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Roses or cauliflower: Filipinos weigh in on being romantic or practical on Valentine’s Day
Red or green? Would you be practical or traditional this Valentine’s Day? There is also a growing trend of practising 'self-love', prioritising buying gifts for oneself rather than others
- PUBLISHED: Fri 13 Feb 2026, 11:51 AM
Love is in the air for Filipinos this Valentines’ Day but not in a way where couples are swooning over sweets or bouquets of flowers, according to an informal survey conducted by a Manila-based media outfit.
Kodao Productions said two-thirds of its readers prefer to spend on food, while only a third of the respondents still prefer giving or receiving flowers on Valentine’s Day. This means giving vegetable bouquets is a more practical gift to your loved ones on Valentine’s Day. “It’s also healthy,” underscored one correspondent
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Noel, a 27-year old employee, said that while he is thinking of buying a gift for his girlfriend on Saturday, he is unsure of what to buy – as flowers are “too old fashioned, corny, and expensive.” He is considering giving his girlfriend a “colourful and healthy bouquet of cauliflower, broccoli, squash flower, and some other healthy greens.”
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If more couples are now thinking of becoming more practical, “self-love” is also increasingly becoming young Filipinos’ expression of happiness in their observance of Valentines’ Day.
As Philippine malls and restaurants prepare for the anticipated surge of dates and romantic activities among couples, a study reveals that more young Filipinos prefer to reward themselves with self-love purchases such massages, beauty parlor visits and travels to dream destinations by themselves instead.
Communications firm Uniquecorn Strategies reported that approximately 50 per cent of Filipino Gen Zs (born between 1996 and 2010) now prefer to spend for themselves even during red-letter days when gifting others is tradition.
It said that young Filipinos seek rewards for their hard work and dedication by prioritising themselves in their personal spending habits over buying gifts for partners, friends and even family.
Sense of self-worth
Socio-cultural thinktank The Fourth Wall research director John Brylle Bae explains: “This self-rewarding behavior among Filipino Gen Zs stems from their growing self-awareness, driving them to seek rewards that affirm that sense of self-worth.”
Meanwhile, a recent study conducted by survey firm Social Weather Stations (SWS) revealed that more Filipinos are into relationships.
SWS said that only 14 per cent of their respondents reported having no love life, down from last year’s 18 per cent.
The same survey, however, reported a 20-year record-low 46 per cent of adult Filipinos are “very happy” with their love lives while 40 per cent said their relationships could be happier.
As of November 2025, happiness with love life among women stayed highest among those who are married at 57 per cent, followed by those with live-in partners at 45 per cent, and those with no spouse/partner at 22 per cent, SWS noted.
In the same survey, 27 per cent of the responders revealed having experienced cheating in their relationships while 72 per cent said they have not.
