Betrayal, Class Fantasies, and the Filipino Nation in Daly City Response

          For many living in California, the name Daly City is anything but new.  It is a name we might have seen on highway signs as we drive past, fast and perhaps oblivious to the fact that Daly City is wrought with national and personal conflict when it comes to Filipino immigrants—especially those from post-1965.

          In his article, Benito M. Vergara Jr. defines what it means to stay or leave the Philippines.  Often, the act of immigration is equated to the betrayal of one’s nation, because one is essentially putting their own interests above the pursuing their nation’s.  I found this particularly interesting because I come from a family that came to America to escape war, which raises the question of whether there are certain reasons for immigration that are considered “acceptable” by one’s home country.  Though immigrating in hopes of achieving “material success” might not seem comparable to doing so to escape violence or a regime, I think that it could be.  According to Vergara Jr. and his sources, part of the reason why many choose to stay in the Philippines is because they can afford to do so.  Why leave when, in the Philippines, they have familiarity, maids, and a decent social status?  Others, however, are not afforded that kind of luxury, and thus find immigration a necessity to support themselves and those that depend on them.  As such, I cannot find it within myself to agree with those who stay in the Philippines and call those who immigrate selfish, because it seems absurd to condemn someone else for trying to obtain what you already have. 

          In terms of “nationhood”, it is obvious that there is a disconnect between immigrants and their homeland in that upon leaving, it is implied that immigrants shirk some part of their nationality and continue to erase it from there as they expose themselves to the elements and culture of the new country they are in.  Evidently, as the years pass and new generations are made, some Filipinos might lose their accents or their ability to speak Tagalog altogether, along with particular traditions and ways of life that those who choose to stay in the Philippines are immersed in.  This is yet another way in which immigrants are scorned by those back in the home country, however I think that despite the fact that some things might be lost in the journey overseas, Filipino immigrants are no less loving of the Philippines than their counterparts that stayed are.  We can see this love in Daly City itself, where Filipino restaurants are numerous and the Filipino Network blares in many immigrants’ homes.  Because of the distance, Filipinos who stay and Filipinos who go see each other’s countries through warped lenses and base their judgment off of what they can perceive.  I think, however, that identities are not dictated by geographical lines, and thus agree with Vergara Jr. when he says that migration isn’t just a physical act.  There are also political, economic, social, and cultural forms of migration that aren’t as easy to uproot as a human body, and so it is highly likely that though some Filipinos may find themselves halfway across the world from their home country, their hearts will always have one foot planted in the Philippines’ soil.