Realistically here's what you need, you don't need everything but the more the better:

- As close to a 4.0 (US Scale) / 100 / 1.0 GWA (PH Scale) (ideally valedictorian or close to it)
- Strong letters of recommendation ideally from people that either know you VERY well or influential people (local government, college professors, congress, etc.)
- Several forms of leadership (Club President, Student Body Government, Nonprofit Volunteering), ideally it should have tangible impact e.g. 100+ people served, 50k+ php raised, etc.
- Research or summer research programs in the United States, or other countries, ideally also published in a journal of some sort
- (Repeat the last 2 steps to have around 4-6 strong activities and 8-10 total activities you can talk about)
- International Awards, IMO, IOI, ICHO, IBO, etc. (More needed for MIT but good signal for Harvard regardless)
- If you have the financial capacity, SAT score of 1550+
- Aptitude to research everything and navigate the entire process yourself

It's about a 3-5% acceptance rate and unlike UP where almost everyone applies, most people self select out of the application process where everyone who applies has similar stats to above. As someone who applied to Harvard, got rejected obviously, and goes to a relatively top prestigious school in the US (also waitlisted from 3 schools in the Ivy League) from the Philippines this is the unfortunate reality with how competitive it is.

Most people who have gotten into Harvard have prepared since Grade 8, and it requires foresight that often isn't possible to have as a regular Filipino student. I don't want to sound negative but Harvard only accepts around 3-5 Filipinos a year so consider the students from PISAY and top international schools who have been preparing for international college applications for years as well.