A few decades ago I was in the Philippines and a professor there told me that the native Filipino languages had some words that originated with Sanskrit. He was not interested in Indology really, and this was long before Hindutva, so I don't think it's due to exaggerated cultural nationalism. I was only able to find one brief reference in a book there that said that their word for 'teacher' came from 'guru'. The Sanskrit influence was apparently later mostly effaced due to Islam and Christianity. As most people here are well aware, there was significant Hindu influence in Bali and the rest of Southeast Asia. So the Philippines is not beyond the imagination.
Are there any reliable sources that talk about the extent to which Hindu or Buddhist culture may have reached the Philippines? Best, Dean
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