What's right and what's wrong with us Filipinos?

Many foreign employers in Europe, America, the Middle East, and Asia actually admire the Filipinos as hardworking, respectful, loyal, adaptable, persevering, and resilient migrant workers. But back home, some employers in Manila and other workplaces complain of some misdemeanors, offenses and violations of work standards and protocols. Why are Filipinos very good when outside the country but tend to be less desirable when working at home?

Here in the cities of Bern, Lucerne, Lugano, Zurich, and Geneva where my team and I are visiting in our 100-day academic safari, we have met many OFWs who are admired by their employers for being focused on their work and delivering services that delight customers. In Basel, I met Virna from Larena, Siquijor. She was taking care of the small kids and her employer brought her to a restaurant where we had lunch. I quickly interviewed the head of the family, a doctor and his wife, a bank executive. They had all praises for Virna; clean, articulate, and very caring for the kids. And as a former master teacher in Dumaguete, she could serve as tutor for the schoolchildren. Virna is valued by her employer and the kids adore her. She is paid more than the governor of Siquijor.

In Lausanne, I met Rex Mercado, an engineer from Maasin, Leyte, and his wife, an Austrian beauty. They both teach at a local university. I got the number of the school HR director and interviewed her about the Mercados. She told me they were awarded as outstanding faculty members who contributed a lot to the academic excellence of the institution. In Lugano, there was a nurse, Nilda from Tabaco, Albay, and we met her chief nurse who told us that because of Nilda the hospital is getting 100 more nurses next year from the Philippines. I told them to contact the University of the Visayas and the Southwestern University schools of nursing where the best nurses are being trained in Cebu. The salaries of the Mercados and Nilda is twice the compensation of the mayors of Maasin and Tabaco.

When I lived in Kuala Lumpur from 2005 to 2008 as a Labor attaché, I met many domestic helpers whom I helped train at the center I organized for their development. Melinda Gates gave me 300 computers and I taught domestic helpers basic computer applications. Now, the former maids are already working in Petronas and in Malaysian banks and hotels. I also asked philanthropist Datuk Lim Sun Hoe to sponsor the schooling of 18 maids to become nurses. I arranged with St. Paul University to accept them. Now, the former house helpers are earning huge salaries as nurses in Malaysia and Singapore. I also trained them on other crafts and trades. I worked on Sundays to manage the training school. I never got a word of recognition from the Philippine government. My satisfaction lies in the testimonies of OFWs whose lives I helped transform.

I repeated my Malaysia experience in Kuwait and in Taiwan where I was transferred. I saw the positive traits of Filipinos, very hardworking, focused, and committed to their work. But I also saw the negative side of their character. Some of them are very envious of others to the extent of spreading false rumors to destroy reputations. I saw some OFWs who got romantically linked with married foreigners. I had to rescue many of them from jails and detention centers. I saw the best and the worst among the character traits of Filipinos and I understand where they come from. What matters most is that, overall, the Filipinos are still one of the best in the whole world. They just need a good leader to inspire them and give them hope, directions, support, and training. Many of them have helped build houses in their hometowns, send children to college, and start businesses that prospered.

Here in Germany, I am very proud to tell my fellow professors coming from 16 other countries that Filipinos can be the best human capital if and when they are well led, trained, and inspired. What we need in our country are good leaders and a clear and firm set of values, like the malasakit, bayanihan, damayan, and tulungan. The Filipinos are worth being proud about. We are a noble race with a glorious history and a set of positive values. We just have to live all of them in our daily actions and interactions. We should be proud of our people.