Virtual Ethnography 101: Homecoming to a Country Reborn

Last January 29, 2011, I asked my graduate students in Anthropology 225 to become oracles for the day during the three-hour workshop I prepared for them using Edward de Bono's The Six Thinking Hats; and perhaps foretell and prophesy scenarios on Philippine Culture and Society in 2020. One group wore the yellow hat that allowed them to express optimistic views - a thesis from the anti-thesis views of the black hat thinkers. I appreciate creativity shown in the written output of the yellow hat wearers who foresee a bright future for our society. However, I have to caution the readers here that some facts may be overblown and clothed with much idealism. But I guess the story narrated and presented herein are possible scenarios that might occur in the near future...

My gratitude and appreciation extend to the writers of this story - Anna Saberon, Camille Flores, Dolf Cheng, Laurence Garcia, Lay Duaso, Louie Merced, and Marck Bryan David

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A Brave New Philippines 2020

“There’s no place like HOME,” Flerida thought as she looked around the vast airport terminal space filled with locals and foreigners alike. The plane ride from Qatar took a little under five hours but her uncontrollable excitement seemed to make waiting, one of her pet peeves, a struggle. Time seems to slow down but at last her plane has finally arrived in NAIA l, Manila. Looking around the newly-renovated, glass-domed structure, she couldn’t believe how modern the old airport had transformed into. Could this be the very terminal where she bid farewell to her husband, 1 daughter and 1 son many years before? She barely knew how she had managed to live abroad and away from her family for almost a decade. She had kept in touch with them, had talked to them and had seen their faces through the internet, but now they are not just two-dimensional faces on Skype anymore. Nothing could trump her family’s real, physical and embraceable presence and this is going to transpire soon.

They say time changes everything. Could this be true or not? News has been trickling in throughout her 9 years stay in Qatar. Due to her excellent performance as a caregiver, her Qatar employer compensated her with more financial rewards than she could ever dream of. This explains the reason why her 3-year contract was extended to 9 years. During those years, she fought the urge to come home because life had been extremely tough for her family here in the Philippines and she thought she hasn’t saved enough. Yet, news that trickled into her iPhone 4 years ago (2016) had brought good tidings. Good signs. More convincingly, it was the stories related to her by her family. They were telling her about the positive changes in the Philippines this past decade. Friends and relatives have also been chatting with her on her Macbook. Could this bring some truth to that saying? That time changes everything? Flerida was now standing by the luggage conveyer, waiting for her balikbayan boxes. Even the services in the airport terminal have improved. Each personnel seem to be efficiently keen at work in his/her respective station. Where were the loitering staff she remembered from years past? She pushed the cart across the floor for the exit lane, passing through customs personnel who stamped her passport with surprising speed and called on to the next person in line.

Manila is extremely hot this time of the year and yet in the distance she noticed endless greenery of mature trees that lined the parking lot. There is no patch of dryness as the grass is well-watered by automatic sprinklers perhaps? She thought to herself. How could this be Manila where not even government officials are at the least “environmental”? She immediately scanned the sea of faces among the crowd waiting for their loved ones and then she saw three familiar faces. In that moment, she could not help but think back to a similar instance years ago when she had to say goodbye to those three faces.

The company where her husband was working had to downsize because of the global financial crisis. Unfortunately, he was one of those who were laid off. Their two children were still in school that time- Maya was in her 2nd year of high school while Miguel was in Grade 4. The tuition fees of both children were increasing and their remaining savings would not last a year longer. Hence, she decided to leave and work in Qatar. She and her husband had come up with hundreds of reasons why she should or should not take the job abroad. Leaving was the most painful and difficult decision in her life and for years in Qatar, she punished herself for her endless guilt and remorse for leaving her family behind. Upon eyeing out her family among the hundreds of people waiting for their loved ones like her, Flerida completely erased her 9-year guilt in that instant and resolved to herself that the decision she made then was the right one. Tears of joy flooded the scene as Flerida and her husband and now really grown-up children embraced. 9 years were lost to them but they have their entire life now to catch things up. Flerida and her family are really excited to return to their own home in Samar so everyone rushes to the family’s new car.

Upon leaving the ultra-modern Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Flerida noticed how much things have physically changed around her. There are more BMW’s, Benz’s and Audi’s along the highways and she wondered if people have become generally more affluent. With the presence of more cars, one would generally link it to heavier traffic. However, what surprised her even further is that the traffic situation of Manila’s thoroughfares is not as horrible as it used to be. Traffic was regular and suspiciously smooth along the way home. “Seriously, is this Metro Manila? Or did I land in the wrong country?,” She can’t help but ask that question to her husband who responded to her with a proud face, “Yes Dear, you’re really home”. So she was not dreaming at that time when he saw the sign “MABUHAY PHILIPPINES!” at the arrival area.

Drivers are more disciplined and traffic rules are more strictly implemented. The roads also look significantly cleaner this time. No more unsightly structures and misbehaving sidewalk vendors. No more children running dangerously across the highways to ask for alms. Traffic signs and foot bridges are now colored blue and yellow and red, a display of a renewed national pride. “Well…, must be at the whim of the new MMDA chairman as always have been the case”, she quips, but she does not mind it for she appreciates the positive changes that she are all witnessing. “I’ve been only gone for 9 years and yet with the things that I am seeing, I think I must have been away for a lifetime”. She was struck further by what are now sprawling across many parts of the metro. Apart from the high-rise glass-walled office buildings which indicate a boom in economic activity in the country, she also found rows of high-rise public housing units. “Finally, no Filipino is a squatter in his own country”, she could not contain her gladness. She remembers bits of news back in Qatar that Manila’s dumpsite illegal residents have been granted land rights on the outskirts of the city and upon seeing these housing units, she wondered if some of them are living here. In the year 2016, the government declared Payatas area to be solely a recycling site and less of a dumpsite. In a very difficult but promising turnaround, the last administration started a rigorous recycling awareness program among the people residing in Metro Manila. This started 2012 and was implemented in almost all the barangays starting with downtown Manila alongside Pasay and Quezon City. Upon seeing the progress in the year 2016, other remaining towns and barangays followed suit and this has contributed tremendously to the greening of Payatas today. Garbage collection is heavily taxed and each resident should use a purchased trash bag to throw their garbage into. The rule back in 2016 was “No government-issued trash bag, No collection”. Today, trash is reduced almost 400% and continuing to decrease. People have become more conscious of what to throw as pure garbage and what to set aside as recyclables. As a matter of fact, recycling is being rewarded with grocery points which can be redeemed in SM Savemore outlets around Metro Manila. What’s more? Provinces all around the Philippines beginning with Cebu and Davao are eyeing this recycling possibility and officials have been sent out to these places to look into prospects.

The transformation does not end here. As Flerida has heard from news abroad and from her family, the conditions in the provinces are likewise significantly better now. The infrastructure is now solidly sound, basic public services are effectively delivered to the people in the provinces, and there is lesser need to move to Metro Manila to seek opportunities. One of the consequences and rippling effects of the provincial developments can be seen in her own daughter. Maya is now very contented with her career in Samar. Compared to her mother who had to fly abroad, away from family, Maya lives right where she works as a Head Nurse in St. Lukes Medical Center right here in Samar. Travelling from home to work is only 3 kilometers away when one rides in an air-conditioned jeepney. The salary here in Samar may not be as high as a Head Nurse working in Manila, but it is sufficient. She can live and feed on it, she can contribute for expenses at home, and she can even go shopping with it. Flerida couldn’t come back home at a more appropriate time than right now in the year 2020 and she felt herself to be the happiest Filipino balikbayan.

Flerida initially thought that the new changes in the Philippines were all exaggeration to bring more tourists into the country. After all, she, among other OFWs were utterly dissatisfied with hopelessness which drove them away from their homeland in the first place. What could she feel after all these years? Yet, she cannot erase the buzz around the news revolving around Philippines starting 2016. The country has been under the international spotlight after its unexpected transformation from being a laggard in the ASEAN region into a new economic power. Even in Qatar, Flerida has heard all the wonderful news of how the strong economic growth rate of 7.3% during the first year of Aquino administration back in 2011 was sustained. This carried and multiplied all the way throughout the decade and has finally trickled down to the lower income Pinoys. Poverty does and still exists, as it is an impossible task for any country to totally alleviate such condition in a span of a decade. Today, many Filipino families have found themselves out of the poverty line and are now enjoying relatively better living standards. Through the sound and responsible fiscal and economic policies implemented by the government, as well as the effective efforts to minimize corruption in the government, the Philippine economy was able to pick up and compete. Gone are the days when the stories of the Philippines being at par with South Korea economic-wise during the 1960s are thought of as mere history. Now, the Philippines has regained its mojo, more confident and optimistic of the future as ever.

Another explanation for such is that the Philippines has learned to navigate its economic direction on its own, no longer heavily dependent on the economies of the United States and European Union, which altogether have decreased in its relative strength as a consequence of the much-heralded economic rise of Asia. The Philippine economy now operates within the context of the ASEAN region, which although has now achieved greater levels of economic integration, still allows its member-states to remain sovereign on their economic practices. Additionally, trade with China and India, the new big players in Asia have become more aggressive, while keeping Japan as still an important economic partner.

In diversifying its trading relationships, the Philippines has even increased its contacts with other major emerging markets like Brazil, Mexico, Russia other Latin American states and even those from Africa. Through the successful programs of the government on industrialization and agriculture, and the active participation and initiatives by the private sector and civil society, Philippine products have become more competitive and of higher quality. The country no longer just exports parts of electronics as it has done so in the past, but has now become a regional player in the electronics industry itself, through home-grown brands such as My|Phone. The Philippines is also not just the ‘sweatshop’ for popular clothing brands such as Nike and Gap. Instead, Filipino clothing brands such as Bench, Kamiseta and Rusty Lopez have now become widely-known around the world. As with basic commodities such as bananas, pineapples, coconut oil, and fish, the Philippines has kept and even strengthened its competitive edge. Through the overhauls in the agricultural sector, the country has now regained its dominance in rice production, and for the first time after many decades, has now become a net exporter of it. For once, skilled human labor is no longer the main export of the country. Filipinos, like Flerida, need not go abroad to earn decently even at the expense of their respective families, for opportunities are now available in their own country. “I feel happy for the families of this generation”, Flerida wistfully tells herself. “They need not experience the hardships and sacrifice that come with having to leave our country in search for greener pastures abroad.”

Filipino migration however, did not stop even with this improved economic conditions at home, as it is self-defeating to do so in this globalized world. But it has now become just an option, not a need. Filipinos who work abroad are no longer just assigned at blue-collar and menial jobs. They are no longer the domestic helpers, baby sitters, ship crews and construction workers at Hong Kong or the Middle East. They are now holding higher and professional positions. Filipino workers are earning even greater respect and adulation from people around the world.

More importantly, the Philippines has also come to learn how to fully utilize its abundant natural resources through sustainable and environment-friendly practices. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources for instance has strengthened its role of conserving the natural resources of the country. Foreign mining companies are barred from fully extracting and exploiting the mineral riches of the country at the cost of the environment, instead these riches are now properly and effectively utilized to first meet the needs of the domestic economy. On the other hand, although natural gas and other oil sources have been discovered among the vast Philippine seas, the government has prioritized and invested heavily at the harnessing of alternative sources to meet the domestic energy sources. Wind power harnessed in Ilocos Norte is no longer an alternative power source. Other alternatives like geothermal power in Tiwi, Albay and in Leyte, and hydroelectric power in Laguna and Lanao provinces are also being used at a wider scale. Today in 2020, the Philippines collectively sources over two-thirds of its energy needs locally, thus lessening its dependence on Middle East oil. The economic headlines and buzz about the Philippines from abroad may have been overwhelming already for Flerida and to a lot of her fellow overseas Pinoys, but it seemed that nothing prepared her for actually seeing that these successes are indeed concrete and tangible. Flerida, through the entire ride going to her house, is still flabbergasted. “I wonder what else is in store for me in this homecoming”, the dumbfounded but thrilled Flerida inquires.

Flerida finally arrived in Samar and stepped out of the car and shielded her eyes against the sun. It wasn't the heat that bothered her much - if anything, Philippine humidity was winter compared to the dessert that was Qatar. It was because she wanted to look at her house without squinting, and to drink in the sight of what she had worked for all these years. Before her was a two-storey building that was neither too big nor too small, but which had a well-tended garden with a colorful riot of flowers in front, giving the house a cheerful air. Beside it were signs of an ongoing construction that Flerida knew were for her future grocery business, an endeavor she planned to start small but eventually grow. One thing that she has learned from Qatar, from being abroad, was perseverance and self-sufficiency. Filipinos who were fortunate enough to travel abroad saw a different aspect to themselves they would not normally discover and learned to adapt to foreign cultures that they deemed useful and this is what Flerida brought back with her. It may be a small store, but she has an enterprise. Years of being abroad has taught her resilience. That no matter what happens, her grocery business will become a success.

"Tita Fle!" a voice squealed from behind. Flerida turned and it seemed a hundred arms had covered her all at once, and more than a dozen voices clamored for her attention. The impact would have knocked her off her feet if these same arms hadn’t steadied her to the ground, but all Flerida could do was grin widely as she let herself be led into the house. Inside she was greeted by all the faces she had missed, young and old and middle-aged, faces not only of her large nuclear family but also of the familiar faces of her neighbors and friends. For the first time in 9 years, she was part of the group and not the alien working in a foreign land, not the nostalgic kabayan but the familial kapwa Pilipino. They were all here, excited and glad to have Flerida back.

The girl who had first called out to her was holding her hand, and it took Flerida a while to recognize who she was -- Mina, her sister's daughter who had been a shy but sweet 7-year old when she left. Now she was a lady whose confidence shone in the way she held her head, in the curious slant of her eyes, and in the healthy bronze glow of her skin. Today Mina works as a model for an international ad agency based in Cebu City. Recently, the agency has increased its employment of Asian models around Southeast Asia, most specially in the Philippines. Which was true, Flerida reflected, thinking back on the digital billboards she had passed on the way here, whose models looked surprisingly more Asian than Western. Flerida wonders if the world has shifted its concept of beauty towards Asia but she had no time to finish that thought because her mother walked into the room, busy as ever, with a plate of chopped lechon and a glistening glass of Coke for her. The sight of her Nanay instantly warmed Flerida’s heart, as her mother looked younger by ten years, basking in the glow of having all her children together at last. Flerida’s siblings were around the table as well, whose surface was enticingly spread out with a feast fit for kings. Here was a most precious but precarious moment which defines close Filipino family ties - both unifying and destructive to Philippine nationalism. This will be discussed later on. After the party, to Flerida’s surprise, everyone left early. They seemed to have a mutual understanding and an agreement that Flerida has had a long trip and therefore should be granted an early rest.

Flerida woke up to find that she was no longer in Qatar. Her body has not been conditioned back to Philippine familiarity and she switched on their new MylTV plasma flatscreen, yearning for Willing Willie on Channel 5. TV back in Flerida’s pre-Qatar period was a box of junk processor with game shows that made poor Filipinos yearn for the ultimate but elusive dream of stardom or richness. She wanted those forms of entertainment but could not find anything at all. Suddenly, her remote clicked to a program that had just started. It was a more eye-gluing program called Walang Wala/Merong Meron by the same Willie, today aged 59. The afternoon program featured stark contrasts between the Philippines then and now and although it may play out like a documentary, it was enough to plant Flerida right down her living room couch. Here was a TV program that will fill in all the missing gaps in her 9 years of informational absence and the show has just started.

Flerida learned from Willie that from Luzon to Mindanao, the tourism industry has boomed because of the unusual increase in the number of foreigners in different tourist hot spots around the chain of islands. Flerida could not believe the tremendous changes in the whole archipelago. She was amazed, to say the least. Being away for 9 years, she could feel her Pinoy pride reviving once again. Willie on TV interjected the fact that Filipinos have undergone a Vicky Belo-like spiritual facelift. Each province that was featured in the program had its own story of economic development. People who were interviewed in the show seemed to identify that Filipino weakness and disunity were rooted in too much love of the family unit. This may seem absurd but with familial love, Filipinos have disregarded anyone else outside the family circle. Learning from Japan, Korea and Taiwan, the Filipinos have finally built a deep sense of nationalism by extending their mindset of family further and including those who are non-family. True nationalism, they realized, embraces each and every Filipino in or out of the country. To cite an example, the national government with the help of civil societies including Filipino artists, celebrities, and heroes were instrumental in this transformation. These public figures leaped out of a virtual media like TV and movies and physically presented themselves to true public service. They reached out to their fans and supporters by providing hands-on education and presented themselves in tangible guidance and training. What this means is, they were truly present and involved. Mostly, they concentrated on young people who were idle, unemployed or out of school. They gave these young people the hope and dreams they need in order to prosper in their personal lives and contribute to their society.

There was a related feature on Efren Peñaflorida’s continued success and why he never slipped off public admiration. Efren gave talks and seminars and personally trained his followers until they evolved into young educators themselves. These teachers, in turn, propagated vocational and basic education towards far-flung areas of the country, almost dotting every area of the island. This became possible because of Efren’s tangible involvement in all his affairs. He is no longer a news article or a media gossip material, distanced from people. He is for real and truly present for the Filipino people. In the same manner, Manny Pacquiao encouraged aspiring Filipino boxers by training with them personally and honing their skills to make them future world-class boxers. The key ingredient, both civil leaders agree, is physical and emotional involvement. Other leaders with their expertise followed this recipe and in 9 years, the Philippines finally gained momentum and is today on a steady rise towards world recognition. This was most obvious in sports because young Filipino athletes began winning international titles abroad. The success of Filipinos in diverse fields, in this case, education and sports; has inspired the whole country towards true nationalism. Everything was as if hard to swallow for Flerida but she is slowly waking up from her sleep and realizing that no longer is this a dream. Filipinos seem to be more nationalistic, according to the TV’s own conducted survey. No longer is the Filipino chained towards familial loyalty but has finally reached out to co-Filipinos as well.

Flerida’s favorite SM was also featured and it is reported here that SM was instrumental in the revival of the arts. Philippine artistry has finally bloomed into its fullness reminiscent of the renaissance in Ancient Greece. The government has finally realized the economic potential in this sector and has pushed talents locally and abroad in the area of visual arts, music, theatre, dance and fashion, among other artistic expressions. They have also collaborated with national artists to define and create what is distinctly Filipino that would be known in the international art scene. Many foreign artists were invited to the Philippines to interact with local artists and they have a left a tremendous impact because the Filipinos became more responsive to newer knowledge, experimentation and art expression. These all started in 2016 in SM malls all over the country where the once elite art was made more accessible to the general public. To illustrate, this once intangible form has become a weekly awareness activity through open art and friendly competitions sponsored by the private business sector and directed by the public government officials. Each week, SM held a schedule of art activities the whole afternoon of Saturday. Events included free art movies for students, culinary art skills for young mothers, and even floral arrangement only for married men. Next week, there is a new set of events which will include foot painting techniques for people with cerebral palsy and hip hop dancing only for grandparents.

As if on cue, in the middle of a commercial break, Miguel walked into the room and once more gave his mother a long hug showing his emotions openly. “Ma, I have wonderful news to tell you and I have been waiting ages to tell you this. I am gay and I am fully responsible and accountable to myself.” Miguel quickly exited the room before her mother could react but it did seem to Flerida that Miguel had not carried a single amount of remorse in what he has revealed in that instant. Miguel had just graduated from the University of the Philippines in Diliman with a degree in space technology. He misses not his lessons but the professors who had mystically become like gurus and spiritual teachers to him. The shift began in U.P. in 2016 where self-development became the norm and each individual student was taught self value and guided to search his inner self and develop it. Each Filipino was required to go to school but students today do not vie for academic excellence. Students are guided to develop his/her mind, body and spiritual aspect; and to freely choose whatever profession or field he/she wants to excel in. Individual empowerment and discovery was considered a top priority and the professors and teachers are trained to detect these emerging aspects in their students as early as grade school. This is believed to be fundamental for each student because each one will work towards a future collective empowerment for the Philippine nation. Flerida reflected on how powerless she was in her youth. As a matter of fact, Filipinos have forever been victims to hidden potentials and desires due to 400 years of root-deep colonialism that polluted the Filipino mind to just accept his fate and surrender to the gods. This brought on self-defeating statements like “Bahala na ang Diyos” which plunged majority of Filipinos into inaction and hence, laziness. Flerida noticed how more optimistic Miguel seemed compared to her own upbringing. Miguel is very self-expressed, too much in fact according to her standards and this scared Flerida at first. Perhaps she may see it now as a form of rebellion in today’s Filipino teenager but she trusts in what the U.P. teachers have initiated in schools for all else to follow. Could this bold path emblazoned by the fierce educators finally break our 4 centuries of Spanish and American curse, she wonders.

She has not reacted yet to what Miguel had shared earlier because she chose to withhold that disbelief for now. Slowly, as if from deep meditation, she thought at last, “Things are really not the same as they were back in 2011 anymore. It’s not really that bad, but actually, only good things can come out of all these.” Just then Felicia walked into the living room where the tv was still on. Flerida’s eyes fell on Felicia, her Ate whom she had had a rift with just before she flew to Qatar. The years apart had softened Flerida’s heart, and she now looked at her sister longingly and knew that her homecoming had to be one of forgiveness as well. Both sisters stared at each other, uneasy and unsure whether to be or not to be the one to make the first move.

“I’ve missed you, Fle,” Felicia said softly. “And I’m really sorry for what happened before. Can you forgive me?” Felicia drew back and looked at Flerida tremulously, sincere and nervous at the same time. Flerida’s thoughts began to race back to yesterday when she first arrived in NAIA 1. Scene after scene replayed in her mind of what she had seen, felt and experienced since coming back; when suddenly she had a revelation. Everything that transpired, all the transformative changes that has happened in the Philippines, they all started from each person. They all started from each Filipino. They all started with oneself. With this revelation, she thought it was time to let go and reconcile with the past. Forgiveness should be granted, and it should start with oneself.

This time it was Flerida who embraced her. “All’s forgiven,” she said, her voice full of promise against Felicia’s hair. “Now I’m really, finally home.”