Ano ang Pagkatao ng isang

Pilipino?
AKO BA ‘TO? ASAL PINOY?

• Cross the street right beneath the footbridge.

• Pwedeng magbigay ng tong sa pulis!

• Pwedeng sakay-baba sa gitna ng daan. ‘Sandali lang’.

• Don’t stare at another guy or you get in trouble.
• Kantiawan ang nagkakaraoke, saksak ang aabutin mo!
• Very Filipino???!!!
To understand the behavior of the Filipino, we must
answer the question:
The Filipino Personality & Culture
• To identify the Filipino personality is difficult to pursue because:

1. There is a problem of choosing a reliable method to analyze the traits and values of Filipinos,
a people whose country had been greatly influenced by colonizers;

2. Most researchers have used western models not applicable to Filipino culture. That is,
according to Landa Jocano (1978), the discrepancies between research findings and real
Filipino behavior.

Despite the limitations, we find the essence of a Filipino personality based on

scientific research and observation of the history and the cultural way of life
of Filipinos.
 WHO IS THE FILIPINO?
In the 16th century, more than 7,000 islands were
inhabited by Negritoes, Indonesians, Malays and the
Chinese of the Ming dynasty. There was no Filipino yet.
Pedro Chirino (1969) in his book “The Philippines in 1600”
likened the Philippines to a “Spanish seed planted in
Malay soil and nourished by Chinese and American
influences.
The FILIPINO
SOUL
is a synthesis of:
1. the Malay
2. the Chinese mind, and
3. the Indian art
• 1. are charming, trusting as a child, naturally tolerant,
forbearing and kind. He laughs a good deal, and is convinced that
tomorrow everything will be better. He is generous and is usually
unwilling to press a point due to largeness of heart. He is brave to the
point of recklessness.
• The Malay is frivolous, characterized as lack of seriousness. His
religious rituals are occasion for merrymaking and enjoyment. His
meetings are reduced into a litany of green jokes and bawdy stories
about dancing girls. He praises the man who gets along well with
others, ‘marunong makisama.’

• 2. is a blend of philosophy and pragmatism. His

patience and perseverance, hardiness and foresight, frugality and
thrift have been transplanted into the Filipino psyche. The Confucian
philosophy accounts for most of the values the Filipinos imbibed.
• During the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D), some 3,000 Chinese traders
came and established residence in the Philippines. According to
Carmen Guerrero-Nakpil (1978), about 10% of Filipino genes is
Chinese.

• 3 elements in the Filipino lie mainly in art, manners,

beliefs and language.
• The FILIPINO HEART:
• Spanish Christian.

• Christianization and social organizations along

western lines were contributions of the
Spaniards. Eighty percent (80%) of Filipinos
embraced Spanish Catholicism, a religion
based on folk Catholicism mixed with pre-
Spanish superstitions and pagan beliefs.
• Many of the value judgments or the social
standards of Filipino life are Spanish in origin.

• Delicadeza is a Spanish concept. Emphasis on

appearance, reputation, privilege and status
are all Spanish.
• The MIND OF THE FILIPINO: AMERICAN

• Some of the elements are: the public health system, road system,
mass education, English language, Western democracy, presidential
system, Congress.
• The American regime made the Filipinos pragmatic.
• For many centuries inside a monastic culture, the Filipinos suddenly
were exposed to Hollywood.
• Where before he had an obedient mind, now he is asking
questions.

• Under the Americans, Filipinos became materialistic and

individualistic, no longer the Oriental’s
• “What is the thinking of others.”
The Filipino Value
n The Filipino is frequently diagnosed as one suffering from identity crisis.

Orientation
n

n
He is ambivalent in his convictions and distrustful of his competence.
Asian
He is Westernby birth but matured with a mind.
n The Filipino value is more outer-directed than inner-directed.
n They are little more than unfortunate clones of the West. They suffer from a ‘lack of their
own culture.’ (says Delia Aguilar, 1995).

His sense of inferiority was wrought in the Filipino mind by the Spaniards: He is not as
good as the white man because he is native, brown and small-nosed, and an Asian.
n

n The Filipino psychology permeates four histories and four cultures:

Malay, Spanish, American and Japanese.

n He is a creation of diverse social, economic, cultural,

political and psychological stresses.
The Filipino Aims, Goals
• Fr. Frank
and Lynch (1976) identifies the three basic aims that
Aspirations
predominantly motivate and control the behavior of the
Filipino:
• 1. social acceptance
• 2. economic security, and
• 3. social mobility (considered the most important).
1. Social acceptance

• Social acceptance as goal is defined as

being taken by one’s fellow for what he is
or is believed to be and being that image
in accordance with his status. Attainment
of social acceptance is assisted by two
intermediate values which are recognized
as important and satisfying goals:
Smoothness of interpersonal relations,
on one hand, and sensitivity to personal
affront, on the other.
• Smooth Interpersonal Relationship (SIR) is the ability to get
along with others in such a way as to avoid signs of conflict.
The method used to maintain SIR includes pakikisama,
euphemism, and the use of go-between.
• Sensitivity to Personal Affront --- the loss of social
acceptance is guarded against by two sanctions that
discourage behavior descriptive of those relations:
i. hiya
ii. amor propio
2. Economic Security
Economic Security. For the average Filipino, economic security as a goal means the desire to possess the
essentials for a decent human life and the opportunities for improving onself. It suggests self-
sufficiency to maintain one’s dignity and family. Instrumental to this goal-value of economic
security is the value of reciprocity.

Reciprocity is that principle of behavior wherein every service, solicited or not, demands a return, the
nature and proportion of which is determined by the relative status of the parties involved and the
kind of exchange of issue. The utang na loob reciprocity is most consciously generated when a
transfer of goods or services takes place between individuals belonging to two different groups.
3. Social Mobility
Social Mobility (is considered the most important).
• It is going up the ladder of social class--- from
lower class to elite class;
• It is emerging from poverty to riches.
The Filipino Hierarchy
of Needs

• Dr. Tomas Andres

has observed that
the Filipino is HEROISM

motivated by the SOCIAL MOBILITY

following
hierarchy of SOCIAL ACCEPTANCE

needs:
RECIPROCITY

FAMILISM
1. FAMILISM
• As against Maslow’s Physiological Needs)
the Filipino has the need to belong. More
than any physical need, he must be part of
the family. In times of need, mayroon
siyang matutuluyan, may dadamay, may
masisilungan. If hungry, hindi sya matitiis
ng pamilya at may mauuwian. For the
Filipino, he would rather suffer hunger with
the family.
2. RECIPROCITY
• The Filipino has the need to be
reciprocated. Kung may itinanim, may
aanihin. He is governed by Utang na
Loob. Someday, those with whom the
Filipino was generous enough will be
able to repay somehow in any way.
3. SOCIAL
• The Filipino has the need to be
ACCEPTANCE
accepted in a bigger group. No
wonder he wants to preserve balance
and harmony, employ SIR, reciprocate
(magbayad ng ‘utang’ na loob),
huwag manghiya at ayaw mapahiya.
4. SOCIAL MOBILITY
• The Filipino aspires to climb the socio-economic
ladder: From being poor, to middle class and probably
becoming an elite. Improving from rags to riches, ‘ala-
Nora Aunor’ is a dream. Education is a value to
transport one from prestige to economic stability. The
Filipino will do any means, even going abroad as an
OFW, to improve the lot of the family.
5. HEROISM •(or
The Filipino has the ultimate need to be
Pagkabayani) esteemed and revered. He gets a lifting
spirit when he does good to his family or
society and this achievement is
recognized and acknowledged. He is
kilalang-tao, an esteemed and revered
member of the family or society.
Certainly, the ultimate sense of heroism
is when the Filipino sheds blood for ones
own country, becoming a hero.
How does the Filipino
preserve
• Notequilibrium?
to rock the boat, the Filipino looks for meaning in what
is not said. The silence for the Filipino together with the
pauses between silences are very meaningful. They convey
messages. The Filipino seek mainly to receive messages that
often do not have to be stated directly or explicitly. The
Filipino is indirect because he wants to keep his
interpersonal encounters pleasant and friendly. In that way,
the channel of communication will remain open. The Filipino
cannot be frank.
• When a Filipino listens to a person, his immediate instinctive
reaction is to try to figure out what the speaker likes, what
he is like, what kind of a person he is and by identifying
himself with the speaker, he can understand what he is
talking about.
For the Filipino, his concept of society
is the absence of conflict and
existence of equilibrium in society.
• If a Japanese or an American is slapped, they will
either ask for the reason or simply go away. But
generally, a classical Filipino will go away but will
come back with a weapon in hand to kill the one
who slapped him.
Example of Filipino’s
• Parinig - letting the other party hear by speaking to a different person.
Indirectness
• In the Jeepney: “God knows who does not pay!
• Biruan – ‘Biru-biro kung sanglan, totoo king tamaan’
• ‘Batu-bato sa langit ang tamaan huwag magagalit.’
• The Filipino uses a camouflage of words para hindi makasakit ng damdamin at kalooban.
Therefore, the Filipino can talk anything under the sun because he will not hurt anyone. The
Filipino feels safe and secure.
• But when directly, frankly, singled out for derogation, and pushed to the wall and is hurt, the
defense mechanism of the Filipino is often lively: verbally and behaviorally.
• Pakipot – ‘to close up’ not to lay self open; The Filipino is not making the first move towards
involvement or commitment.
• “Hinihingi ko lang, hindi nagagalit.”
• “Hindi mapagtanim, masama lang magalit.”
• Pakitang tao – He is showy for the benefit of social approval. The Filipino feels he is being
watched. Thus, he is expected some roles and evaluated by the community.
Communication is
peculiar among
Filipinos ‘YES’ for Pinoys has seven (7) meanings:
• He does not know;
• He is annoyed;
• He wants to impress;
• He wants to end the conversation;
• He half understood the instruction or what is being said;
• He is not sure of himself; and,
• He knows better than the one speaking to him.
• The Filipino says ‘YES’ and ‘NO’ in order not to offend.
• Yes has various meanings, one of them is ’NO’.
‘I’ll Try’
I’LL TRY means according to how it is said.
‘Drop by dinner tonight’ --- ‘Ill try’ --- means he is asking
you to repeat the invitation more strongly because:
• invitations to a person’s home are not made lightly in the
Philippines. Therefore, repeat strongly and repetitively;
• ‘Pakikisama’ demands that invitations are made frequently
when the host does expect the guest to accept. Or else,
‘pabalat bunga lang’. Thus, say, “I’ll try’.
SILENCE
• The Filipino SILENCE means something should not reveal
anything big.
• (For other countries it means ‘yes’ or agree or approve or
consenting). However, do not force him to talk. Otherwise, he will
tell you nothing. Filipino feels that he should not reveal anything
because he fears to stir up conflict with people. If he reveals his
thoughts to individuals, he reveals some only which he thinks
would be acceptable to you. Even when a Filipino could not agree
with you, he will choose weak agreement by saying: ‘Siguro nga’
or ‘Baka’ or ‘Yata’ rather than disagree with you.
The Filipino Concept of
• For Westerners, ‘time is gold’, or ‘time is money’. They
Time count every second and every minute and hours. Time is
limited and must not be wasted. It is linear in nature
and has an end.
• For Filipinos, times is unending and limitless as a circle
(cyclical). Time has no beginning and no end.
Being close to nature, he says:
• ‘Sisikat pa ang araw’,
• ‘May bukas pa!’
• ‘Magbubukang liwayway na’

• Thus, unlike the westerners who track down time by the

clock, the Filipino would rather measure time according
to nature. There is no wonder then that the Filipino can
not come on time.
The Filipino’s Split Level
Christian Personality
Ang Pinoy, sisimba; paglabas sa simbahan:
• Magmumura
• Magsusugal
• Mangangaliwa o mambababae
• magnanakaw sa gobyerno
• magsusugal
• iinom ng alak
• magsasabong
• tataya sa jueteng

History tells us, the Spaniards imposed Catholicism on animist Filipinos without
educating them. Moreover, they preached religion but acted otherwise. Filipinos do
not understand Catholicism fully. Thus, they prefer to go to Quiapo for the magic
(milagro ng Nazareno). The Filipino prays and acts differently.