Philippine

Protocol and

Culture Edited by: CVSJSORIANO,RN,MSBA

TESDA Accredited trainor/assessor for Events Mgt. NC III

• Protocol, an important part of diplomacy.

• The set of agreed-upon rules that must be followed

to emphasize respect and foster good relations

within the international community.

• Diplomacy, is important socially, politically, and

economically.

• the goal of diplomacy is for the involved parties to

come to agreeable terms in a polite manner, without

the use of force or confrontation.

Business Relationship

• Greet the most important or the oldest person first, particularly during the first few meetings, which tend to be formal.

• Men greet each with a handshake. Women may air kiss friends.

• Always use honorifics ( Mr., Mrs., Ms.,) + surname when addressing a person.

• When speaking to the elder, it is polite to use “sir” or “ma’am”.

How to wear a Barong Tagalog

• Wear camisa chino underneath your barong.

• Do not wear printed t-shirt or sando.

• Wear only white camisa chinos underneath your barong, especially if you

are in a formal or business event.

• Make sure that your barong is always crisp and wrinkle-free.

• On a business setting, it is best to use light-colored barongs (white or

cream).

• Barong made from santana fabric make great everyday business wear.

• It would be wise to invest in at least one barong made from piña or jusi.

• Have simple embroidery nothing fancy or elaborate and nothing beyond the

traditional floral design.

• Pair your barong with a good pair of we-presser dark-colored slacks.

Protocol in International Organization

• ASEAN- Association of Southeast Asian Nations

• APEC- Asia-Pacific Economic Council

• Royalty

• Treaty Signing

Time & Punctuality • Appointment should ideally be made three to

four weeks in advance. • It is best to schedule your meeting for mid-

morning or late afternoon. • Reconfirm your appointment via phone or email

a few days before the meeting. • Avoid scheduling meeting during the week of

Easter & Christmas. • Though Filipino have a tendency to be late to

social events, they generally arrive on time for business meeting and expect their guests to do so as well.

Business Card Protocol

• Filipinos use English in the business arena

• Business card should include titles, when applicable

• The guest should offer his/her business card first

• Cards should be given and received with two hands, with the print facing the recipient.

Order of Precedence • The host and hostess enter the dinning room

first, with guests entering after them • If there is a guest of honor, he may enter the

dining room first, accompanied by the hostess. His wife is then escorted inside by the host

• If the guest of honor is female, she may enter the dining room first, accompanied by the host. Her husband then escorts the hostess inside

• If there are fewer men than women at the dinner, the hostess enters the room alone.

• If the dinner is informal, guests may enter as they choose.

Order of Precedence

Addressing Individuals and Officials

• When addressing a person in conversation, the safest approach would be to use their title, followed by last name.

• Always remember a person’s name and learn to write it correctly, as this is a sign of courtesy and respect.

• The proper written form of a name is important, especially in formal correspondence.

• Variance between countries and culture

o Most countries use the order: first name, middle name,

last name

o Chinese, Japanese, and Koreans put their last name

before their proper name

o For Indians: name + “son of” or “daughter of” +

parent’s name

o For Malaysian: name + bint (for male) or binte (for

female) + parent’s name

Receiving Guests

• Formal occasions, especially if they are diplomatic in nature, usually have a receiving line where guests are given the opportunity to meet the host and guests of honors.

• Keep the receiving line as short as possible

• Customary to announce guests during diplomatic events

• The hosts and guests of honor stand in line to thank guests as they leave

Seating Arrangements

• Use place card to identify where people should sit

• Men should hold the chair out for the women to their right

• Men sit after the women have seated • Guest of honors should be seated to the right of

the host • They should be seated according to rank • The host and hostess sit at the head seats,

located to both ends of a rectangular table.

Round table

Host

Female Guest

Male Guest

Hostess Female Guest

Gentleman of Honor

Male Guest

Lady of Honor

Rectangular Table

Gentleman of Honor

Host

Lady of Honor

Male Guest

Male Guest

Hostess

Male Guest

Female Guest Female Guest

Female Guest

U-shape Table

Female Guest

Female Guest

Female Guest

Female Guest

Male Guest

Male Guest

Male Guest

Male Guest

Lady of Honor Host Hostess

Gentleman of Honor

Multi-table Arrangement

Table 3 Table 4 Table 2 Head Table

Assistant Host

Assistant Host

Assistant Host Host

Table Setting

Dining Etiquette • It is acceptable to arrive fifteen to thirty minutes late to a large party

• Wait to be told where to sit, as there might be a seating plan

• Wait for the host to invite you to eat before you do so. It is polite for the

guest to start eating only after the host has taken the first bite

• Wait to be asked two or three times before helping yourself to food, so that

you do not appear greedy

• Meals may be served family-style, or via buffet. If the former, use the

serving utensils provided to transfer food onto your plate

• Meals are eaten with a spoon and fork help in the right and left hands

respectively, with the fork used to guide the food onto the spoon

Giving Toasts

• Giving toasts is acceptable during official functions

• Usually done before or after dessert

• Usually signaled by a remark from the host

• Most toasts are done with wine

Acceptable toast topics for diplomatic functions:

o Country

o Head of state or government

o Host

o Guest host

o Good relations between governments

Gift Giving

• When invited to a Filipino home, it is polite to bring flowers or sweets for the hosts

• Avoid flowers that used in the funerals

• Gift should be elegantly wrapped and should not be opened in front of the giver

• Customary to give everyone gifts during the Christmas season

Business etiquette Dos and Don’ts

• Do find a Mediator

• Do make friends

• Do dress to impress

• Do socialize

• Don’t underestimate

the individual

• Don’t be too direct

Communicating Effectively

• Business and personal relationship often intersect, with questions about age, marital status, and other sensitive matters being the norm

• Eye contact

• Answer the question in a nice way

• Never embarrass

Useful Phrases

English

Hello

Thank you

Bon Appétit

Filipino

Mabuhay

Salamat

Kain na!

The Philippine Flag

• Important symbol of the nation. Republic act 8491

• All Philippine flags must be based on strict compliance with government specifications. Coordinate with the DFA home office if unsure

The Philippine Flag

• Care

• Overseas display

The Philippine Flag

• Flag ceremony

The Philippine Flag

• The flagpole

The Philippine Flag

• When being flown in another flag

The Philippine Flag

• Saluting

The Philippine Flag

• Flag Raising Ceremony

The Philippine Flag

• Lowering ceremony

The Philippine Flag

• Half mask

The Philippine Flag

• Flag days

The Philippine Flag

• Prohibited acts

Protocol

• Set of formal rules and regulations or rules of appropriate behavior

• Greek word proto-kolla (protos means “the first” kolla means “glue”)

• Protocol is generally accepted code of etiquette and precedence within a particular group or entity.

Arrival, seating and staging, departure

• VIP and officials are notable invited during opening ceremonies

• Followed the certain protocols and rules when the honor arrive

• Followed the seating arrangement according to ranking

Introducing VIP

• The lead organizer or presiding officer should introduce the VIP guest and address the audience from the lectern.

Flags etiquette

• Display the host nation flag and the countries represented delegates

• Host country’s flag is placed on the right of the stage and the other are placed in the left in alphabetical order

• If the host flag is on the center make it higher than the other

Official titles, introduction

• Use of the titles is expected when addressing dignitaries, VIP’s, Government and others

• Honorable is proffered title used in addressing most high ranking government officials or retired

• Excellency used for foreign chiefs, head of government and etc.

• Honors are arriving dignitaries, head of states or other VIP’s include salute, etc.

• Certain rules on precedence

• Some protocol practices

• Formal Reception

Incentive

travel

• Travel incentives are a reward subset of an incentive, recognition or a loyalty program, which is a business tool used to change behavior to improve profit, cash flow, employee engagement and customer engagement.

Society of Incentive and Travel Executives (SITE)

Is global management tool that uses an exceptional travel experience to motivate or organize participants for increased level of performance in support of organizational goals.

Meeting, Incentive travel, Exhibition and Events Philippines (MITE)

Unforgettable and entertaining trips paid by employers, w/ the main purpose of encouraging employees to reach challenging business goals of the company by achieving individual or group goals.

Incentives travel

• Why do employers initiate travel?

• What will employees benefit from incentive travel?

• Who are the sellers of incentive tour programs?

• What industry normally has incentive tour programs?

• What are the popular incentive travel destinations?

• How to incentivize a tour program?

• What do you need to create an incentive tour program?

• Objectives

• Strategy

• Planning

• Choosing the destination/ facility

• Communicating/ informing the participants

• Budgets/savings

• Program

• Arrival at the airport

• Arrival at the venue

• Facility/function/meeting/seminar/trade halls

• Entertainment during thematic activities

• Tours

• Ask yourself

• Other thing to consider

• Tips/ facts on handling a Philippine market

• Incentive travel

Types of incentive awards

• Individual incentive awards • Group or team awards • Company wide performance campaigns • Sales incentives awards • Incentives programs combined w/ meetings or

training programs • Customers loyalty programs • Product launch campaigns • Dealer incentive programs • Member-get-a-member campaigns • Tenure recognition awards

Thank you