$8.8-B reasons why diaspora is good for us!

Surely by now we should be asking ourselves… why do we always have coup threats, jitters and the like and they seem never to end? The answer, of course, hits right smack at our justice system… that’s because no one goes to jail or is even killed when someone attempts a coup in this country. Stage a coup in a Latin American country and you can be sure, it’s going to be a bloody one… with the leaders of the coup summarily executed on the spot when they are caught. In this country, the coup leaders are arrested with a big smile on their faces, which obviously gives you the impression that these coup plotters are not worried about the fate that would befall them.

That’s exactly what I saw on the smiling face of former Defense Secretary Fortunato Abat… a man I used to admire during my ROTC days. After being in power for so long, why is it only now that he is making corruption an issue when corruption was very much a problem when they were in power? They could have already done something about corruption back then. Like what we said, Gen. Abat should have listened to the wise words of Gen. Douglas MacArthur… to fade away like an old soldier… but he didn’t listen!

Talking about generals, here’s a little bit of trivia for you World War II buffs out there. On Dec. 9, 1945, one of my favorite World War II generals, US General George S. Patton Jr., was in his staff car on the outskirts of Mannheim, Germany when it collided with a 2.5-ton Army truck (a weapons carrier) and was seriously injured. As he was brought to the hospital, he said, "This is a helluva way to die." Today is the 60th anniversary of Gen. Patton’s death. He was buried at the American Cemetery in Luxembourg City.

When I went to the West Point museum for the first time in October 1972, they had on display Gen. Patton’s baton and ivory-handled Colt revolvers. Yes, Gen. Patton was America’s greatest general and if Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower hadn’t restrained him to please British Field Marshal Bernard "Monty" Montgomery, Patton would have reached Berlin ahead of the Red Army… or worse, he’d even have gotten all the way to Russia!

I will never forget the immortal words of Gen. Patton when he said to his men in the Third Army, "Men, you are not here to die for your country! You are here to fight for your country and make sure that the other fella dies for his!" Unfortunately, Gen. Patton survived the war and died in a car accident… a not so fitting way for an old fighting warrior to go.

* * *

Last Friday’s Business section of The Philippine STAR reported something surreal, that the peso has hit a 30-month high, hitting a record P53.16 to a dollar, the strongest that the peso has ever become in many years. Could it be that we have finally hit rock bottom and the only way back is going up, or is this a fluke? Most pundits would attribute this to the remittances of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and coincidentally, you’ll find that story right next to the report on the peso’s record-breaking surge.

As the report goes, the dollar remittances of OFWs in the last 10 months have increased by 27 percent to $8.8 billion as compared to last year’s $6.9 billion. Now whether you like it or not, this is the result of our "diaspora" where our people who cannot find jobs here at home leave our country for greener pastures abroad. The Business section also reported that our deployment of OFWs has hit the one-million mark. That means the more Pinoys we send abroad, the more dollars come into the country.

Of course, we do get horrifying stories of gruesome or violent incidents involving Pinoy workers abroad and we can only sympathize with their families. We should also show our concern to the families who are left behind as their loved ones work abroad. This is not to mention the so-called "brain drain." All told, if that same number of Filipinos did not leave the country, I’m sure they’d contribute only peanuts to our nation’s coffers… and I dare say that we’d still get the same percentage of violent incidents from those Pinoys, whether they’re here or abroad.

In short, it is time for us to admit that our diaspora has been good for our country… materially or financially. All you need to do is travel to the countryside and you’ll be surprised to see nice, modern house in places where nipa huts used to stand. That’s because when a son of a farmer gets to work abroad, the first thing he does is fix the old home. That is the new status symbol in the countryside… and that is where the $8-billion remittances are being spent!

Last Thursday evening, my family went to SM Cinema One for a special presentation of the graduating nurses called Lambda Class 2006 of the Cebu Doctor’s University (CDU), the class where my daughter Katrina belongs. Yessir, I submit that I, too, have a part in our diaspora because certainly my daughter took up nursing to work abroad as nurses or doctors are not paid well in this country!

What the students presented was a song and dance number, complete with period wears, depicting the years since Cebu doctors opened its doors to nursing. Of course, that means the songs since 1984, which are familiar to all of us, have suddenly become unfamiliar as the years come closer to the year 2006. Their song and dance presentation was a bit amateurish, however, it gave me an insight into the creativity of young kids… that given the right instructions or teaching, they can be in the entertainment industry!

But what struck me most was the realization that all the parents and families who watched their sons and daughters do their song and dance routines were very happy that their kids will be graduating by March next year. That’s just three months from now. After the show, I talked with my friends and told them that perhaps 95 percent of those graduates are going abroad and therefore, would be part of our country’s diaspora, adding to the brain drain. But the answer was… who cares?

Indeed, if we want our children to have a better future, working aboard is the best ticket and unless and until our government does something drastic, like turn around our economy, become responsible politicians or create well-paying jobs here at home… you can be sure that Filipinos will want a bite of the American dream.

* * *

For e-mail responses to this article, write to [email protected]. Bobit Avila’s columns can also be accessed through www.thefreeman.com. He also hosts a weekly talkshow, "Straight from the Sky," shown every Monday, at 8 p.m., only in Metro Cebu on Channel 15 of SkyCable.