14 Good Filipino Habits that Make the

Philippines a Great Country

September 2, 2014 By Victorino Q. Abrugar 13 Comments

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There may be negative traits that are common to many Filipinos, such as crab
mentality (envy and insecurity), mañana habit (procrastination) and tardiness, that are
hindering our country’s progress and human development index. But on the other side,
we also have several positive traits that make us one of the most admirable people on
Earth. The following good habits make the Filipinos great people and the Philippines a
great country. Let us do our best to preserve them.
1. Hospitability. It’s one of the most popular traits of Filipinos. We are usually friendly
and welcoming to our guests. This Filipino attribute makes the Philippines one of the
most favorite destinations by tourists who want to enjoy the beauty of our nature and the
friendliness of our people, not to mention we can also understand and speak English.

2. Adaptability and resilience. Despite of all the calamities that struck our country, like
the strong earthquake and Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) that devastated the central
part of Visayas in 2013, Filipinos are persistent enough to get back on their feet, even
without the solid help from the government. We can also adapt to any type of
environment and mingle with any kind of people all over the world.

3. Resourcefulness and creativity. Filipinos are known for ingenuity. We are creative
in many ways, whether it’s in art, music, science, technology and business. Some of our
smartest countrymen can come up with a brilliant idea despite of poverty or lack of
financial resources. We are also good in recycling trash and turn them into ingenious
products.

4. Faithfulness. The Filipinos are one of the most faithful people in the world. Whatever
our religion is, we remain faithful and we don’t lose hope for a better tomorrow. Our
faithfulness and hopefulness keep us kind, positive, peaceful and determined to achieve
our goals no matter how impossible they may seem.

5. Unity in bayanihan spirit. We are in close relationship with our neighbors. In

barangays and most subdivisions, the people in the neighborhood know each other, talk
each other, help each other, and protect each other. Our communities are organized.
We help each other to make our fiestas, festivals and other events lively and colorful to
make sure that our visitors will have a great experience.

6. Thriftiness. There may be Filipinos who are living beyond their means. But on the
brighter side, there are also many Filipinos who are frugal. We shop wisely to save our
money for future important uses. We are conscious on the price tag, discounts and
quality of the products we buy to get the most out of our money. Filipino parents also do
sacrifices like skipping the stuff they want to buy for themselves just to save their money
to buy things that can make their children happy.

7. Politeness. Filipinos are courteous people. The children and young Filipinos will
always use the words “po” and “opo” to show respect to someone who’s older or who’s
in the higher position than them. We also do the “mano po” gesture (bringing the back of
the hand of an elder to one’s forehead) as a sign of respect to our elders. Moreover,
Filipino workers will always address their customers with “sir” or “ma’am” to show
humility and honor to serve them.

8. Family-oriented. Filipinos are willing to make big sacrifices just to make sure that
their loved ones will have a good life. Our parents will do anything just to give us a
brighter future. They are even willing to work in a foreign soil just to achieve such goal.
And in return, we study hard and even sacrifice our personal love life just to fulfill the

dreams of our parents for us. Furthermore, many Filipino breadwinners work
extraordinarily hard just to earn money to support their family.

9. Bravery. There’s a hero’s blood running on our veins. We have the most fearless
heroes who only think of defending our homeland. Remember Lapu-Lapu, Andress
Bonifacio and Jose Rizal. Moreover, our soldiers are probably the bravest in the world.
General Douglas MacArthur was even quoted saying “Give me ten thousand Filipino
soldiers and I will conquer the world.”

10. Jolliness and sense of humor. The Philippines is a country of smiles. Nothing can
take away the humor and jolliness of many Filipinos… not even super typhoon Yolanda
– the strongest recorded typhoon that made a landfall. Despite of the tragedy, Yolanda
survivors can still be seen smiling, positive and hopeful to rebuild their lives even better.
The Filipino humor is evident everywhere, from comedy films, TV shows, to every
Filipino you will meet.

11. Discretion and dignity. Perhaps many of our politicians don’t have a delicadeza.
But our people, especially the Filipinas, still observe delicadeza. Despite of the growing
number of Filipinos who are giving up their delicadeza, there are still many Filipinos who
always think twice before they make a decision that can affect their dignity and honor.
Thanks to their parents who raised them up with high moral standards.

12. Gratefulness. Aside from being hospitable, Filipinos are also thankful. We don’t
forget anyone who helped us, whether he (she) is a Filipino or not. We even build
monuments to show our utmost respect and gratitude to our heroes and other foreign
personalities who helped the Filipino people. We show our warmest gratitude to the
international communities who helped us rebuild our lives after Haiyan and other
disasters struck us.

13. Honesty and commitment. Perhaps “palabra de honor” is not evident among our
politicians, but it’s still evident among the common Filipinos. When we make a promise,
we try our best to fulfill that promise even if it will undermine ourselves. For us, to fulfill a
promise to others is a great self fulfillment. We are also candor. What we see in you, we
will tell you frankly.

14. Helpfulness. Finally, even if the Philippines is not a big and rich country, we still
grant aids to other countries in need. We also send our brave soldiers to protect other
nations from threats and to preserve world peace.
Originally, we are rich in good values, morals, attitudes and habits. They are the
legacies that our ancestors have left us. Maybe some of these qualities are already
fading and becoming rare among Filipinos. But we can still do something to preserve
them. Let’s protect our moral treasures! Let’s start preserving them within ourselves.
Then let’s serve as a model of these good habits to inspire our countrymen to do the
same.