Filipino Culture:

Respect for Elders

Group 1
Filipino Culture: Respect for Elders
One of the Filipino traits that we should all be
proud of is the respect for elders.
Like in many other Asian countries, Filipinos
would show respect to the elderly with certain
gestures or honorifics.
Filipinos believe that the older people have
earned this respect from the young ones not only
because of their age, but also because of their acquired
wisdom and experiences.
Mano po Gesture
• It is when a person giving the
greeting bows towards the offered
hand.
• The younger Filipino takes the hand
of the elder and touches it to his/her
forehead.
• This gesture is usually followed with
a "God Bless You".
 • We do this more often to our
grandparents but we can also do
it to our uncles and aunties.

(Photo credit: thinkingwithb.blogspot.com)

• People of other cultures don’t understand this
gesture. For them, it’s just enough to say a simple
“Hi”.
• For people in the West, this type of greeting is not
disrespect at all, but we Filipinos would never greet
the elderly like that. We always say “Mano po!”
when we greet them.
• It is considered impolite if one does not exercise the
“pagmamano” especially when entering the house of
an elder or after being with them on a gathering.
“Po” and “Opo”
• The next way to show respect is with the words “po”
and “opo”.
• “Opo” is our way of saying yes to our elderly. It
means "yes" in a respectful way, rather than just
saying oo or yes.
• It is actually a contraction of the casual “oo” and the
formal “po”.
• “Po” is used to show respect when speaking with
someone older than you or a person with an
authority. We insert “po” in the middle of a
sentence.
• For example,
• “Kamusta po kayo?” or “Salamat po”.
• If you are called by someone older than you, a family
or even a neighbor, you should answer po.
• In Filipino, saying "Hindi" means "No." To answer
politely, one should say "Hindi po." Adding po when
answering yes or no portrays respect.
Addressing the Elderly
• Another way to show respect is to call someone older
than you with honorifics. Calling someone older than you
only by the first name is considered impolite and rude.
• The examples are:
• Tatay, Itay, Papa
• Nanay, Inay, Mama
• Ate or Kuya
• Tita or Auntie
• Tito or Uncle
• Lolo, Lola
What about other people?
• Filipino children also show respect to other people
outside of the family, to parents’ friends and to strangers,
even though they are not really blood related.
• Some of the address are:
• Ninong or Ninang (Godfather or godmother)
• Ale or Aling for old woman
• Mang or Manong for old man
A Moving Story About Respecting Our Elders -
(The Wooden Bowl)

Kay, M. [Mier Kay], (2018, May 14). A Moving Story About Respecting Our Elders - (The
Wooden Bowl) [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2RXyRfYt24
• The video only shows how to be a good example to the
young ones. It tells us to show respect to those people
who stood by us, who guided us and who loved us
throughout our lives.
• In our country, like in any other Asian countries, caring
for older people falls mostly to the family. Yet there are
older people who are in difficult situations and
sometimes lives alone. A warm and human response to
this is needed because it will reflect our tradition of
respect for the elders. Let us continue and remember to
give respect to them always. This Filipino value is
something we should never take out of our culture and
something we should pass on to the next generation.
Thank you!