Don’t Let These 5 Filipino Travel Myths Sabotage Your Vacation

Discover common Filipino travel superstitions, like pagpag and Good Friday myths, and learn how travel insurance protects your vacation plans in the Philippines.

July 31, 2025
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We are a modern, digital culture. In 2024, smartphone penetration has reached over 70% of the population, showing that today’s Filipinos are truly creatures of the future.

Yet we remain creatures of superstition. We may think these old beliefs exist only in the pages of comics like Trese or in the latest Shake, Rattle and Roll movie, but myths persist today, even in the centers of modernity in our country’s metropolises, still affecting our daily lives despite evidence to the contrary.

In this article, we explore five travel myths that could impact your vacation plans and why they shouldn’t sabotage your long-awaited and planned downtime.

Myth No. 1: Pagpag

While not necessarily vacation-related, let’s get this long-standing, still-practiced myth out of the way now: when you go to a wake, it is customary not to immediately return home but to go elsewhere first.

Pagpag can be loosely translated as “dusting off,” so the belief is that you do pagpag to prevent a spirit present at the wake (often it’s the deceased) from following you to your home. In the context of your vacation, you might find yourself attending a wake before you travel, and someone in your party or household might think it's really bad to have an unwanted spiritual tagalong.

This shouldn’t be a big issue. Whether you believe this or not, it’s easy today to accommodate this superstition. A visit to your friendly neighborhood convenience store or, budget and location permitting, a 24-hour coffee shop should suffice to calm any fears from your friends and loved ones.

Myths 2 and 3: Hygiene at Night

We grouped two common hygiene-related beliefs here, both in the evening, when most of us are probably doing last-minute preparations for the trip tomorrow.

The first, and the one you might encounter the most even on the eve of your vacation, is sweeping the floor at night. Maybe you disturbed some dust or had a small accident during packing and preparation for your travel, and now you’re grabbing the broom and dustpan to clean up. The belief is that this brings bad luck because you’re sweeping away good luck.

The other involves your nails. The belief is that if you trim your fingernails at night, you’re inviting misfortune and accidents. So don’t be surprised if you see any of your elders looking at you worriedly as you bring out the nail cutter after sundown on the eve of the family out-of-town.

The counterpoint to these beliefs is that thousands of similar activities occur everywhere at night, and there’s no known statistical or scientific correlation to link causation. In any given hotel where it’s night, some housekeeping staff is probably dusting off some surface; did that cause tomorrow morning’s airplane mishap? Of course not. It’s all just a coincidence.

Myth No. 4: Death Flags

“Death flags” in popular culture are signs that point to the imminent demise of someone. Locally, these are a collection of similar signals that tell those in the know that maybe death is lingering around someone. And if these signs are coming from you, maybe death is, too!

So what are these signs? Here are some:

Unusual and incessant petty requests, called “Himalatyon” in Cebuano.
Someone’s aura is unusually bright, or they’re light to be with
Talking frequently about death or dying

As with the hygiene-related beliefs above, any evidence for these is either anecdotal or coincidental. While a quick check with news and reports about your travel preparations and destination is not out of place, just to be safe, such signs should not be a cause for concern.

Myth No. 5: Good Friday Travel is Bad

In the 21st century, Holy Week is considered peak vacation time for many, allegations of disregard for the season’s holiness notwithstanding. After all, outside of the day between Christmas and New Year, the time before Holy Week (often at clock out on the Friday to Palm Sunday), all the way to Easter can be vacation days.

Forgotten in today’s rush to get to the top beach spots before the palms even get shaken on Sunday is the belief that Good Friday is a bad day to travel. Because it’s Good Friday and the Lord is supposed to be dead. You’re not even supposed to take a bath on this day, or at least starting at 3 in the afternoon.

One big proof against this age-old belief is the fact that, in all the time Holy Week has become one of our premier vacation seasons, no major accidents have occurred. So take heart if you’re late going out of town the next time Holy Week comes around: God won’t hold it against you if you travel on a Good Friday.

Protection is Always Good When You Travel

Whether you believe in these myths or not, it never hurts to be protected when you travel. And one of the best ways to ensure that you and yours are safe from any troubles, whether they be man-made or otherworldly, is through travel insurance.

We at Reliable Insurance Brokers offer you a wide selection of plans for the protection you want, with a variety of options that expand your coverage for whatever contingencies come about. Just give us a call, and our agents are ready to assist with your concerns.

You can also check out our Travel Planning Checklist to really ensure your vacation is not only smooth sailing but totally safe, no matter the signs and omens that come your way.