Thank you, Mr. Manuel L. Quezon III, for your insightful article about our overseas Filipino workers (“The emperor has no clothes,” 8/5/20).
Being treated shabbily by certain sectors of the government is revolting. But it is nothing new and is not in any way related to the OFWs’ perceived status as the new Philippine heroes. OFWs are appreciative of the efforts of the government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration to improve their lot because it is owed to them as citizens working in foreign jurisdictions.
No thinking OFW ever subscribes to the elegant idea of him becoming a “bagong bayani” or new hero. It is an alternate reality conceived by bureaucrats in government when they harp on the magnitude of dollar payments inwardly remitted to the country by OFWs. It is a fleeting moment of recognition that, arguably, has no correspondence with reality.
Alfeo D. Vivas
alfievivas@gmail.com