Filipino Migrant News - Year in Review

02 NEW YEAR 2018. ISSUE 110 | www.filipinonews.nz | email: filipinonews@xtra.co.nz | Facebook: Filipino Migrant News | www.pinoynzlife.nz
BUHAY
OVERSEAS
Hinahanap-hanap kita
Just like any Filipino-
Kiwi household, my family
embarked on a trip to
the motherland during
the Christmas holidays.
For the Filipino diaspora
worldwide the process
of balikbayan is a ritual
that we have grown accustomed
to. It is tedious, but
rewarding at the same
time.
We spend copious
amounts on pasalubong,
while constantly doublechecking
that we did not
forget to bring one for any
family member – regardless
of how distant the
relation may be. We pack
our maletas to the brim,
while at the same time
fretting about exceeding
the allotted baggage
allowance.
When we touchdown at
NAIA we immediately
complain of the heat – but
can’t tell whether it’s the
climate or the warmth of
being home again.
We go through the
Customs area, praying
silently that the Customs
officers do not ask us to
reveal the contents of our
luggage.
Exiting the terminal is
just as exhausting;
without a sundo
you must para a
taxi. In the
process you
either get hassled
by
obnoxious
porters or
argue endlessly
with a
taxi driver
trying to
con you into
paying an
overly generous
fare.
You sit in the
uncomfortable
back-seat of the
colorum taxi while
you traverse through
the dreaded Philippine
traffic; surrounded by an
endless sea of vehicles
that neither stay in their
lanes nor use their indicator
lights when switching.
You arrive at your relatives’
place, where the rest
of your kin greets you.
You become overwhelmed
by their warmth and hospitality,
until you get
asked what pasalubong
you brought for them.
They then swoop in for
the mix of food and
Manila
By Louie Encabo
For all the trouble it causes you,
for all the heartaches you get
reading the news or the migraine
the travel gives you – being home
and feeling the warmth of
being at home makes all that
worth it.
clothes that you
stashed in your luggage;
your heart
faints when it
seems as
though they
care more
about the
material
goods than
they do
about you.
In that
brief lull
you wonder
if it was all
worth it. You
traded that
sane, orderly
Western country
you came from for
this urban jungle of
bad drivers and pollution.
You spent quite a lot
on gifts which are appreciated
more than your
presence is.
But then you are told
that noche buena is ready
and you salivate at the
banquet prepared especially
just for you: all the
dishes you deprived yourself
of while you callously
worked abroad.
You then sit at the dinner
table with your
extended family; they ask
you about that foreign
country you work in and
update you about their
lives while you were away.
You reminisce about the
past and make grand
plans to say hello to your
childhood friends.
Then the answer becomes
apparent to you:
yes, it was all worth it.
For all the trouble it
causes you, for all the
heartaches you get reading
the news or the
migraine the travel gives
you – being home and
feeling the warmth of
being at home makes all
that worth it.
And hence the reason I
keep coming back, despite
the madness, because as
the saying goes: there’s no
place like home.
Editor : Louie Encabo
received the Filipino Kiwi-
Hero Award 2014 for excellence
in Journalism.
FLASHBACK!
This article first appeared
in the December 2016 edition
of FMN.
Lifespan of PH
passport
doubles
MANILA - Two years ago New
Zealand doubled the validity of its
passport from 5 years to 10 years
after much lobbying from pressure
groups. Now the Philippine passport has
gone along the same route; coming into
effect on 1 January 2018.
Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alan Peter
Secretary of
Foreign
Affairs :
Alan Peter
S. Cayetano
S. Cayetano announced
that “An Act
Extending the Validity
of Philippine Passports”
had been
signed two months
ago whereby: “no
changes will be
made on the current
passport except for
the ten-year validity
period for those
issued to Filipinos 18
years or older.
Filipinos under 18
years will still be issued
five-year valid passports.”
The ten-year passport will cost PHP
950.00, which is the current price of a
five-year passport. Additional fees may
be imposed in the future for passports that
will need enhanced features.
The Department of Foreign Affairs
announced that it has a “mandate to
improve the passport processing system
to make it seamless, convenient and propeople
and to ensure that the production
and security of passports are on par with
technological advances and world standards”.
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Manila Contributors:
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Opinion
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Lorelei B. Aquino
(Mom on a Mission)
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Dr Lilia Sevillano
Politics: (Opinion)
Louie Encabo
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Philippine Week
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Hero Awards.
Regional Food
Festival.
10-17 June 2018
Auckland
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