In Philippines, the people are referred to as the Filipinos. The Filipinos, like many other Asian countries like to give a lot of importance to the family and family bonds. They often live together with their families in large groups. Sometimes, many generations also live together with love, respect and happiness. This makes way for a family hierarchy or structure where everyone plays a different role and has different responsibilities.
The Filipino family typically consists of a father, mother, children, extended family members like grandparents, cousins and aunts and uncles. Overall, they are a close-knit structure. To know more about the family hierarchy of Filipinos, you can read the following given information.
Father
In every Filipino family, there is a bilateral kinship system according to which the men and women are equals. The family names may be inherited through not only the father’s side but also the mother’s side. But even inspite of the equal social status of Philippines men and women, the father or the man of the family is placed at the top of the hierarchical pyramid. The father is the head of the family and is responsible for making rules, providing for the family and taking care of finances. He works with the support of his wife but is respected by all and treated as the head.
Mother
Mothers are also given almost equal importance and respect in Filipino families. They are the main stay of the household and are care providers to the children and elders. They may be working but are also responsible for cooking and taking care of household chores. The house wives are more inclined towards day to day duties but are dependent upon their husbands to provide for the money. Mothers are respected and are the first teachers for their children.
Children
The children in Filipino families are born and brought up under the care of both the parents as well as many other family members like the grandparents, uncles and aunts etc. They must help parents in their tasks as they grow up and are expected to treat everyone with respect.
Extended Family
The concept of joint families or big families living together in the same house isn’t uncommon. Grandparents are taken care of by their children and are responsible for caring for the grandchildren if both the parents are working. Some other family members include uncles, aunts, cousins and sometimes even distant relatives.