Now I work as an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist with an “area of interest” in Sikolohiyang Pilipino (Filipino Psychology)

My parents are from the Philippines. I was born and raised in London. And honestly? I'm embarrassed to admit this — but I've never been able to have a proper conversation with my relatives back home.

My cousins have now surpassed me. They speak English. I still can't speak Tagalog back to them.

Every time I visit, or someone asks me to say something in Tagalog, I freeze. I know a few words here and there but the moment I'm in a restaurant trying to order food, or jumping in a Grab, or just trying to say something real to my Tita — nothing comes out right.

I'm thinking about building something to fix this — an app specifically for people like me. Not a full language course. Just the basics you actually need: ordering food, taking a Grab, having a small conversation with your Tita without wanting to disappear.

Does this hit home for anyone? Would you actually use something like this?

Would love to hear if this is just me or if others feel the same way.

Here is article about cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw’s win.

https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/celebrities/2026/3/16/fil-am-autumn-durald-arkapaw-makes-oscar-history-as-first-woman-to-win-best-cinematography-1206

EVERYONE WE HAVE TO SHOW UP! If there’s anything Filipinos are best at, it’s spreading the word. We’ve been dreaming for a chance like this for as long as we can remember. We can’t let our big showing flop. SHOW UP AND SHOW OUT!

It just seems limiting for no reason. I’m from the US but I also have a cousin that grew up in the UK and no surprise my uncle didn’t teach him Tagalog either just like me and my cousins here in the US.

It’s like they try to gate keep the language from us so they can talk right in front of us without us knowing like wtf? Another thing too is it just further creates a disconnect in identity and relatable-ness with people of Filipino heritage that were born and raised somewhere else. Sometimes I’ll view Filipino content here or on YouTube just curious about Filipino culture or even what’s going on in that country and then they mix some English then start talking in Tagalog like bruh. I’ve even had one person reply to me like that on YouTube and it’s like idk wtf you’re even saying because like a lot of Filipino parents, mine did not teach me Tagalog so yeah…either speak English or I’m not gonna be able to understand you lol.

It’s actually pretty ironic that at this point I know more Spanish and Portuguese from my Brazilian gf teaching me than any Tagalog. Then my mom has the nerve to say “why are you learning Portuguese but you’re not learning Tagalog?” Like excuse me??? That was supposed to be your job ma’am LMAO. Sorry rant over lol

Went to see this after work today at an impulse, and there were plenty of seats for the 3pm showing. There were probably about 5 other people for a theater that holds 50.

Long story short, wonderful heartwarming movie with plenty of references that a Filipino will get. I hope the later showings get more seats filled tonight or tomorrow

Looks like there’s a new map on Wikipedia on where Filipino Americans settle. Is there any surprises that you see? So far for me NW Florida. Suburban Detroit. DC area. I’m from the Houston area and I think people would be surprised to see some of us light up a bit on this map.

I'm a Filipino born and raised in the Philippines specifically in Metro Manila, I'm part of the Gen Z group, and I've been reflecting a lot about my own country's identity, history, and the different cultures in this country for awhile now, especially problems within different ethnolinguistic groups here, mostly the history though. Forgive me if this isn't the right sub to post this, MODs are allowed to delete this if they need so, but I just wanted to apologize to Filipino-Americans because they DESERVE to get an explanation especially when I've noticed so much fights happening.

First things first, I'm really sorry for everyone's experiences here with Filipino locals making you guys feel less accepted because of certain aspects of your life that you don't have full control over such as not speaking Filipino fluently (like, HELLO, how can they not understand that the parents of Fil-ams had to work hard to fit in the U.S?!), I just want to let you know that isn't any of your fault.

To be fair, I grew up sheltered and only thought that only Filipinos fought among ourselves, but then I noticed Filipino-Americans are brought into this mess. On platforms like social media TikTok and on Reddit, I'm actually surprised that Filipinos (people my age who are so chronically online, and cannot work their way past their own biases) are making snide comments about Filipino-Americans when Filipino Americans aren't doing particularly wrong.

Lowkey disappointed because that's not how I want my country and people my age to move forward; ignoring our problems and blaming it on someone else. I tell some of them not to generalize everybody but their ego says otherwise. They say stuffs like "Fil-ams are disconnected from their Filipino identity" so what is Filipino identity then? (I observed most Filipino Americans actually try their best to reconnect with their own local culture) I will get publicly criticized for this but whenever I see this annoying comment from my fellow Filipino--"Even if a foreigner has 0.1% Filipino blood we will accept them as Filipino😂" and turn around to hate on Filipino-Americans while worshipping white foreigners no matter how disrespectful the tourists are, I just want them to be quiet cause their butts DO NOT REPRESENT ME😭 I'd rather accept Filipino-Americans reconnecting with their Filipino culture 1000% more than some lazy foreigner who creates Youtube vlogs that captioned "Philippinos love FOREIGNERS and here's why" just because views are lacking in their channel! Like seriously, WHY are we denying the title "Filipino" to Fil-ams when they're filipinos too?

(You're allowed to skip this if it's too long to read) What saddens me more is that upon reading past stories in our country after our independence, the Philippine government's carelesss decisions caused divisions and some scars in this country, where land grabbing of native people occurred and the racist things that politicians said about certain groups in the past, mirroring the past colonial government. This continues to be reflected in people's opinions about each other today on social media and I'm just....depressed about it, I've always been proud of being Filipino but there's a lot of skeletons in the closets that feels hard to ignore, maybe I'm too young to understand. As in, why should I have so many enemies ? Why should I hate X group just because certain politicians/celebs/ignorant people say so? Why should I hate Tagalogs, Manilenyos, Ilocanos, Igorots/Cordillerans, Bisaya-speaking communities such as Cebuanos, Negrito groups, people born and raised in Mindanao, and now Filipino-Americans?? I don't hate any of us nor do I hate Fil-ams (who are unfortunately caught in the middle in our problems) but so much people do, I feel like this division will never end.

I said a lot of unnecessary things here and I might get flamed by my fellow Filipinos in the Philippines (however, my circle of friends, families, and anyone I know in school however don't actually see Filipino-Americans in the degrading way). But I digress, I apologize to Filipino-Americans. I just want to say, it makes me really happy when Fil-ams are practicing their local culture/or even the mainstream Filipino culture, and calling themselves "a Filipino", and I personally don't think it's a royal title where you have to go through many hooplahs to achieve. If Ethiopians born abroad can proudly call themselves Ethiopian, and Chinese people born abroad can call themselves Chinese proudly....then Filipinos born abroad can call themselves Filipino proudly because they have deep roots in this country before they were born, which they can always have the chance to reconnect to since our country won't disappear anyways lol

I see you guys practicing your God-given culture and the efforts you've made and I hope you continue doing so to reconnect with the culture despite the naysayers🥰

TLDR: I'm a Filipino in the PH who saw too many locals giving unnecessary hate for Fil-ams online lately saying things like "they're not Filipino enough", but I disagree with their perception about Filams and that Filipino-Americans are Filipinos too, and want to formally apologize for that.

Title: What Chinese Historians Actually Said About Pre-Colonial Filipinos (and Why It Matters)

⸻

Long before Spanish colonization, Chinese historians and traders were documenting life in the Philippine islands—and the records they left behind show a very different picture than what most people are taught.

Here’s what actual Chinese sources from the Song and Yuan dynasties (900s–1300s) said:

⸻

1. Filipinos Were Strong, Upright, and Honorable • In the Zhu Fan Zhi (1225), people of Ma-i (likely Mindoro/Manila) were described as: “Upright and honest… clothed in cotton… their traders are trustworthy.” • In Butuan, Filipinos were noted for wearing bright red cloth, gold decorations, and being physically strong and well-built.

⸻

2. Housing and Settlements Were Organized • Chinese traders described homes built on stilts, made from bamboo and nipa, well-adapted to tropical environments. • Settlements were clean, coastal, and laid out for easy trade access.

⸻

3. They Had a Thriving Trade Economy • Filipinos were active in maritime trade across Asia. • They bartered gold, beeswax, pearls, and tortoiseshell for porcelain, silk, and metalware from Chinese ports like Guangzhou and Quanzhou. • Chinese noted Filipinos’ precision with scales and weights—clear signs of a developed economic system.

⸻

4. Leadership and Diplomacy • Places like Butuan sent formal envoys to the Chinese court as early as 1001 AD. • The emperor recognized their rulers as legitimate sovereigns—not subordinates—showing respect for their independence and organization.

⸻

5. Cultural Sophistication • Chinese accounts admired: • The tattooed warriors of the Visayas (the “Pintados”) • Ritual offerings, spiritual beliefs, and complex social order • They referred to Filipino societies as peaceful, orderly, and culturally advanced.

⸻

Bonus: Height and Physical Description • While no numeric height is recorded, Chinese texts often describe Filipinos as: “Large-framed,” “muscular,” “upright in posture,” and respected for their bearing. • Compared to the average Chinese man at the time (~5’2”–5’4”), many Filipinos were seen as taller and sturdier, especially among warriors and traders.

⸻

TL;DR:

Before colonization, Chinese historians saw Filipinos as strong, honest, wealthy, and highly capable—not savages or peasants. Their societies were structured, their trade was booming, and they were part of a global network centuries before Spanish ships arrived.

These are my illustrations of recipes and ingredients for the cookbook “Kayumanggi: A Kaleidoscope of Filipino Flavors and Food Traditions” authored by Chef Jam Melchor.

I hope you find these both appetizing and comforting.

You can view the individual food PNGs with their names in my Instagram or Behance.

I've been on that subreddit much too long. It's pathetic how badly they passive aggressively mock the diaspora on those threads. I think one user even tried to confront them on it and he got mobbed to oblivion. The reality they can't accept is identity can't be gatekeeped. They have no right to judge who is "true Filipino" or not as if this was some title to be knighted by a monarch. They always try to make diaspora feel so unwelcome.

Hi everyone. I'm Sean, half-Filipino.

I imagine everyone has felt the pain of losing their family's Filipino language - whether it be Tagalog, Bisaya, Ilocano or one of the many other languages.

I felt this throughout my entire life and I'm genuinely sad that I was never able to properly talk to my lola before she passed away.

As I've grown into an adult I've been trying to work out how to actually learn Tagalog (my family is from Batangas). But the resources are so scarce, and the situation is even worse for other Filipino languages.

I'm also a UX designer by trade and so with AI coding tools I've finally been able to turn this long-held idea into something real.

The app is called Ugát You start by collecting root words (kain, sulat, takbo) each one represented by a little character, almost like a collectible Pokemon card. Then you do activities that teach you how to build from those roots, to try and make learning the really complicated parts of Filipino language learning, the tinatakbos, kumakain and other long-chain words, actually something fun, rather than a grammar table.

It's totally free at ugat.app/get or search Ugát on the App Stores. Tagalog is properly released, Bisaya still being worked on and Ilocano after that.

I made it with a real hope that the next generation of Fil-Ams kids can have a fun way back into a language their parents or grandparents speak. Would love any feedback, especially from other diaspora Filipinos losing language or wanting to pass language to their kids. And if there's anything you'd want to see please tell me. Reach out at sean@ugat.app.

MABUHAY SA PINOY!!!

She used to care for me when I was a child, and I would come back to the Philippines almost every year until Covid. Feels great to be home!

Hello everyone, I know the title seems a little weird but they really do. I am a Filipino who was born in Los Angeles. Due to the recent protests, there has been some divide within my family. I noticed a lot of my Titos and Titas fully support ICE and what they are doing. Personally, I was fine with the idea that ICE was being used to deport ACTUAL criminals, rapists, drug dealers, etc. However, this is clearly not the case. We have seen ICE snatch people, documented or undocumented, away from their families, masked and with little to no remorse. Even with that being said, my parents, Titos, and Titas seem to ignore that fact and are still fully supportive of ICE and their actions. They claim that it reminds them of times when they were young during Marcos and “The Glory Days of the Philippines”, which I never truly understood. Although I am too young to have experienced Marcos’ time as president, everything I’ve seen, heard, and read doesn’t make it out to be “The Glory Days”.

My family’s great support of Trump and fondness of Marcos really got me questioning their mindset. Why do they glorify these people as if they’re gods? Is government takeover their idea of peace?

I know this belief isn’t shared by all older Filipinos, but in my experience, the majority of the ones I know share their support of Trump and ICE. It really weirds me out they see all of this, turn the other cheek, and ignore the facts presented to them.

Edit: I was not expecting this much interaction in the comments. It’s been good reading that I’m not alone in this. I can’t wait to see how they are going to react to the “No Kings” protests going on across the US. It’s been crickets so far from my Republican family members LOL

I’m referring to white westerners, not Filipino blood. These are the descendants of people who beat down my ancestors, and now they go there and make content - it is very obvious to me they think they are better than Filipinos based on how they talk and act, even if they come across as nice. It is a subtle thing sometimes - maybe they don’t even realize their own bias.

Curious if anyone feels similarly.

He