It was the very first time that the Chinese New Year was celebrated in the Philippines as a special non-working holiday which gave the opportunity to both Chinese-Filipinos and Filipinos in the country to enjoy the celebration. This became possible because of the Proclamation declared by President Benigno S. Aquino III, stating that this "is a manifestation of our solidarity with our Chinese-Filipino brethren who have been part of our lives in many respects as a country and as a people."
Further details from Asia Society also says this:
The Chinese culture in the Philippines had been recognized to be very influential in the country, as Filipinos are known to partake in thecelebration by means of having Chinese Food, consulting Feng Shui experts for good luck, as well as reading their Chinese horoscope.
Chinese-Filipinos, although do not make the majority of the population, have been a prominent member of the Philippine community, especially their influence in the business sector.
As a matter of fact, Out of the 10 richest people in Asia, 7 are Chinese-Filipinos. These are George S.K.Ty, founder and chairman of Metrobank, one of the country's largest banks; John Gokongwei, a mall magnate and owner of Cebu Pacific, the fastest-growing airline in the country; Tony Tan Caktiong, the founder of Jollibee; Andrew Tan, chairman of Megaworld Corp, a big real estate firm; and Emilio Yap, owner of the Manila Bulletin, a leading daily in Manila, and chairman of the Manila Hotel and other businesses.
![]() |
Vera Files |
![]() |
Tatler Asia |
As said, racist Filipinos (they need to start realizing they're descendants of Malaysians and Indonesians) need to start realizing that Chinese-Filipinos are still Filipinos (read here).