Philippines ranks as second easiest country to find friends for expats - survey

Filipinos are truly friendly in nature.

According to Dano Tingcungco's "24 Oras" report on Sunday, a survey conducted by the Global Expat Network revealed that the Philippines ranks second among the countries where it is easiest to find friends for expats.

The country placed just behind Mexico, the top country on the list. It was followed by Panama, Indonesia, and Costa Rica.

In terms of local friendship, the Philippines ranks fourth, according to internations.org. This is just behind Costa, Indonesia, and Brazil.

The survey also revealed that two out of five expats living in the Philippines have Filipino friends, while four out of every five respondents said they felt "welcome" and "at home" in the Philippines.

Moreover, 69% of respondents said it is not difficult to connect with Filipinos, with 58% of expats wanting to live in the Philippines forever.

According to sociologist Ash Presto, the knowledge of Filipinos in the English language has contributed to the friendly image of Pinoys. The concept of "kapwa" or treating others no differently than us also play an important role in the survey.

"Kapwa is a psychological concept. It's the feeling of treating other people as if they are part of you. So hindi sila ibang tao. When you invite them into your home, you treat them the way you would want to be treated yourself when you go into another house," Presto said.

Despite Filipinos being friendly, Presto added that foreigners shouldn't expect us to be accommodating all the time.

"Kasi 'di naman puwedeng pag sinabing friendly ang mga Pilipino, puwedeng pumunta ang mga expat dito at i-expect nila na lagi silang i-a-accommodate. Kasi 'di naman din 'yun healthy for us as a country," she said.

—Jade Veronique Yap/MGP, GMA Integrated News