A handshake would be the best way to show friendship to someone you meet for the first time. It should go with the "hi" and "hello" greetings and the rule says it should be the woman who extends her hand first. However, as women in the Philippines are a bit modest (in general), you may need to extend your hand first. Between gentlemen, any of the two can both show the willingness for friendship with a handshake.

Go ahead. Shake hands with everyone. It is a gesture of friendship.

 

True - along with handling coins, touching door handles, breathing in the air and droplets exhaled by others, kissing.

P.S. And that s*x thing ('internal handshaking').

 

I was raised in a home with little affection, so I was a bit shy to hug and kiss. That all disappeared after my 6 years in the Philippines. Very friendly! Handshaking is a common greeting. I soon learned that hugs and kisses are very common, too!!

 

in my experience, a Filipino offering a handshake comes just prior to him aksing me to buy him a beer, or...

 

Me too amongst men I do get a lot of handshakes - sometimes with Filipinas but that is always a little more awkward until after the handshake, so I usually initiate it.