Dante Simon,student CPE Unit 3 Filipino Values and Pastoral Care

International Journal of Education and Humanities (IJEH), 2025

Utang na loob (debt of gratitude) is a cultural value deeply ingrained in Filipino society. It is not merely a part of the local vernacular but a profound moral construct that serves as one of the pillars of Filipino identity and social reality. However, this concept is often misunderstood and misused in practice, potentially leading to unhealthy social pressures for the recipient. This phenomenon has fostered a perception that utang na loob is burdensome and even considered a toxic trait in social relationships. This study aims to understand the true essence of utang na loob in a localized context and explore how Filipinos perceive and apply this value in their daily lives. A qualitative survey was conducted, employing the In Vivo Coding method to capture the intrinsic meanings embedded in the participants' statements. The collected data were then analyzed and structured into manageable insights that provided a deeper understanding of the concept. The study revealed that utang na loob goes beyond mere reciprocity and serves as a tool for strengthening social connections. However, its misuse can lead to emotional pressure on the recipient, often making them feel bound by an overwhelming social obligation. It is essential to instill in the younger generation that utang na loob should be rooted in goodwill and genuine concern for others rather than being perceived solely as a social obligation that imposes burdens.

The concept of utang na loob has long been one of the essential core values for the Filipinos. Values are things that should be understood. It involves a person who values or give importance to something and the object to be valued itself. (Gorospe, 2015) Deriving from its literal translation, utang which means an individual’s liability to return the favor to whoever has given him/her. Together with the context of loob, which highlights that the debt is not solely based on financial milieu, rather it is any favor that was given to a person. Loob pertains that the decision to return or repay any errand will be dependent to the individual who has received the favor. Meaning, there is no emphasis that the debt should be paid back.

International Journal of Research Studies in Psychology, 2015

The goal of this study was to examine these two values (utang na loob and gratitude) in terms of how they are understood by Filipinos and how they are manifested in the hope of delineating meanings and establishing links between the two construct. Using qualitative responses of Filipino respondents regarding their conception of utang na loob and gratitude, the following descriptions were identified: pagkilala (acknowledgement), pagtutumbas (reciprocity), and panlipunang gampanin (social responsibility) as conceptual meanings for utang na loob; and pasasalamat (thankfulness) and pagtutumbas (reciprocity) for gratitude. Reciprocity being found to be shared by two concepts was also analyzed and contextualized.

2016

The Filipino concept of hiya, often translated as ‘shame’ or ‘embarrassment’, has often received ambivalent or negative interpretations. In this article I make an important distinction between two kinds of hiya: (1) the hiya that is suffered as shame or embarrassment (a passion) and (2) the hiya that is an active and sacrificial self-control of one’s individual wants for the sake of other people (a virtue). I borrow and reappropriate this distinction from Aquinas’ virtue ethics. This distinction not only leads to a more positive appraisal of hiya, it also leads to a new understanding of associated concepts that are often confused with hiya such as amor propio, pakikisama and the infamous ‘crab mentality’. Defending hiya as a virtue is part of an even wider philosophical project, the move from ‘Filipino values’ to a ‘Filipino virtue ethics’, which I already introduced in a previous article in this journal.

This paper sets to describe the four prevailing Filipino values, namely: amor propio (self-esteem), hiya (shame, shy, timid), utang na loob (emotional debt or obligation), and pakikisama (getting along together) and their relevance to the mission of sharing the Gospel of salvation in the Philippines. Understanding these values are effective aids in doing mission to the "unreached" populace of the country. This will help missionaries both in their interpersonal relationships and in the formulation of "programs 1 to reach" suited to Filipino psyche. Sonia M.

2020

In Southeast Asia, societies faced extreme rapid change. Schools have failed to connect the meaningful past to the present. In the Philippines, the culture of the public world seems to be dominated by business and consumerism, mass media, anonymity and individualization have deemed the view of the nation, common good, and civic activism. In this vein, this effort serves as a humble way to avert the irrelevance of culture and tradition of the Filipinos amidst a fast-paced life. (1) This paper discusses and appreciates Filipino indigenous thoughts and how it shapes our history as a nation. “Loob" encompassed Filipinos' humanity and daily experiences. It aspired to harmony with others and nature to be in one with God. This explained the dualism in body-soul and emotional rational of the Filipinos. (2) Secondly, this paper also focused on the two dimensions of “loob”: interior and holistic. The interior “loob” affirmed the innate goodness of the person. “Loob” is reconstructed not only the world but itself as well. The holistic model signified the unified entity of the world and the non-dualistic point of view of the world in addressing environmental issues. It is important to articulate non-violence - locally, nationally, regionally, and globally, in face of an intensifying global consciousness. The Network of Asian Environmental Philosophy (NAEP) was founded by a group of scholars in the field of environmental philosophy in Asia in 2019 with the goal to support works related to environmental philosophy within Asian traditions of thoughts broadly conceived or related to grassroots perspectives on environmental issues in Asia. Visit the NAEP website: https://asiaenviphilo.com More information about the 2022 Online Symposium of the Network of Asian Environmental Philosophy, the program and the booklet of abstracts can be found here: https://asiaenviphilo.com/naep-online... A video was posted with the permission of the Network of Asian Environmental Philosophy and the presenter, Christine Carmela R. Ramos.

2015

This is an introduction to a Filipino virtue ethics which is a relationship-oriented virtue ethics. The concepts to be discussed are the result of the unique history of the Philippines, namely a Southeast Asian tribal and animist tradition mixed with a Spanish Catholic tradition for over three-hundred years. Filipino virtue ethics is based on two foundational concepts in Filipino culture. The first is loób, which can easily be misunderstood when literally translated into English as “inside” but which is better translated as “relational will,” and the second is kapwa, which is literally translated as “other person” but is better understood as “together with the person.” These serve as pillars for a special collection of virtues (kagandahang-loób, utang-na-loób, pakikiramdam, hiya, lakas-ng-loób/bahala na) which are not individualistic virtues in the same way as most of the cardinal virtues of the Western tradition (i.e., prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude) but are all directed towards the preservation and strengthening of human relationships. This introduction to a Filipino virtue ethics is articulated and organized through a dialogue with Aristotelian-Thomistic virtue ethics.

This paper examines the purpose of moral education in the Philippine context. It draws the argument from the humanist tradition and blends the same with the social conscience of the Filipino which is rooted in their communitarian way of life. It makes a contrast between the individualism of the West and the communal attitude that is found in Filipino culture. It tries to define justice from the vantage point of liberalism and the way the same is appropriated in the context of Philippine society.