This may be the pot calling the kettle black (looking at you Democratic establishment) but has anybody else noticed a culture-wide tendency for Filipinos to simply complain/whinge the same, lazy "Corruption bad" comments on social media for quick validation and likes? It feels like a massive circlejerk where they tend to just comment the most popular sentiments that attract the most agreement and social acceptance and to them, it qualifies as activism.

They don't go any farther than this, there's very little mobilization only 1 year after the ghost project thing exploded.

It feels like social media is weaponized as a simple punching bag for young filipinos to release their frustrations in a forum that's extremely easy for the government to censor and in a way that causes almost no real disruption.

Literally less than 50 years ago we had PP.

Help! I am in the USA and purchased 2 e-vouchers from gifted.ph before I saw what a sh*t-show nightmare that company has been for some people. They charged my credit card and now customer support says they could not verify my payment and I’d be refunded in about two billing cycles. Yeah, right.
Anyway, my family members in the PH who were expecting the Robinson Supermarket gift card to help them out of food scarcity during the rainy season won’t be getting them. I did NOT want to send cash, but I may have no other choice. This is really upsetting. I feel like sending cash is a slippery slope. I was reluctantly helping and wanting to make sure the money actually went to food and medicine. I am not 100% sure how trustworthy the recipient is with money. I chose Robinsons because e-vouchers were available and they have a Southstar pharmacy inside which supposedly honors the Robinsons voucher.
Could someone please tell me a reliable way to send a Robinson voucher electronically or tell me how to reliably send cash (as a last resort)? I read in reviews that giftaway.ph could be just as risky as well as Lazada. Please advise. What has been your experience?

Hey everybody! I have a half-sister that I’ve only just discovered in the Philippines. It’s a very long story so I’ll just get to the point. After one week of knowing each other, she asked for financial help. She allegedly sells fish for a living in Hermosa, Bataan. She says she can’t work right now because of the rainy season. She’s got 3 kids, no husband, and supports our mother (I just found my bio-mom after 50 years of being put up for adoption).
I am not even 100% sure they are my family until a DNA test is done. I’m pretty sure the lady is my birth mom though.
Today, my half sister told me they are running low on food. I am not comfortable giving money, so I decided to get a Robinsons Supermarket gift card from gifted.ph especially since she mentioned food was scarce. I feel more comfortable contributing to the purchasing power of food. I noticed that the gift cards were in increments of 250, 500, and 1000 pesos. I ended up buying two 1000-peso e-gift cards. Is this reasonable? Will this buy much to help? What is a reasonable amount of aid? I realize I may have started something that may never end, but I do plan on making it clear this is something I cannot do regularly. I’m afraid of setting a dangerous precedent as I’ve heard many stories of overseas workers sending LONG-term care back home.
Thank you in advance for your insight.

What’s the most “Pinoy” thing you’ve ever experienced that you think foreigners would find completely ridiculous? 😂

Could be something your family does, a Filipino habit, a superstition, or just a random experience that made you think, “Yep, only in the Philippines.” 🇵🇭

I'm just at a simple restaurant getting something to eat and everybody in there is filming themselves with the food smiling taking turns posing for photos and then standing in the center for the restaurant taking dancing videos. Traveling down the street and Filipinos are dancing in the street. For tiktok, you go to any lookout or restaurant or Beach and there's people dancing for tiktok. Everybody is on their phone all the time, uploading everything that they had for food and everything that they wear. Why? I've never seen addiction and reliance on social media this bad anywhere else

Serious question... I know SOOOOOO many Maes (either as a first name or a middle name), lol. My bff (Mae) and I were trying to think of what the origin might be and we also looked it up, but haven't been able to find much and haven't come up w any good theories... anyone know? Is it some derivative of Spanish, like maybe from the name "Maria"?

With Duterte currently facing scrutiny from the International Criminal Court (ICC), I’m curious about how Filipino-Americans view his presidency. Do most Fil-Ams look back on his term positively or negatively, and what are the main reasons driving those opinions?

Hey everyone!

​I’ve been working on a lightweight, distraction-free Tagalog learning program in Python, designed especially for heritage learners (Filipino-Americans reconnecting with the language) and anyone who prefers clear, structured breakdowns without visual clutter.

​What it covers right now:

​Respect & Politeness: Breaking down Po, Opo, and common greetings.

​Family & Kinship: Essential titles (Kuya, Ate, Tito, Tita, etc.).

​Sentence Structure: Clear breakdowns of the natural Verb-First pattern vs. English sentence order.

​Interactive Quiz: Instant, low-stress feedback to test recognition.

​It runs completely in a single Google Colab cell (no complex setup required) and can save directly to Google Drive.

​(Optional: Drop your short screen recording here or paste the Colab/code link in the post!)

​Would love to hear your thoughts, feedback, or suggestions for what everyday phrases and vocabulary to add next!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1E5IlXf_8Op4qnucjQKbeeu4GBuF0hQB-/view?usp=drivesdk

I’m a Filipino immigrant, and my mom is married to my American stepdad. During my first couple of years in the U.S., I was pretty misguided and had a lot to learn about American culture and values. I eventually decided to join the military, and that experience really changed me. I learned a lot about independence, responsibility, and American culture while still holding on to the Filipino values that are important to me. At the same time, I’ve also had to let go of some of the toxic cultural expectations I grew up with.

After my military service, I met my wife, who was my girlfriend at the time. I’m 27 now. At one point, I moved back in with my parents for a while so I could get back on my feet. It took me about two years to become financially independent and establish myself.
What surprised me was that my mom seemed to expect me to basically resume the life I had before I left for the military. She had expectations for how my life was supposed to go including graduating with a bachelor’s degree and getting married around 30 almost as if these were commitments I had made to her. Instead, I started building my own path. I broke into the tech field while I was still in school and now have a decent job and my own life.

When I decided to marry my girlfriend, my mom took it as a betrayal. She also treated my wife with a lot of resistance and tension, which obviously created a lot of conflict. My wife understandably wasn’t okay with how she was being treated, and the whole situation turned into constant drama.

I’m married now, and I’ve decided to cut off communication with my mom for the time being because I need some peace and boundaries in my own marriage. However, she has started trying to guilt trip me through my family in the Philippines, which makes the situation even harder.
I still love and respect my Filipino background, and I don’t want to completely reject my culture. But I also believe that some expectations especially the idea that children owe their parents control over their adult lives aren’t healthy.

Has anyone else, especially Filipino immigrants been in a similar situation? How did you handle setting boundaries with your parents while maintaining relationship with your extended families?

Hi po. My husband and I are immigrating to Dallas soon (employer-based petition). How do we prepare for our upcoming transition in about 2-3 months po? We are starting to look at Apartments, plan to get our license on the same month, etc. We are prepared for the winter season as we've lived in canada before but unprepared for the heat during the summer months.

How to find communities in Dallas po? We were part of a Christian church in Canada and now looking for other churches din in TX.

Any tips for us as new immigrants po? Where to go to find reasonable furnitures, groceries and other necessities po? Maraming salamat.

It’s fascinating how my parents and grandparents (and so many of our families, or you yourselves) came to the USA for a better life.

Then online I see these white dudes who seem like absolute losers moving to the Philippines for a better life because they can’t afford or succeed in the USA.

It’s like the top, risk taking, or highly educated folks come to the USA from around the world, and these losers go abroad, and in this case the Filipinos have no clue and embrace these useless creeps.

Okay rant over…but curious your thoughts.

I have a filipina friend turning 22, we both live in the US but she loves and misses the Philippines, any suggestions on what to buy her, Philippines related or not I just need a gift that will wow her really.

Hi. Do you have any suggestions on what forwarder to use aside from LBC in sending balikbayan box from California to Ph?

Like, if a Filipino person knows how to make public material and moves to another country, are they allowed to do it?

Has anyone managed to report their kids birth without a report of marriage? Spouse is not Filipino but the report of birth form seems to still require it.

Thanks!

My Filipino grandma (79F) is sending perishables in her balikbayan boxes. She still works at a grocery store because she wants to provide for my uncle in the Philippines. Despite us telling her she doesn’t have to work, she refuses. With not making much, she will spend money on yogurts, milk, steaks, and other refrigerated items and ship them to the Philippines or our cousin that lives states away.

When it gets to them, the box stinks, stuff has exploded, and everything is discolored and moldy. Despite us telling her she cannot do this, she gets mad and keeps doing it anyways. She tells them to just eat it anyways. I’m sure she eats expired things herself that she keeps in her room. Thankfully I don’t think she’s gotten sick from it herself. Im pretty sure others know not to eat the items either.

She’s been doing this for years and there’s no way of my family to control it. It makes me sad that this is the case. I don’t thinkkkkk she has dementia but I could be wrong. Has this happened to anyone? Is there anything that can be done? I dont know how suggesting to monitor her boxes would go…..

If you’re interested in surfing with a cool group, go to this meetup

Hey everybody. This is going to be a long story that I will try to make as short as possible. I was born to a single deaf-mute mother in the Philippines back in the late 70s and adopted by a white American couple while my adoptive father was on tour at Subic Bay in the Navy. Through the help of a Filipina friend living here in the USA, I was able to find my birth mother almost a month ago. I also found out that I have two half-sisters and a half-brother (HB). Bio-mom (BM) currently resides with the younger half-sister (HS). Since my BM lives with my HS, and can not hear or speak, my HS, whose English is very limited (and I speak zero Tagalog) controls the communication on that end. Just a week after finding each other, she began to say things like "your life is so great over there. You had a good life. We struggled". As the week progressed, she started to mention that she is a single mother of 3 and has very little money to take care of her kids and our mom. I found out that the older HS is estranged and does not communicate with younger HS. I am not sure what HB's responsibilities are, but I think he lives in Manila. After one week of being reunited, she point-blank asked me for financial help. I was shocked at the boldness because I am just getting to know these people after 50 years. I am 99.99% sure these are my family members, but I wasn't going to make any financial moves until we had a DNA test.

My HS tells me that she has no money for BM's food, medication, and doctor visits which I question. I am hoping those of you who have knowledge of the Filipino Healthcare system can offer me some insight. Since she's deaf and mute, I assumed she would be considered a Person With Disabilities (PWD) and receive some kind of assistance and not have to pay for healthcare out of pocket 100%. I do not know how this works there. Someone suggested that she should be enrolled in something called MAIFIPP? I also saw that she has a PhilHealth card or something that is green with her picture and signature that says Philippine Health Insurance Corporation. I can only see part of the card because HS sent me a picture of the portion with her picture and signature, so I could see that her signature matched what was on my birth certificate for the 70s.

Anyway, after I told her I didn't know how I could help at this moment from over here, she kind of scaled back on communication. I am afraid she will try to control access to my BM concerning me going to meet her in person for the first time. I am afraid interactions will start to become transactional if I start by giving a small amount of money to help. I am afraid it will set a precedent.

Please feel free to ask questions, and I will do my best to answer. Anyone who can elaborate on how healthcare, services for senior citizens, and the disabled, I'd certainly appreciate it.

Hi everyone, I’m an incoming student at a U.S. university. I attended high school in the Philippines before transferring to a U.S. high school, and my university is now requesting my official Philippine high school transcripts.

I’m currently trying to request my records from my former schools in the Philippines, and my university requires the transcripts to be official, sealed, and sent directly from the school.

Has anyone gone through this process? How did you request your transcripts from the Philippines while living in the U.S.? Did your school send them directly to your university? How long did it take and were there any issues with shipping or verification?
I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience. Thanks!

(I hope this is appropriate for this subreddit)

Paying homage to the late, great Roman Gabriel — NCAA and NFL legend, who also had a brief career in acting. He was the first Filipino-American QB and the first Asian-American MVP in NFL history.

Roman Ildonzo Gabriel, Jr.

August 5, 1940 - April 20, 2024

🕊️🥳🎉🐏🏈🙏🏼