FILIPINONS are social animals. Or so we’d like to portray ourselves..

That might explain then the culture of drinking, and the importance of males and females imbibing alcoholic spirits to reinforce a bond.

Sometimes, the refusal of a glass can be misconstrued as a an affront or an insult. Who cares if you don’t drink or if you’re allergic to alcohol. You just turned your back on tradition.

I read in the history books that this trait was observed by the Spaniards when they first arrived on our shores

The Catholic missionaries could not believe how some natives could hold their drink without losing their cool. - Evangelio Brillantes, Cebu City