Republic of the Philippines

SACRED HEART COLLEGE

Higher Education Department
Lucena City

Filipino Character Traits

Good character traits of Filipinos

1. Hospitality – a unique trait of Filipinos which commends itself to a friend or foreigner. If you happen to drop in at
an unholy hour of the day and sensing that you are hungry, the Filipino readily prepares the best food, even if
there would not be enough food for the next meal.
2. Pakikisama – pertains to a loose manifestation of camaraderie and good faith. A person is labeled as “mabuting
makisama” if he is not selfish and participates cheerfully in community work.
3. Close-family ties – the Filipinos possess a genuine and deep love for the family. The Filipino family is composed
of grandparents, the parents, the children, aunts, uncles and other relatives. The grandparents are always
consulted on matters affecting the family.
4. Filial piety – also known as respect for the elders. The Filipino parent exercises almost absolute power over their
children and what even decisions they made are respected. It is quite unthinkable and surprising for a son or a
daughter to do an important decision without consulting the parents. Children are not condoned talking back to
those who are older than they are. The elders believe that they can demand obedience among the young
members of the family – right or wrong.
5. Loyalty – a trait which means to be faithful to commitments on matters relating to personal relationships. For
them, this is very strong and enduring. Friendship is such a sacred association and implies mutual help under
any kind of condition.
6. Hardworking – the desire to raise one’s standard of living and to acquire the basic essentials of a better life for
one’s family, with appropriate incentives, undoubtedly makes the Filipino work very hard.
7. Flexibility – Filipinos have the capacity to adjust and to adapt to conditions and circumstances in a given, both
physical and social. Filipino migrant workers are unfazed by uncertainty or lack of information about a foreign
land in pursuit of job opportunities.
8. Religiosity – Filipinos have a deep faith in God. Their innate religiosity enables them to comprehend and
genuinely accept the reality in the context of God’s will and plan. Filipinos live very intimately with the religion and
prayers have been important parts of their lives.
9. Palabra de honor – is the virtue that defines the sanctity of commitments and obligations is contractual and
personal relations. Today, it is one of the many virtues we must revive in order to establish the moral code and
expectation of the public from the government; and inversely, of the government from its citizens.
10. Delicadeza – is a virtue that determines the person’s sensitivity to what is right or wrong. A sense of prudence
and propriety is implicit in a person with delicadeza. Delicadeza in a person of authority also serves as an early
warning device in recognizing the traps of graft and corruption.

Bad character traits

1. Fatalistic – it refers to a doctrine that all events are predetermined or subject to fate. The Filipinos are by nature
fatalistic and submit to fate. It seems that no amount of logic and scientific explanation can remove him from this
fatalistic attitude. He believes that every fate or misfortune that comes along his way is attributed to fate.
2. Lack discipline – the Filipinos have an aversion for following strictly a set of procedures to observe order and
discipline. They are impatient to get what they want fast. This results in the use of short-cuts.
3. Lack national consciousness – a proper understanding of one’s history is a very important factor in the
development of national consciousness because it will serve to demonstrate how the present is influenced by the
past.
4. Colonial mentality – this may be attributed to the Filipinos lack of patriotism or maybe strong preference for
imported goods, foreign ideas and ways. They have a penchant for adapting and incorporating the foreign
elements into their image.
5. Extreme Family Centeredness – while concern for the family is considered an important trait of the Filipinos, its
extreme excessiveness becomes detrimental to the welfare of a larger community. The use of one’s office and
power to promote the interest of one’s family results in the utter lack of concern for the common good.
6. Crab mentality – most Filipinos have a selfish and self-serving attitude that generates a feeling of envy towards
others; particularly, when ones peer has gained honor or prestige because of hard work. They demonstrate some
hostile attitudes and feelings by recoursing to unfounded and malicious criticisms – ‘tsismis” and “intriga” to bring
others down.

Philippine History 1
Unhistorical Data

Unhistorical data, sometimes called as hoaxes abounds in the study of Philippine History. These
are narratives that have been previously accepted in Philippine history as facts but later were found out to
be historical errors. These historical accounts include the Maragtas Code, the Code of Kalantiaw, and the
legend of Princess Urduja.

The Bornean Datus

The Malay settlement at Panay is told in the Maragtas, an epic about the ten datus, headed by
Datu Puti. At about the 13th century, Borneo was at the state of agitation because Sultan Makatunaw was
arbitrarily treating his subjects; so the ten chieftains decided to leave for an unknown destination in search
for freedom.

With them were the families who sailed without any definite destination. After a few days of sailing,
these Bornean chieftains reached Panay, which was at that time ruled by a datu Marikudo and his wife.
Datu Puti assured Marikudo that their intentions were peaceful and all they wanted was to purchase land
where he and his men and their families could settles. After consulting with his elders, Marikudo sold his
land to the new settlers. It may be interesting to note that the purchase price was ridiculously low – a gold
salakot and a gold necklace for Maniwantiwan, Marikudo’s wife. The sale was sealed by a pact of
friendship and followed by a customary feast after which Marikudo and his people bade farewell to Datu
Puti and his guest.

With the chieftains and their families settled in Panay, these datus sailed in different regions. The
three datus Puti, Balensusa and Dumangsil reached the coast of Batangas and were delighted by the
scenic beauty of the region around Lake Taal and the fertility of the soil that holds promise; so they decided
to settle there. While Datu Puti and his men were satisfied with the peaceful environment, they returned to
Borneo. The families of Dumangsil and Balensusa sailed to Laguna and the Bicol region. The seven datus
in Panay found the place peaceful so they decided to divide the island into three districts namely: Hantik
(now Antique) under Datu Sumakwel; Irong – Irong (now Iloilo) under Datu Paliburong; and Aklan (now
Aklan and Capiz) under Datu Bangkaya. It may be worth mentioning that the Bornean colonies in the
Philippines apparently prospered. It was perceived that Datu Sumakwel ruled well because of his age and
wisdom. The datus formed a sort of political organization known as “Confederation of Madyaas” led by Datu
Sumakwel for purposes of protection and for maintaining harmonious relations among the families.

Code of Kalantiaw

Previously regarded as the second oldest legal code in the Philippines was the Code of Kalantiaw.
This code was said to be a set of ancient laws promulgated in 1433 by Datu Kalantiaw of Aklan, the third
Muslim ruler of Aklan. In the unprecedented doctoral dissertation of William Henry Scott, he concluded that
the Pavon manuscript, the source where Code of Kalantiaw was taken, were actually not genuine and that
the code itself was a hoax.

The Legend of Princess Urduja

Another narrative that many Filipinos have learned is about a legendary warrior princess named
Urduja. She has been adapted as a symbol of woman of distinguished courage, an inspiration for women in
the country.
Unfortunately, this tale is another historical error, which has created false impressions and should
be corrected. The story reportedly came from Ibn Batuta, an Arab traveller from Morocco. His book,
Rihlah(Travels), includes descriptions of the Byzantine court of Constatntinople (now Istanbul) and the
Black Death of Baghdad.
It was in Tawalisi, an island somewhere in Southeast Asian waters 15 days away from China
where he mentioned a mysterious amazon named Princess Urduja, who would only marry the man who
could beat her in fistfights. She presided over a court so fascinating and majestic.
The legend of Princess Urduja is quite amusing but historians could not certify its authenticity.
Modern historians agreed that Princess Urduja was just an illusory creation of Ibn Batuta.

Philippine History 2