esteem or self-

respect that prevents a person from swallowing his pride.
A. Suki system C. Padrino System
B. Manana Habit D. Amor Propio

5. Synonymous to the Filipino expression “Mamaya na” which is just

another term for procrastination.
A. Suki system C. Padrino System
B. Manana Habit D. Amor Propio

B. Identify the value being described by each statement.

6. Filipinos are family-centered. Filipinos get strength from their family.
7. A distinct Filipino value system which is rooted primarily in personal
alliance systems based on obligation.
8. A system of patronage wherein a customer regularly buys their
merchandise from a certain client.
9. The quality of after sales service can also be a crucial factor when in
influencing any purchasing decision.

12
10. A distinct Filipino value system which is rooted primarily in personal
alliance systems based on religion.
11. This refers to the practice of hiring family members regardless of their
qualifications.
12. . It is the act of hiring friends regardless of qualifications.
13. This refers to the code in the Philippines that provides parents or those
exercising parental authority their duties and responsibilities to their
children.
14. This term means the way of life, or the ultimate purpose of enlightenment
in life.
15. Manifests the tendency of Filipinos to humbly submit everything to the
Higher Being during tough times.

13
Key to Correction

14
References:

Book
Racelis, Aliza. “Foundations and Principles of Business Ethics”. Rex Bookstore, 2018.

Journal
Teehankee, Benito. “Institutionalizing Faith-Based Management Education in a
Catholic University.” Journal of Catholic Higher Education, 2018: 31(2).

Websites

“Executive Order No. 209, s. 1987 | GOVPH.” 1987. Official Gazette of the Republic
of the Philippines. July 6, 1987.
https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1987/07/06/executive-order-no-209-s-
1987/.
Dominick Discarga. “The Filipino Value System and Its Effects on Business by
Accessed June 26, 2020. https://www.coursehero.com/file/28687979/The-
Filipino-Value-System-and-Its-Effects-on-Businesspdf/

Drona, Bert M. 2020. “Understanding Our Filipino Value System (Updated).”

Thefilipinomind.Com. January 12, 2020.
https://www.thefilipinomind.com/2008/01/chapter-vi-understanding-filipino-
value.html.

Rafael Dolor. “Confucianism and Its Relevance to the Filipino Family. Accessed June
26, 2020. http://www.geocities.ws/philodept/diwatao/confucianism.htm.

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For inquiries or feedback, please write or call:
Department of Education- Region I
Office Address: Flores St., Catbangen, City of San Fernando, La Union
Telefax: (072) 682-2324; (072) 607-8137
E-mail Address: [email protected]