The Filipino Nation in Daly City

Danielle Marie Herrera
Prof. Maira
ASA 4
18 April 2017

Vergaras' "Betrayal, Class Fantasies, and the Filipino Nation in Daly City" resonated with me in its analysis of Filipino nationalism and the experience of immigrant Filipinos in the U.S. When I read that Filipinos who go to the U.S. are viewed as money-hungry traitors to their country, I immediately asked my mom about her experience as the first person in her family to come here. She told me that since she was a government employee who had received a scholarship for her job position in the Philippines, she actually had to return that scholarship when she announced she was resigning for a job in the U.S. She was not allowed to fly until she agreed to return the money given to her. This, to me, really reflects the value of staying true to your origins in the Philippines. When I visited the Philippines in 2015, I definitely got a sense of Filipinos showing love for their country through various TV commercials and billboards. This article also touches on the paradoxical anger and respect that Filipinos have for U.S. immigrants. On one hand, Filipinos who choose to stay in the Philippines view emigrants as greedy traitors who care for nothing but money. However, on the other hand, they yearn for the gifts brought back to the Philippines by their U.S.-living relatives, the gifts being a result of the "greed" they had shamed their relatives for. The article effectively highlights the value placed on Filipino unity and self-reliance - or at least, reliance on only other Filipinos.