Top 3 Construction Myths Every Filipino Homeowner Should Stop Believing

Explore common Filipino construction myths like Oro, Plata, Mata, unlucky floor numbers, and rituals. Learn safe building practices and protect your property with insurance.

September 26, 2025
Property and Asset, Reliable Cares, Safety and Protection

The Philippines is a modern, thriving, and digitally connected country. Despite these advances, many Filipinos still hold on to age-old beliefs when building their homes and businesses.

We’ll examine some common Filipino construction myths and why it may be time to set them aside.

Myth 1: Stairs Built on Oro, Plata, Mata

Fact: Bad design can lead to more accidents. Stairs should follow the principle of oro (gold) and plata (silver), but not mata (death), to avoid misfortune. The first step should be oro, the next plata, but the last should never be mata.

Myth buster: Stairs have very little to do with determining your fortune. But bad design leads to injuries and even death in some cases. In the US, more than a million stair-related injuries are treated annually. In the UK, a study learned that, out of 1,035 deaths attributed to building features, 80% were due to falls, and 61% of those were on stairs.
What you should do: Instead of relying on a superstition when building your stairs at home, work, or business, good design that prioritizes user convenience, safety, and accessibility should determine how it’s built and the number of steps it has.

Myth 2: Bad Floor Numbers

Fact: Floor number has nothing to do with luck (or a lack of it). You probably know that buildings skip the 13th floor due to the number’s connection to bad luck. Other buildings also skip the 4th floor because the number four in Eastern cultures like China and Japan is associated with death.

Myth buster: Avoiding the 13th floor is one of the most persistent construction beliefs, but floor numbers have little to do with misfortune. What truly matters are safety and design. Taller buildings face higher construction and maintenance risks, with over 50% of accidents linked to floor height. Interestingly, people living on the 4th floor of low-rise buildings even showed better health from regularly taking the stairs. In the end, location has more influence on a building’s “fortune” than its floor number.
What you should do: The common solution has always been to skip the ‘bad’ numbers or replace them with letters. It is also more important to focus on safety codes for high-rise structures when building them and in their design for habitation.

Myth 3: Blood and Money Offerings

Fact: Success depends on factors unrelated to blood offerings. During a blood ritual at a construction site, an animal, often a chicken, is sacrificed to ward off bad spirits or bring luck. Money is also scattered in living rooms or planted with coins in certain areas for good fortune.

Myth buster: Location has always been one of the primary drivers of success for both businesses and residences. For example, the revenues of malls, many of them strategically located in high-traffic locations and even acting as transport hubs, have grown 19% above pre-pandemic levels. Location also determines access to resources and talent, with better accessible businesses being preferred by workers over those that are difficult to get to.
What you should do: Animal sacrifices can be considered both inhumane and unhygienic, so it would be best to cease the practice altogether, given the lack of data to show its effectiveness. Focus instead on better research for your business or new home with regard to its location when determining its viability.

Trust Facts and Expertise

While many of these construction myths might seem harmless, it is always best to depend on facts and figures when making key business and life decisions. Data-driven information and advice from skilled specialists will always be best. You can always ensure your business and properties to further insulated from potential risks, so you can have peace of mind no matter what challenges arise.

Our agents at Reliable Insurance Brokers are ready to guide you in choosing the right coverage so you can ensure the protection and success of your business and properties.