from the outside (the US) looking in, i think Filipinos are well respected. meron tayong mga masasamang ugali, at ibang katawa-tawang ugali, but on the whole we are respected for being hard working, uncomplaining, willing to do the work that other (spoiled and lazy) people won't.

bihira ang pinoy na bum or pinoy on welfare. we help each other and take care of our families. culturally, we value doing well in school and/or work, and take pride in what we do (even though medyo mayabang tayo when we succeed).

what's not to respect about all that? sure, our politicians are mostly idiots, the government does some stupid things, and the country is embarrassingly poor. but still i believe there is plenty to be proud of.

forget that crap about renowned inventors, boxers, scientists, billiards players etc etc. the real pride of the philippines comes from the hardworking OFW's, business owners, and employees that get no press but are successful in every sense of the word (do you think all the global call centers are in Manila only because everyone speaks english? it's far more than that!)

ok, off my soapbox now