As the resident filipino on this forum (not sure if there are others), geographically Philippines is closer to mainland Asia ( roughly kinda similar distance as Japan to the continent) than it is to Polynesia. Most filipinos identify as south-east Asian. We share many pre-colonialised culture and language with Malaysia and Indonesia, and have taken on Chinese culture just as much as Spanish and American culture. Filipinos can be dark and look Samoan due to stronger ties to the indigenous cultures, or even Central/South American due to historic ties to Latin America, or look light due to the mixed Spanish heritage, or even more asian due to Chinese, Japanese, or Korean due to more recent migration.
In diversity monitoring forms, I always indicate "asian other"
Also, if anyone finds a quality asian top/vers for when I get round to visiting NY, let me know.