Hi!
If I may... Where is his city/province?
If he came from Visayas you may say "palangga"/"langga" (love) as endearment.
If he came from Manila/other cities, some uses "mahal" to call their loved ones.
"Irog" is an old word used in literature books
Nowadays people uses: [You may try one of these and see which one sparks!]
"Bae" (from Babe)
"Bhe" (to sound so filipino but from "babe" as well/very informal)
"jowa" (very informal, but very cute for some, not everyone feels this word)
-also means as boyfriend/girlfriend
"mahal" always sells
.... the rest words of endearment are in English, you already know them ;)