6 Negative Pinoy Traits That Need to Change

Filipinos are generally joyful, loving, and hospitable people! In fact, we are known around the world for all those good qualities. But, let’s face it, we are far from being perfect! We still have these negative Pinoy traits that need to change for the better.

Filipinos have been living and complaining about the same old toxic Filipino culture for years, yet we shrug it off just because it was deemed as acceptable in our families. Still, every day we ask ourselves, “Why is the Philippines still in the same place as it is 30, 50, 80 or 100 years ago?” Perhaps the answers just lies within us!

We listed down toxic Filipino attitudes that today’s generation cannot ignore anymore. Let’s begin!

1. “Filipino Time”

Filipino time is usually equated to being late and it’s just an end result of a reason deeper than tardiness. Some of us tend to think that everything would be ‘ok’ so just ‘relax’. They tend not to pressure themselves even if it means being disrespectful of other’s time. Self comes first for people who practice this.

Many factors are attributed to being late in the Philippines. A favorite reason is traffic. In recent decades, thousands of people may have reasoned out traffic as an excuse for being late and that is true in most cases. This however, is not an acceptable reason. If you really want to be on time, you should leave and travel earlier. But then again, there may still be other factors to consider such as vehicular accidents or emergencies.

Being late is one of the negative Pinoy traits. And it’s even sadder that it’s being named ‘Filipino time’ even if people from other countries can be late just like everybody else. But instead of conforming to the ‘”Filipino Time,” why not change the system? Be there on time, and be strict when you set a schedule. This way, you can help eradicate the concept of lateness in the Philippines and be first to exemplify punctuality in your office. Let everyone follow because now’s the right time to be on time—not after thirty minutes, and definitely not later than that.

2. Ningas Cogon Mentality

It refers to the Filipino cultural trait of enthusiastically starting things, but then quickly losing enthusiasm soon after. Since when you light up a ‘cogon’ you would observe how it catches fire and poof…it’s gone. So the metaphor “ningas cogon” was coined to mean projects, promises, or decisions that were started on a high note but immediately stopped or were left unfinished. An example is a new year’s resolution. How long could you keep it?

Avoid starting a goal, project, or resolution if you know in yourself that you cannot finish it!

3. Greeting people with “Tumaba ka!”

Guys, let’s just all agree. No one likes to be greeted with this. People are generally conscious about their appearance, but it’s also not the nicest thing to do when you greet someone with a comment on their weight. Some may even consider it rude. Besides, when you haven’t seen someone in a while, wouldn’t the best first thing to say to them be: “Uy, kumusta?”

4. Colonial Mentality

Probably one of the biggest flaws we have as a nation is our colonial mentality. Defined as a preference for all things foreign over our own, a negative trait we acquired from our days under the Spanish and Americans. As a result, we Filipinos have been indoctrinated with the misconception that our culture is inferior to that of our past rulers.

Glaring examples of colonial mentality include patronizing foreign instead of local brands, favoring foreign values over our own, and even desiring to look more “Western”. If we can’t even have pride in our own country and culture, then we’re in trouble. Unfortunately we will always be stuck with this self-defeating mentality. Time for a change!

5. “Bahala na” mentality

Filipinos are generally happy, resilient people. Those are some of our best traits. But sometimes, also to a fault. We can be a bit nonchalant and even unbothered by things that we should be preparing for. Maybe it’s our jolly nature. But instead of just going “bahala na” in the face of challenge or a decision, wouldn’t it be more awesome if we could face it and say to ourselves instead: “I got this!”

6. Parents seeing children as trust funds

One old belief Filipinos hold up to now is that parents think that their children are the ones who will help them rise above poverty and corruption. When in fact, before starting a family, parents should have been financially stable beforehand. This is another one of several negative Pinoy traits that must cease to exist.

Yes, we understand that there could have been more reasons as to why this happens, but in today’s world, family planning should be easier. In fact, it has become a necessity. Unfortunately, some Filipinos are close-minded with family planning.

On the flip side, there are many things we can be proud of as Filipinos and positive traits we should practice at all times. So it’s important that as we try to fix our flaws, we also remain proud of attributes unique to us Filipinos.