Family Structure
The basic social unit of the country is the family, which also includes the intermediate family members (aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins) and other outside relations (godparents and close friends). As such, many children have several godparents and when parents are out of the country to work, children are mostly left to the grandparents to watch over them. It is common for members of the same family to work for the same company, a practice which was influenced by the first Chinese settlers in the Philippines. Filipino families live in different kinds of house structures depending on their status or area. For families in rural areas, they live in a nipa hut which is made of bamboo and roofed with leaves from palm trees or corrugated metal. Filipinos that are ranked as "middle class" live in houses made of bricks and stones.