JULIA CARREON-LAGOC
SI Rey, Jerry, Ria, Laila, atbp. — they are proclaimed new heroes of the motherland. Mga Bagong Bayani! President Cory Aquino was the first to praise them thus. President Fidel Ramos extolled them as the modern-day heroes of our time. To put it more succinctly in the native tongue: Ang mga bagong bayani ng Inang Bayan.
They are our migrant workers — the 900 or so OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers) employed in the “Norwegian Star”, the cruise ship we took, June 15 to 23. Their monthly remittances to the Philippines prop up the country’s economy. Some $21 billion or thereabouts annually! Take that away and the result would be flailing arms for a government beleaguered by a huge foreign debt (no thanks to the Marcos regime).
They have been dubbed the “Global Filipinos,” and rightly so. In the lead are Reynaldo Villazor, butler, and Jerry Magno, stateroom steward. I gave the two personnel special mention in last week’s column for their efficiency and effectiveness in the performance of their jobs. Role models for the rest of the crew in their designated tasks. Daily interactions with Rey and Jerry made for the same family ambience we get in the home front.
Rey of Bacolod and Bataan lineage has been working in the “Norwegian Star” for eight years now. He is blessed with two daughters, one in high school, the other in the elementary, his parents helping take care of the kids. The other most handy comfort was old timer Jerry from San Pedro, Laguna. He takes pride in being a grandfather of three. He has been on this job for twenty years already.
Staid Ria Gutierrez is an HRM (Hotel and Restaurant Management) alumna of St. Paul Manila, and faithfully performs her duties as guest services associate. HRM is the popular degree among the crew, and fittingly so when they are to be of service in what is said to be a two to one ratio with the number of guests.
My fellow Ilongga, Laila Pelango of Tanza, Iloilo City, proudly dons her name tag assistant waiter at the Market Café. She was very pleasant, serving me lunch by my lonesome. Twice I dined alone because the rest of the family continued with the afternoon tour of Estonia and Stockholm. The sites entailed walking long distances, not for me to cope. Laila finished the 2-year Associate HRM course and credits her job of having sent to college her sister Angela, herself now an OFW.
The social cost of being separated from a loved one is minimized in the case of Ma. Gracia Oxima whose husband Francis Rollan of Romblon also works in the “Norwegian Star”. A very bubbly Bicolana, she served us at Ginza, the dining room for Chinese cuisine. Modified to suit Filipino palate, the dishes made for a festive Pinoy barrio fiesta. And surprise! Ginza Chef Antonio Sanchez II of the Bicol region turned up to greet us.
Restaurant hostess Apple Pineda (no relation to Arnel Pineda, but wished she could sing just as well as the famed songster) was graciously up and about at Cagney’s where we enjoyed formal dining. Far from the physical therapy she finished in college, her present job suits her fine, she said, while showing to us a photo of her two kids in the care of a grandma, Apple’s own mother.
Guitarist waiter Rodel Cartoneros is from Bohol of the famous Tarsier and Chocolate Hills. Rodel was in his home province when Haiyan/Yolanda ravaged the Visayas region, and he was just thankful his family survived the super typhoon. We missed a tete-a-tete with fellow Ilonggo Cipriano Luces who was stationed somewhere else in the humongous boat as another butler.
The abovementioned Filipino crew of the “Norwegian Star” is but a drop in the bucket of 10 million or so OFWs scattered in about 150 countries around the world. Those working in cruise ships get better benefits compared to the million other unskilled workers in tedious jobs who suffer various forms of abuse and exploitation. Talk of the extreme case of Flor Contemplacion.
Driven by joblessness and desperation, thousands of Filipinos leave the country daily for employment abroad. It is fitting to salute them for their heroic efforts to endure separation from their loved ones, sending those hard-earned remittances that sustain their families’ survival and buttress the country’s dollar reserve.
In the different cruises we have had — oh, dreaming for more — always present is the warmth of the kababayans that soothes the longing for the motherland. We turn up infused with the strong, invigorating feel of the beloved country. With due respect and admiration for Rey, et al., I doff my hat off. Next week: “Immersion: the Concentration Camp and the Berlin Wall”. (juliaclagoc@yahoo.com)/PN
