ASAP! presents Filipino Youth Diaspora;
Ateneans weigh up whether or not to leave RP

By Rodolfo ‘Sonny’ SB. Virtus Jr.

Arrupe Convention Hall last February 21 had heated up as Ateneans debated on a question that confronts most college students, especially those graduating. With mostly Nursing senior students as audience, the Office of Student Affairs presented an Ateneo Student Awareness and Action Program (ASAP!) activity – Filipino Youth Diaspora: To leave or not to leave the Philippines.

An informal debate kicked off the face-off between two sides. Supreme Student Government officers Jason Chan and Marpril composed the pro-migration side while fellow student leaders Cris Aian Cabal and Glenn Rusell Cayonte defended the anti-migration part. The Pillars writer Paul Francis Lagarde served as host-moderator.

Cabal and Cayonte argued that staying in the Philippines is a patriotic option while going out is an act of evasion from one’s social responsibility, explaining that, more than ever, the youth today are called to stay and help in finding solutions to the social problems in the country. They also warned students of the risks overseas Filipino workers face. Among these risks, they identified illegal recruitment, mysterious deaths, racial profiling and discrimination, and kidnappings.

The SSG tandem, on the other hand, countered this argument, saying that the said risks are also present in the country. They further held that OFWs could even better help the country’s economy through their remittances. They contended that migration is not an issue of brain drain, but should be seen as a chance to upgrade their knowledge and skills through the advanced health care programs and technologies overseas.

The exchange of arguments and counterarguments was not limited to the debaters as the participants’ voices were also heard. The audience was apparently dominated by pro-migration sentiments. The intention to improve family’s financial condition was the common motivation. As future nurses, they expressed doubts if they could help their families by staying with the modest salaries hospitals in the country give. They said that they see a brighter future with the better compensation and wider employment abroad.

However, most of the reactors shared that while they plan to work abroad, they still intend to return to the country after they have saved enough.

Aside from increasing students’ awareness of youth migration, its critical social issues and implications, the ASAP! activity also aimed at influencing them to predicate their decisions and choices on principles promoting human dignity in the light of Christian conscience; motivating them to explore and validate their decisions and choices and practice the habit of reflection and contemplation on faith and spirituality; and instilling in them the value of nationalism regardless of their choices.

These goals were encapsulated in the processing session with Francisco Rico Raquitico, Level 4 coordinator of the College of Nursing.

Raquitico also advised students not to just set their eyes overseas. He guided them to other related workplaces present in the country. He even challenged students to consider being community nurses, military nurses or clinical instructors. But wherever they opt to work, he encouraged them to religiously reflect on their motivations and reasons.