BRIEF HISTORY OF PHILIPPINE CULTURE

1. BRIEF HISTORY OF
PHILIPPINE CULTURE

2. HISTORY
• The culture of the Philippines reflects the country’s complex history. It is a blend
of the Malayo-Polynesian and Hispanic cultures with influences from Chinese.
• Before the Spanish, there were already a mixture of cultures, the native people
similar to Melanesians and Australian Aborigines a majority population of Malays
and Polynesians and small groups of people from other Southeast Asian
countries.
• Philippines and Guam were furthest colonies from Spain hence Philippines was
governed by Mexico.

3. LANGUAGE AND PEOPLE
• Most common language is English and Filipino which is based on Tagalog
• The majority of Filipinos are descendants from Austronesian people which are
closely related to the Chamorro people in Guam and Mariana Islands.
• The Native population were related to the aborigines of Australia, Melanesians,
Chinese, Japanese and Indians.

4. RELIGION, ARTS, LITERATURE AND MUSIC
• Predominantly Roman Catholic, 80.9% are Catholics, Aglipayan – 2%, Evangelical
Christians – 2.8%, Iglesia ni Cristo – 2.3%, other denomination – 4.5%, about 5%
are Muslim and 5% practiced other religion and those with no longer.
• Visual Arts – painting, indigenous art, kut-kut art, Islamic art.
• Performing Arts – music and dance, cinema and television.
• Hispanic influence is based on indigenous and European tradition. Folk dance,
music and literature have remained intact in the 21st century. These were
introduced in 16th century from Spain and Mexico.

5. ARCHITECTURE
• From Nipa Hut (Bahay Kubo), Spaniards introduced stones as housing and
building materials.
• Contemporary architecture has a distinctively western style although pre –
Hispanic housing is still common in rural areas.

6. CUISINE
• Filipino cook a variety of food influenced by the Spaniards, Westerns and Asians.
• Philippines is considered the melting pot of Asia.
example: afritada, Arroz Caldo, Caldereta, Pochero

7. BUSINESS
• The Philippines Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) plays and integral role
in the economic, political and social development of the nation. Historically, the
chamber can be traced back as early 1890’s with the inauguration of the Camara
de Comercio de Filipinos.
• In the first half of the 20th century commerce and industrial trades with other
Hispanic countries declined due to the US Administration.
• In 1998 marked the centennial celebration of Philippines Independence and
opened a new opportunity for Hispanic and Filipino businesses to reconnect their
historic ties trade partners.

8. CLASSIC FILIPINO TRAITS AND CHARACTERISTICS
Every country has its differing values and stereotypes, and the Philippines is
no exception. We Filipinos firmly believe that our country has the best values in the
world. Although we have been colonized by several countries, many core values
from our ancestors remained intact and are still honored to this day. Filipinos are
not perfect, but we have great characteristics and qualities every one of us should
be proud of. Below I’ve listed some of the most well-known positive and negative
traits of Filipinos.

9. HOSPITALITY
Foreigners who have gone to the
Philippines find themselves falling
in love with the warm hospitality
they are shown. It’s a different
kind of value system, which has
existed for thousands of years.

10. RESPECT
This is often observed – not just
by younger people – but also by
people of all ages.

11. STRONG FAMILY TIES
AND RELIGIONS
Filipinos value their families so
much that they tend to keep
families intact through the
generations.

12. GENEROSITY AND
HELPFULNESS
Filipinos are generous people.
Even when we have very little, we
always share with those around
us.

13. STRONG WORK ETHIC
Filipinos are hardworking people
to the point that they are willing
to work almost the whole day just
to feed our families.

14. LOVE AND CARING
Filipinos are the sweetest and
most loving people in the world.
I’m not just saying this because
I’m a Filipino; if you know us well,
you will soon figure this out.

15. THE SPANISH INFLUENCE ON FILIPINO CULTURE
STRENGTHS OF THE FILIPINO CHARACTER
• Pakikipagkapwa–tao
 Regards for others with dignity and respect and deal with them as fellow human being.
 Manifested in a basic sense of justice and fairness an in concern for others results in
camaraderie and feeling of closeness to one another and promote unity as well as
sense of social justice.
• Utang na Loob – sense of gratitude

16. THE SPANISH INFLUENCE ON FILIPINO CULTURE
STRENGTHS OF THE FILIPINO CHARACTER
• Family Orientation – to the Filipino, one’s family is the source of personal
identity, the source of emotional and material support and the person’s main
commitment and responsibility.
• Joy and Humor – Filipinos have a cheerful and fun-loving approach to life and
its ups and downs which is manifested to Filipino’s love for socials and
celebrations, in our capacity to laugh even in the most trying of times.

17. THE SPANISH INFLUENCE ON FILIPINO CULTURE
STRENGTHS OF THE FILIPINO CHARACTER
• Flexibility, Adaptability and Creativity
 Filipinos have a great capacity to adjust and to adapt to circumstances and to the
surrounding environment, both physical and social.
 Filipinos posses a tolerance for ambiguity, creative, resourceful, adapt at learning and
able to improvise and make use of whatever is at hand in order to create and produce.
• Hard Work and Industry – Filipino have the capacity for hard work given the
proper conditions. The desire to raise one’s standard of living and to possess the
essentials of a decent life for one’s family, combined with right opportunities and
incentives stimulate the Filipino to work very hard.

18. THE SPANISH INFLUENCE ON FILIPINO CULTURE
STRENGTHS OF THE FILIPINO CHARACTER
• Faith and Religiously – deep faith in God.
• Ability to Survive – manifested in the capacity to endure difficult times and to
get by even on so little.

19. WEAKNESSES OF THE FILIPINO CHARACTER
• Extreme Personalism – manifested in the tendency to give personal
interpretations to actions, to take things personally.
• Extreme family-centeredness – creates an image to which the Filipino is fiercely
to the detriment of concern for the larger community or common good. It
manifests in the use of office and power as a means of promoting the interests of
the family, patronage and political dynasties and in the protecting of erring family
members.
• Lack of Discipline – casual and relaxed attitude towards time and space which
manifests itself in lack of precision and compulsiveness, in poor time
management and in procrastination.

20. WEAKNESSES OF THE FILIPINO CHARACTER
• Passivity and Lack of Initiative – strong reliance on others, submissive to
authority, Filipinos tend to be complacent and there rarely sense of urgency
about any problem.
• Colonial Mentality – 2 dimension: Lack of Patriotism and actual preference for
things foreign. It manifests in the alienation of the elite from their roots and from
the masses, as well as in the basic feeling of national inferiority that make us
difficult to relate as equals to westerners.
• Kanya-kanya Syndrome – crab mentality, selfish, self-serving attitude.

21. ROOTS OF FILIPINO CHARACTER
Environment
- Home, Social, Economic and Political
Culture and Language
History
Educational System
Religion
Mass Media
Leadership and Role Models

22. As stated by Doreen G. Fernandez, the so-called negative Filipino
traits have been blamed for the weak character of the Filipino. They
are the culprits, the scapegoats of our failures.
The right to develop ourselves assumes a development of what we are, of what
our culture made us, within the context of our families, towns and nation.
Cultural rights are part of the right of man. The right of people to survival, to self-
determination and to development.

23. Before this nation came to be called Philippines, it was composed of ethnic
groups or tribes scattered throughout the islands- each a community or small
society, each with a particular culture and cultural expressions. Spanish Culture
and American culture had been adapted into the native culture and thus
indigenized, a certain uniformity or similarity could be specifically the lowlanders.
The people who remained unconquered did not absorb this culture.