Dalawa ang pakete.

Because Filipino often puts the predicate first.

In Dalawa ang pakete, the word dalawa (two) is the predicate, and ang pakete is the topic. A very literal breakdown is:

Dalawa = two
ang pakete = the package(s) / the packages

So the structure is closer to Two are the packages than to normal English word order.

This kind of pattern is very common in Filipino:

• Malaki ang bahay. = The house is big.
• Tatlo ang anak niya. = He/She has three children.

Ang is a topic marker. It marks pakete as the topic or the noun being talked about.

In this sentence, ang pakete means something like:

• the package
• the packages
• the package(s)

depending on context.

So ang does not mean is, are, or the exactly. It is a grammatical marker used to show which noun is the topic of the sentence.

Both are possible, but they do different things.

• Dalawang pakete = two packages
  This is just a noun phrase, not a full sentence by itself in most cases.
• Dalawa ang pakete. = The packages are two / There are two packages.
  This is a complete sentence.

The difference is that:

• dalawang pakete uses dalawang to directly modify the noun
• dalawa ang pakete uses dalawa as the predicate, and ang pakete as the topic

So:

• May dalawang pakete. = There are two packages.
• Dalawa ang pakete. = The packages are two / There are two packages.

Because dalawa is not directly modifying pakete in this sentence.

Compare:

• dalawang pakete = two packages
  Here, dalawa directly describes pakete, so it takes the linker -ng.
• dalawa ang pakete = the packages are two
  Here, dalawa is the predicate, so no linker is used.

So the linker appears when the number is attached directly to the noun:

• isang libro
• dalawang pakete
• tatlong tao

But not in sentences like:

• Isa ang libro.
• Dalawa ang pakete.
• Tatlo ang tao.

Good question. In Filipino, mga is a plural marker, but it is often not necessary when a number already shows plurality.

Since dalawa already tells you there are two, pakete does not need mga.

So:

• Dalawa ang pakete. = natural
• Dalawa ang mga pakete. = possible in some contexts, but less neutral here

In many cases, the numeral is enough:

• tatlong libro = three books
• apat na bahay = four houses

You do not usually need mga with a number unless you have a special reason for emphasis or structure.

Formally, pakete itself does not change form for plural the way English package/packages does.

Filipino nouns usually do not change spelling for plural. Number is shown by:

• context
• numerals like isa, dalawa, tatlo
• plural marker mga

So in Dalawa ang pakete, pakete is understood as plural because dalawa tells you there are two.

Yes, absolutely.

May dalawang pakete. is often the more natural way to say There are two packages.

Compare:

• May dalawang pakete.
  = There are two packages.
  This is an existence statement.

• Dalawa ang pakete.
  = The packages are two / There are two packages.
  This puts more attention on the number.

So if you are simply stating that two packages exist, May dalawang pakete is very common.
If you are answering How many packages are there?, then Dalawa ang pakete fits very well.

They are very similar in meaning, but Dalawa ang pakete sounds more natural in everyday Filipino.

• Dalawa ang pakete. = common, natural
• Ang pakete ay dalawa. = grammatical, but more formal or marked

The word ay can be used to put the topic first, but in normal speech Filipino often prefers the predicate-first pattern.

So learners should get very used to sentences like:

• Mabait ang guro.
• Malaki ang aso.
• Dalawa ang pakete.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

da-LA-wa ang pa-KE-te

Notes:

• dalawa has stress on LA
• pakete has stress on KE
• ng in ang sounds like the ng in song
• vowels are usually clear and pure:
  • a like father
  • e like bet
  • i like machine
  • o like for
  • u like flute

So say it smoothly as:

da-LA-wa ang pa-KE-te

A speaker would often use Dalawa ang pakete when the important information is the number.

For example:

• Someone asks: Ilang pakete? = How many packages?
• Answer: Dalawa ang pakete. = There are two packages.

So this pattern is especially useful when answering how many?

You can think of it as emphasizing: As for the packages, they are two.