Unlike people in other countries, Filipinos normally use a mixture of the English and metric systems in making measurements.
This fascinating culture was discussed on subreddit r/Philippines where they pointed out that Filipinos don’t stick to any measuring convention.
In a post on Sunday, May 23, one Reddit user shared a screenshot of a Facebook user who shared a story about a foreigner asking the system of measurement in the Philippines.
In the snapshot, the user supposedly responded that the usage varies on the item or area being measured.
Part of it read: “May foreigner na nagtanong sa akin kung English or metric system daw ba tayo. Ang sagot ko: If you ask me my height, I’ll answer in feet and inches. But if you ask me how far my house is from here, I’ll answer in kilometers.”
For reference, the metric system or the International System of Units involves metric units such as centimeters, grams and minutes. The English system or imperial system involves units such as inches, pounds and gallons.
The user also mentioned Filipinos’ own way of measuring volume.
“Plus, we have our own system of measurement: old newspaper is sold by the dangkal, text cards are counted by syllables and flood is measured by body part (ga tuhod/ga dibdib or lampas tao). So I’m not really sure what system we’re using here,” the user said.
The Reddit user quipped with: “Nalito si kuyang foreigner.”
The post had been upvoted on the platform more than 2,000 times since then.
In the comments section, Reddit users also added more unusual ways that Filipinos express measurements, particularly distance and time.
“For the hardcore ones: kembot at tambling,” one user said.
“Measures distance by time: ‘Gano kalayo?’ ‘Mga dalawang oras,’” another wrote.
“Sanay ako sa oras yung ginagamit. Gano kalayo Baguio? Six hours. Gano kalayo opisina? 30 minutes (dati two hours),” another user said.
“May disclaimer pa ko based sa level of traffic, or kung babyahe ng madaling araw vs rush hour,” another user said.
Another Reddit user also shared a meme that showed how Filipinos seemed to “fuse” these units in daily conversations.
The meme has two panels with characters from the popular TV series “Tom and Jerry.”
The first one showed the dog “Spike” who was labeled as “Europeans using the metric system” in a swordfight with “Tom” who represented the “Americans using imperial system.” The second panel showed “Jerry” who were the “Filipinos using both.”
The user wittingly described this as a “fusion system.”
Under this post, some users argued that Canada and the United Kingdom also mix some systems of measurement that suit their needs.
Others also countered that the official metric system in the country is still the metric system.
“We clearly only use metric officially, it’s just that accustomed din tayo to using imperial for some applications pero not in a formal sense. This isn’t trivial. Walang road sign na miles ang nakalagay. Walang odometer sa sasakyan na nakalagay miles at miles per hour. Walang bahay na sinusukat ang lupa at floor area in square feet. Walang gasolinahan ang naka per gallon ang presyo ng mga produkto,” the user said.
By Philippine law, the official measurement system used across sectors is the metric system. Under Presidential Decree No. 748 on July 16, 1975, it was prescribed that:
“The metric system as the sole standard of weights and measures to be used throughout the Philippines starting January 1, 1975 for all products, commodities, materials, utilities, services and in all business and legal transactions.”