The check comes in a little black leather sleeve. Everything looks right: the orders are correct, and VAT and service charge are calculated accurately. You ready your card, but almost forget the most important part of dinner: the tip.
In the Philippines, a standard tipping practice does not exist, whereas in countries like the US, tipping a percentage of the bill is customary. On one hand, service charge in the Philippines acts as the tip, while others believe that tipping separately incentivizes good service.
I dread bringing up the topic of tipping during meals with friends. Talking about it spirals into larger conversations centered on money, labor, and class. About how much is too much or too little. But before diving into the socio-economic intricacies of tipping, it's vital to distill this into one question: How do we, as Filipinos, recognize and reward a job well done?
The state of tipping in the Philippines
We need to talk about VAT and service charge. VAT, or Value Added Tax, is an additional 12 percent of the total bill for taxes. Some restaurants calculate VAT separately and then add it to the bill, while others roll VAT into the menu price. Menus indicate if prices include or exclude VAT. Seems straightforward, right?
Meanwhile, service charge is an additional percentage of the meal, usually 10 percent, tacked onto the total bill. All restaurants implement VAT, but service charge is optional. Not all restaurants charge it. What's more, the law doesn't specify any amount for service charge.
That raises the question: Is tipping necessary if the restaurant asks for a service charge? Article 96 of the Philippine Labor Code states that 85 percent of service charge in hotels, restaurants, and similar establishments go to rank-and-file employees, while 15 percent goes to a combination of loss coverages, breakages, and management. In 2019, Republic Act No. 11360 amended Article 96, saying that 100 percent of service charge collected goes to all non-managerial employees. In 2024, the Department of Labor Order 242 revised RA. 11360 by distributing service charge to all "covered" employees, which includes non-regular and regular staff.
Now that all of the service charge goes to the staff, some say tipping is not necessary. But is service charge really enough?
Tipping around the world
When I lived in the United States, I balked at the cashier who showed me tip options after I bought a matcha latte -- to go. I heard stories about staff confronting customers who did not tip after the bill. I even left a low tip -- below 10 percent -- once on the card and then quickly added more in cash out of shame.
Why are Americans so obsessed with tips? Based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics, around 789,000 workers made less than the federal minimum wage in 2023.
For them, tips offset low wages in the form of incentivizing employees for good service. Detractors also state that tipping does not reflect excellence in service, but rather increases existing inequities. Tipping culture in the US now goes beyond restaurants and, according to The Guardian, persists in self-checkouts, drive-throughs, and vending machines.
In Japan, workers often turn down tips because the service culture there inherently prioritizes hospitality. Tipping is considered rude because good service is the standard. In the United Kingdom, tipping is more fluid because of service charge -- just like in the Philippines, where service charge goes to the staff. According to the BBC, customers skip tips at restaurants with service charge and give tips to ones without service charge. Staff from restaurants with service charge do not expect tips.
Each country has its own tipping custom because each culture and government has its own relationship with and view of labor. Tipping is one piece of the puzzle of work.
Tips on tipping
Obviously, don't tip when the service sucks. Don't tip when you find a piece of hair or a fingernail clipping in your dish. Thankfully, these horror stories are once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
Tip when the service is exceptional. Tip when the staff remembers you prefer your service water warm with a lemon wedge. Tip when they offer you another bread basket without you asking.
As for me, I usually budget P500 to P800 for a solo meal out, including VAT and service charge. I tip another P100 to P200, depending on the price, the complexity of my order, and the quality of service.
We can debate about the art of tipping, about whether good service is the bare minimum or if it should be incentivized through tipping, but what's non-negotiable is treating staff with respect and decency. You can firmly return a wrong order without screaming or cussing.
Defining what tipping means to us
So, should we tip? In a 2017 interview with Thrillist, chef and author Anthony Bourdain speaks on the complexities of tipping, especially since some restaurants implement no-tipping practices. "Is abolishing tipping a positive thing? A way forward? I don't know," he says. "There is a problem; I don't know if this is the answer. But something is needed."
Like Bourdain, I'm not sure where the answer lies. I was one of those penny-pinchers who hated the very concept of tipping because it felt like a burden.
My perspective changed when I found myself receiving tips. I don't work in a restaurant, but I offer services as a writer. I rarely get tips and never expect them. These tips were sizable, but not life-changing. More importantly, they were signs that, amid all the revisions and deadlines, I did something right.
Now, I tip when I love the service -- and more often than not, I do. Tips should function as garnish: they take a dish from good to great, but are not the foundation. Similarly, fair compensation based on the daily minimum wage and fair working conditions should serve as the foundation for earnings.
Everyday Filipino excellence
The Philippine service industry, which spans hospitality, retail, and BPOs, constitutes 61.4 percent of the workforce according to the Department of Finance. The question of tipping stands as a microcosm for the larger discourse on how to fairly compensate roughly two out of three Filipino workers.
I believe in acknowledging excellent service through tipping -- and I understand the validity of arguments against tipping.
The Philippines does not have a tipping standard right now, but what we should standardize are these conversations when picking up the bill. Was the experience good? Why or why not? And, what does fair compensation for this service look like?
In 2025, it's so easy to be swept up in a specific vision of excellence, whether it's the child prodigy who skipped a few grades or the entrepreneur who sold their company for an amount many would never see in their lifetimes. But forget those who brave our cities' traffic jams, end their days when most of us wake up, and miss holidays with family to ensure we savor our meals without so much as lifting a finger.
Before changing the system or sticking it to the man, it's time to confront our personal standards and see if our actions align. I return to a quote from the world's greatest (fictional) food critic, Anton Ego: "Not everyone can be a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere."
Excellence isn't bound to one type of job or industry, but found in an individual's capabilities and actions.