Philippine Values

What are values?

Standards by which people assess desirability, goodness, and beauty

Express the goals or purposes of social action

Influence a persons behavior towards a large class of objects or persons although they
are not related to the specific object, person, or group

Values are broad principles which hold to be good and true. They color our perceptions of
our surroundings which form the core of our personalities

Types of Social Relationship

Gemeinschaft

Applied more in rural set-ups

Values are inherent, given, and not open for interpretation
Society characterized by relationships

Gesellschaft

Applied more in Urban set-ups

Rational society characterized by impersonal association of people

Study of Values
Robin M. Williams

48th president of the American Sociological Association

Works focused on the American core values and the concept of War & Race
Made the Four-Fold test

Four-Fold Test

Extensiveness
o Extent the value is recognized by a representative number of people within the
society
Duration
o The value has been shared and practiced in common for some time
Intensity
o If the value involves the emotions and is taken seriously and sought after by many
Prestige of its Carrier
o Value provides ready-made means for judging the social worth of the persons or
groups who share or practice it.

Forces That Shape Contemporary Values

In the last quarter of the 20th century, the Filipino value system became the sum total of social
strains, adapting values from neighboring and western countries, making it COSMOPOLITAN,
meaning it has both oriental and occidental values.
Oriental

Foundation of Filipino moral & social conscience, and its cultural identity
Rooted from trade & commerce and intermarriages among ancestors and merchants from
neighboring countries
Relationship revolves around blood ties, marriage and kinship
Influenced by: Aeta, Indonesian, Malaysian, Hindu, Arabian, Chinese

Occidental

Foundation of gesellschaft set-up of Filipinos

Rooted from four hundred years of being colonized by different races
Influenced by: Spanish
o Religion (Roman Catholicism, Fiestas) adapting old religion to inculcate new
one
o Political (Municipal Building, Village Plaza, Compadre System) the compadre
system introduced favoritism and nepotism (unfair practice of people in power of
giving favors to relatives and friends) to Filipinos
o Economic System (Enconmienda, Galleon Trade) The first led to the birth of
feudalism
o Education (Parochial School)
Influenced by: Americans
o Democratic System of Government
o Education as the most essential channel for social mobility

Made the social stratification gap wider due to a Diploma Mentality

Filipino elite children were given priority when it comes to having a

chance to study abroad (scholars or pencionados).

o English Language as medium of Instruction

o Materialism and Consumerism
Other Western Influences

Secular orientation of French enlightenment

o values must relate to the physical world than the spiritual one
o French works like Les Miserables by Victor Hugo and Le Juif Errant by Eugene
Sue inspired local heroes like Andres Bonifacio
Rugged materialism of Japan
o Using ones outlook and lifestyle to construct and reconstruct social identity and
relationship

Value Inconsistency and Conflict

Inconsistency

Cultural diversity of society

Conflict

Pull of individualistic attitude versus the need to belong and contribute to a community

Value Process
Cognitive

Values should be chosen freely from alternatives

Makes decision without any outside pressure
Ex: A woman should marry a man because she loves him, not because she was fixed to be
with him

Affective

A persons choice is prized and cherished, and the person publicly affirms it.
Ex: A students choice to be a Communication student is his choice, then he should flaunt
it proudly.

Behavioral

If one values something, he or shoe shows this in his or her actions, acts positively about
it, and does it habitually
2

Ex: A boyfriend is honest and loyal to his girlfriend not because she is there with him, but
because it was his choice. Therefore, his girlfriends presence is not required for him to
be honest and loyal for his practice of the two must be behavioral.

Filipino Values
Emotional Closeness and security in a family

Members of family give support to each other

Made Filipinos a nation of dependent people
No originality = no independence

Approval from Authority and of society

Made Filipinos image amiable, personable, and the like

Desire to please and be accepted by the authority

Economic and Social Betterment

Uplifting ones state in life

Taught Filipinos to be resilient, hardworking, and madiskarte
Sacrificing other values

Patience, Endurance, & Suffering

Matiisin value
Strike back after tragedy

Values Adapted in Philippine Culture

In 1965, Robin Williams identified the core values in the American society. The following are the
ten which were adapted by the Filipinos.

Equal Opportunity
o Society should provide everyone with opportunities to be successful.
Achievement and Success
o Encouraged by competition so that a persons rewards would reflect his or her
personal traits
Material comfort
o Making money; Peoples impulse is to buy symbols of wealth.
Activity and work
o prefer action than reflection; accepting hardwork than fate
Practicality and efficiency
o Prefers practical actions than theoretical ones.
o Increased the demand for practical courses
Progress
o Prefer the latest products connoting that the latest is the best.
Science
o Only works of science as source of knowledge
o Pays less attention to emotion and attention
Democracy and Free Enterprise
o Reflected during elections
o We emphasize our needs and choices
Freedom
o An individual must be free in pursuing personal goals, with no interference from
anyone else
Racism and Group Superiority
o Individuals rate others according to sex, race, ethnicity, and social class

Key Values That Dominate in the Philippine Way of Life

1. Non-Rationalism Rationalism
3

Non-rationalism
People have to adapt themselves to nature and the forces outside themselves
Involves uncritical acceptance, reverence, and protection of traditions and rituals
Resistance to scientific methods, an unswerving loyalty to the group, and an
unquestioning obedience to authority
Rationalism
The belief that one can actively control and manipulate his or her destiny by
systematic planning, studying, and training
Future-oriented
Guided by curiosity, observation, and experimentation
Gives high priority to self-expression and creativity over group conformity and
security
Filipinos have been influenced by western rationalism, although they are fundamentally nonrational
2. Personalism and Impersonalism
Personalism
Attaches major importance to personal factors which guarantees intimacy, warmth
and security of kinship, and friendship in getting things done
Evident in frequent charges of nepotism, favoritism, and particularism
Has deterring effect on the economic, social, and political growth of Philippine
Society
Pakiusap, areglo and lakad
Impersonalism
The tendency to eliminate the influence of friendship or kinship in working
situations
Behavior is depersonalized, standardized, or institutionalized
3. Particularism Universalism
Particularism
A persons concern is centered on groups, people, etc related, linked, or affiliated
to him or her
Ethical rules stress particularistic interests
Universalism
Ones main concern is the advancement of the collective national good
Legal rules are universalistic for general welfare is taken into consideration
during their formulation
4. Filipino Nationalism
Nationalism is the advocacy of making ones own nation distinct, and separate
from others in the intellectual, social, cultural, economic, political, and moral
matters
Feeling of oneness among nationals who seek to establish the identity and the
good of the nation
Philosophy or a doctrine of what a country is, what its goals are, and how it is to
achieve these goals
Filipinos suffer from National Amnesia and Colonial Mentality

Filipino Expressions
Orientalism Expressions

Bahala na Bathala na; Filipinos courage to take the risk, and face the consequences
Itinilaga ng Diyos
Iginuhit ng Tadhana
Gulong ng Palad
Malas
Napasubo

Status-oriented and Shame-Oriented Expressions

The following expressions prove that a major concern for Filipinos is social approval,
acceptance, and belongingness. A Filipinos behavior is based on what others think and do. His
desires and ambitions depend on what pleases or displeases others.

Hiya Controls Filipino behavior

Utang na Loob
Amor Propio High self-esteem leading to sensitivity over real or imagined insult or
hurt
Delikadesa conformity with ethical practices
Difficulty in saying NO = Kuwan, Marahil, Tila nga, pipilitin ko
Pakikisama goo relationship with the public
Smooth Interpersonal Relationships the choice of using soft, polite words and good
language
Filipinos are imitative/gaya-gaya = palabas, pakitang-tao, pagyayabang

Sociologists Thoughts to Consider

Felipe Landa Jocano and Robert Fox

o Child-rearing practices emphasize obedience to elders
Fr. Jaime Bulatao
o Filipinos are authoritarian, event dictatorial, when given power
o Flaunts to everyone that he/she is the boss thus stifling initiative, self-reliance and
sharing of ideas among subordinates or followers
Ruben Santos Cuyugan
o Prevalence of paternalism in formal organizations, especially in business
organizations where greater consideration is given to status
Richard Coller
o Filipinos are status oriented rather than function-oriented