"Bagong Lipunan": An OFW's View

Among the MWO's specific functions is the issuance of Overseas Employment Certificates (OECs) to OFWs.  Along with the other offices of the Philippine Embassy in Bahrain, it has carried out without fanfare countless services to Filipinos in this island-kingdom. 

As the 126th anniversary of Philippine Independence approaches, my thoughts turn to these dedicated government workers in our embassy and many other Filipinos in Bahrain who have contributed greatly to the welfare of their compatriots and to the development of this country.   

All of them remind me of a truly meaningful patriotic song, “Ang Bayan Ko’y May Dangal,” or “Bagong Lipunan” composed by the celebrated scholar, National Artist Felipe Padilla de Leon:

A 10-inch pile of papers is stacked on a corner of a small conference table in the Migrant Workers Office (MWO) at the Philippine Embassy-Bahrain. MWO Officer-in-Charge Celia Cabadonga gestured towards it while explaining that it represented dozens of cases of distressed Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in the island whom her office has been assisting for hospitalization, counseling and/or repatriation.

Listening to her describe the functions and responsibilities of her office, I realized those documents are just a fraction of the gargantuan tasks the MWO, formerly the Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO), has to regularly deal with despite having just a handful of staff. 

MWO was created through RA 11641 or the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) Act. The DMW's marching orders, according to its official website, are to " (1) facilitate the overseas employment and reintegration of Filipino workers, while taking into consideration the national development programs of the National Economic and Development Authority...; and (2) ...promote the empowerment and protection of OFWs through continuous training and knowledge development".

It was used as a propaganda material by then President Ferdinand Marcos for his notion of Bagong Lipunan (New Society), and so understandably, many anti-Fascist or anti-Marcos Filipinos have been hesitant to popularize it which is unfortunate, for the song actually expresses a vision that every Filipino — of whatever political stripe — wishes for the country.

To always associate this with the Marcos dictatorship dishonors Felipe Padilla de Leon and his apolitical vision of the country as expressed in this song. As one who considers himself neither Marcos loyalist, Dutertard, Dilawan nor Leftist, but simply one who is proud to be a Filipino, now so far away from home and always longing for the motherland, I consider this song a constant reminder that whatever ills our country has, the vision of a new Philippine society is a worthy aspiration to live for.

It is a mistake though to think of this as a utopian dream, one that envisions a perfect society or one that’s achievable only in a nebulous future. It must be viewed as an ongoing process being worked out among us, perhaps imperceptible to those who expect or agitate for a revolution of sorts to usher such a new societal transformation.

For this kind of outworking may best be seen in the lives of individuals who, outside the limelight, make the best out of their potentials in the fields of work they have chosen, found themselves in, or been thrust into. It is in these lives that this vision of a new society is being worked out in the present.

It is tempting, while watching or listening in to media outfits from home, for us to assume that the most vociferous or the most prominent politicians, legal luminaries and ideologues are the ones most capable of ushering the nation to this glorious future. Maybe.

But as an OFW who often finds myself caught up in a daily struggle to adjust to a culture not my own, deal with the various issues at work on my own, and driven by a desire to ensure that my family gets to eat decent meals each day, I often wonder about that. Is it true that s/he who has the loudest voice automatically speaks for the entire nation? Is it true that s/he who can mouth the most articulate motherhood statement or patriotic platitude actually has the best interest of the nation in her/his heart? Maybe. Or not.

What I do know though is that whatever these pundits and preachers of patriotism say, at the end of the day we here are left to fend for ourselves and luck always has its way with us for good or ill despite or in spite of our plans and perseverance.

And whatever national issues they wrangle over at home, Dale Carnegie’s words still hold true for us here: “A person’s toothache means more to that person than a famine in China which kills a million people. A boil on one’s neck interests one more than forty earthquakes in Africa.”

This does not, of course, mean a resignation to complacency or apathy in relation to our motherland; nor does it mean we should not speak out on issues out there. On the contrary, it is an affirmation of our dedication for her.

For by accepting the the fact that no matter how we rave against this or that politician, no matter how much we rant over issues that involve security or sovereignty, we ultimately realize the issues that truly matter to us in the here and now is how we can survive as expats and make our lives and those of our loved ones here and back home better.

In so doing, we also accept the fact that there is just so much we can do in relation to national issues and we ultimately have to pick our own battles. And as long as we remember that our immediate fight arena is here, we are joining a cause there; that doing well here will make us better representatives of and more productive contributors to the social and economic progress of our country.

I choose to believe that the vision of a new society is being worked out now, in our day-to-day struggles and achievements: the creative outputs of our very own artists and writers at FilCreatives and FilWrite; the budding skills and talents of our young people at Philippine School-Bahrain or other schools; the diligence, genius and ingenuity of our teachers and engineers in both the public and private sectors; the strength of character in those among us who work in parlors or salons, shops or supermarkets, airport and transports, and offices or residences; and the dedication of those at the Philippine Embassy who, despite their insufficient budgetary allocation from our national government, continue to shelter those in distress and serve us in many other ways that are not and could not be advertized on social media.

From all these lives, prominent or not, and from all these tasks, thankless or not, we have brought out some of the best in the Filipino. Here, in every Filipino expat’s heart, we find dignity.

Even if that heart is impure, even if it does not exude flawless character. For dignity does not entail a capacity for perfection – it involves the ability to transcend inherent imperfection.

And so in view of our commemoration of our first declaration of independence as I think of those many times during my childhood when we’d sing ” Ang Bayan Ko’y May Dangal” in school and at home, I see the image of 7,100 islands proudly embedded in this island between two seas.

Ang bayan ko’y may dangal, puri’t kagitingan
Dagat, bundok ay sagana at kay yaman ng lupa

Pilipinas sa piling mo
Maligaya ang buhay ko
Bagong lipunan ang dapat
Malaon nating hinahangad