Filipino Relationship and Dating

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Ronna Lou

 

Ok so this is very broad, which is why I will just focus on Filipino culture and values surrounding dating and relationships.

• I think Filipinos are an interesting mix of modern and traditional when it comes to relationships. We adapted modern values and ways of meeting and dating people (we follow a lot of Western culture, so many of us use apps and social media to connect), but we still retained a lot of “old school” things, especially about family and religion.
• We have a very strong sense of responsibility and care, and it shows in our relationships. We look after our family and loved ones, and we also try to find someone who will take care of us.
• Even though women in the Philippines usually stay at home to take care of the children, they have a specific kind of authority from being the “light” of the family. The husbands and fathers provide, but the wives and mothers do a lot of coordinating and guiding. It’s a partnership that works for most.
• Our sense of humor, especially when it comes to romance and dating, is unique. We have jokes about being sentimental or hopeless romantics, but Filipinos also have big hearts and I believe we are some of the best lovers in the world.

Feel free to add if you’re also a Filipino or you’ve dated/married a Filipino!

 

Dreams are but shadows?

 

September 4, 2026

Updated September 3, 2026

By Klaus Döring

The phrase “a dream itself is but a shadow” comes from William Shakespeare’s play Hamlet (Act 2, Scene 2), spoken by Hamlet to express how fleeting, unreal, and insubstantial human ambitions and perceptions truly are.

I dream of a better world. A world without war and with only peace. Without hunger and thirst. Daydreams …

Dreams at night: At one time, people thought that the figures appearing in dreams were messengers from the gods. It was generally believed that dreams came from something outside the person or from people with special skills.

Today, it is believed that dreams are created by the dreamer himself. And because dreams are something a person creates, they may have a special meaning for the person who dreams them.

Just why you have a particular dream when you do may depend on many things. Your health may have an effect on your dreams. A person who is ill or uncomfortable will have different kinds of dreams than a person who is well and happy.

If a person is hungry, feeling cold, or very tired, his dreams may include these feelings. Many dreams seem to be made up of disguised feelings. Also, the events of the day before may have a lot to do with what one dreams. Often, the persons or situations in a dream are those that you encountered during the day. Or your emotions may make you have the kind of dream you have. Needing or wanting something may also be expressed in a dream, and being frightened may become part of a dream.

The feelings of happiness or disappointment that come out in dreams were probably in the dreamer before.

But why can’t some people remember their dreams? Do you experience this, too? Many of us struggle to remember the details of our dreams. The reasons lie in the complicated cycles of our sleep, as we can learn from Stephen Dowling, a British writer.

Dowling continues: For many of us, dreams are an almost intangible presence. If we’re lucky, we can only remember the most fleeting glimpse in the cold light of day; even those of us who can recollect past dreams in astonishing detail can wake some days with almost no memory of what we had dreamed about.

There is little ethereal about the reasons this might be happening, however. Why we have dreams — and whether we can remember them — is rooted in the biology of our sleeping bodies and subconscious minds.

Sleep is more complicated than we once thought. Rather than being a plateau of unconsciousness bookended by slipping in and out of sleep, our resting brains go through a roller coaster of mental states, with some parts being full of mental activity.

Indeed, we often blindly accept what is happening in this often nonsensical narrative until the time comes to wake up.

The problem is, the more jumbled the imagery, the harder it is for us to grasp it. Dreams that have a clearer structure are much easier for us to remember, psychology professor and author Deirdre Barrett said in a recent story on Gizmodo.

Francesca Siclari, a sleep research doctor at Lausanne University Hospital, says there are clear distinctions between our states of wakefulness and sleep — and that is no accident. “It’s probably a good thing that the dream life and the waking life are completely different,” she says. “I think if you remembered every detail like you can do in waking life, you would start to confuse things with what’s actually happening in your real life.”

Fact is: Not being able to remember everything about our dreams is important so that we don’t confuse them with reality. And if you wish to remember your dreams, try to follow Harvard Medical School sleep researcher Robert Stickgold — simply repeating to yourself as you drift toward sleep that you want to remember your dreams means you wake up remembering them. Stickgold laughs: “It actually works. If you do that you really are going to remember more dreams, it’s like saying ‘There’s no place like home’. It really works.”

Let’s try it. Good night.

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Email: doringklaus@gmail.com or follow me on Facebook, LinkedIn, or X-Twitter, or visit my www.germanexpatinthephilippines.blogspot.com .

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The Daily Guardian is a renascent Iloilo-based publishing firm and media outfit with bureaus across Western Visayas and beyond. Led by Iloilo's most respected journalists, we pledge to tell the Ilonggo story as seen through the various lenses of society so that every side may be told.

BUREAUS: Kalibo Boracay Roxas Bacolod Antique Guimaras Manila

I LOVE MY MINDANAO

My Mindanao. Sounds very egoistic, doesn’t it?

Daybreak. Dawn. Early morning. I do try to keep my eyes open, so that I must not miss this great spectacle again: an unforgettable sunrise paints the environs with all the color nature puts at its disposal. I’ve put in a large portion of my life just trying to make things easier for my loved ones and myself. I feel having all the time of my life I want in my hands. I prayed to God that this might be the place to settle down, where I can relax, take things easy and where I can spend the second half of my life.

Once upon a time… . Meanwhile, that’s reality. I have been here for more than 29 years.

I strongly agree with Rod Fernandez in saying: “I have made it my personal mission to explore different places on the island and show the world its vast natural beauty. The political and security situation has significantly improved over the years, and it is now mostly safe to explore different parts of the region”. Born and raised in Mindanao, the Philippines, Rod moved back in 2021 after an overseas stint. He hopes to use his photography to show the vast beauty of Mindanao to the world.

Why do I love Mindanao? This natural beauty makes me cheerful as well as the relationship with the warm and friendly people living here. I can learn from them about diverse ethnic cultures and its very special way to live life even with the struggles and trials or in painful poverty. DownloadInteractive Maps

I experienced the sea gypsies from Zamboanga, the Badjoas and their boats, their vintas, which are the caravans of the oceans. Mindanao, this part of the Southern Philippines is the melting pot of Christians and Muslims, of foreigners (let’s call them expatriates and count me in!), or such tribes such as Badjaos, Subanon, Tansug, and Yakan.

Mindanao music is unique because it’s music is imbued with mindanao’s history and culture itself. It reflects those of the various beautiful cultures that are filled with their pride and nature of living.

Mindanaoans are passionate and emotional, to express themselves, they prefer to use body language rather than words, making eye contact is a signal of recognition and crucial when you are interacting with others, they will appreciate and feel your genuine interest in them.

Yes, my dear fellows, I am a foreigner who lost his heart to Mindanao. I am staying for good after visiting the second largest island of the Philippines with mosques, towers and women, dressed in MALONGS, blessed paradises for nature loving people, who admire exotic plants, boiling volcano springs, plunging waterfalls, torrential rivers and much more. I love “my Mindanao”.

I clasped Mindanao to my bosom. I would like to recommend Mindanao warmly to everybody. Mindanao, the land of hope and promise… .

In an interview with Melai Cantiveros, Jose Mari Chan revealed that he is now 81

 In an interview with Melai Cantiveros, Jose Mari Chan revealed that he is now 81 and shared the simple habits he follows to stay healthy and active.

May be an image of text that says 'PHOTO ΚиaT One/YouT ne/YouTube .๐ ABSOCBN STUDIOS I I take care of my diet. I don't eat pork anymore. don't eat beef. And I exercise every morning for 45 minutes, walking. It's important for your health. Nobody lives forever, but you try to protect and preserve your health for your children and grandchildren. JOSE MARI CHAN on staying healthy and active facebook.com/ABSCBNnetwork @abscbn ABS-CBN.com ABS CBN.com'

UPDATE sa sunog gabii sa bukid sa Lanipao, Brgy. Araibo, Pantukan, Davao de Oro

 UPDATE sa sunog gabii sa bukid sa Lanipao, Brgy. Araibo, Pantukan, Davao de Oro which I checked around at 8:30am today Sept. 3, 2026! NAPALONG na ang sunog, fyi, pero nag-aso pa!

Mao ra ni ang makuha nga klaro sa view using my phone. Naa ra ko sa pikas bukid ani nag take sa picture! Layo ang distance..

I maybe wrong pero I think murag gikaingin ni nga style. Tsk! Makabalo jud ta in the coming days kung naa nay mananom dire sa nasunog na area.

I support the post of Kons Liza sa Brgy Araibo nga dapat manubag ang nagsunog aning bukid.

This is not the right way to farm a land. Illegal kaingin is punishable and pwede mapriso ang maglapas ani.

UPDATE on the fire last night in the mountains of Lanipao, Brgy. Araibo, Pantukan, Davao de Oro which I checked around 8:30am today Sept. 3, 2026! The fire has already been extinguished, fyi, but it's still smoky!

This is what I got that's clear from the view using my phone. I was just in the other mountain taking a picture! The distance is far..

I might be wrong but I think it's a style that's being used. Tsk! We will know in the coming days if there are any crops in the burned area.

I support the post of Kons Liza in Brgy Araibo that the one who set this mountain on fire should be held accountable.

This is not the right way to farm a land. Illegal mining is punishable and those who violate it can be imprisoned.

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May be an image of mountain. May be an image of tree. May be an image of mountain. May be an image of tree and mountain. May be an image of fire

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What are Filipinos a mix of?

 

Despite 333 years of Spanish rule and a nation full of Hispanic surnames, European DNA in the Philippines rarely exceeds 3%. The true genetic mix is far older—and deeply tied to the sea.

While the idea of an equally blended, heavily hybridized population is national lore, modern genetic studies reveal that the foundation of the Filipino genome is remarkably uniform.

The vast majority of Filipino genetic heritage is Austronesian. Around 4,000 years ago, seafaring Austronesian peoples migrated out of Taiwan, sweeping south into the Philippine archipelago before eventually expanding as far as Madagascar and Hawaii. This migration replaced or absorbed earlier populations, and today, Austronesian DNA forms the genetic baseline for almost all ethnic groups in the country, from the Tagalogs in Luzon to the Visayans in the central islands.

Before the Austronesians arrived, the islands were inhabited by Australo-Melanesian hunter-gatherers, often referred to as Negritos. Groups like the Aeta, Ati, and Batak are their direct descendants. While they represent a small fraction of the modern population, traces of this ancient DNA remain woven into the broader Filipino gene pool.

Of all the recent foreign admixtures, Chinese ancestry is the most prominent. Trade between the Philippines and Chinese merchants, mostly from the Fujian province, flourished long before European colonization. Many Filipinos carry Chinese DNA, though it is often deeply assimilated rather than existing as a distinct demographic group.

The biggest discrepancy between popular belief and genetic reality lies in this overestimated Spanish influence. The Spanish physical presence in the islands was always small, mostly confined to military personnel, clergy, and government officials concentrated in major centers like Manila. While the Spanish shaped the culture, religion, and language of the Philippines, their impact on its DNA was minimal.

During the colonial period, the Manila-Acapulco Galleon trade introduced a faint trickle of Latin American (Mexican and Amerindian) ancestry as soldiers and sailors settled in the islands. Additionally, depending on the region, minor traces of Indian, Arab, and Japanese DNA can be found, remnants of ancient trade networks and localized migrations. Ultimately, the Filipino genome is not a balanced split of East and West, but a strong Austronesian core layered with centuries of Asian trade.

A map of the hypothetical greatest expansion of Austronesian-speaking peoples originating from Taiwan. Source: Wikimedia Commons.