Saving Santa

I wasn't able to post this during holiday seasons. Anyways, here it is.

     Is Santa will finally come to town?

     "You better watch out. You better not cry. You better not pout. I'm telling you why..." Most probably you had sung it with joyous laughter and nostalgic smiles thinking that Christmas has already giving massive excitement to everyone most especially when you have thought of spending it with the ones you truly loved. But not everyone has given this kind of opportunity. More often than not, Filipinos (including you) value practicality up to the point when you are ready to exchange series of most celebrated holidays to years of servitude away from your families. But moments later you have trouble remembering when the last live hugs and kisses you had with them were, considering that your mind has only been seeing portraits and virtual images of them for the longest period of time. Others call this a long-distance relationship but I simply define it as one who has to worked overseas and support his family. And you can never really tell if Santa Claus is coming to town.

     On the part of our Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs), air of isolation is always there every time they've thought of their families left in the Philippines. Somehow, they have to completely manage the trigger of loneliness and let the gun blew off its own muzzle. And that is to be courageous enough to own the sacrifices for the sake of their families even if life and death situation has taken its toll.

     Since 2011, there have been six cases of executions that filled all media platforms excluded herein the uncounted and unreported. During these times of mourning and chances, where executions are masquerading as legal massacres, the Philippine government has no judicial position to stop the expected but yet unwelcome decisions. The cases of Elizabeth Batain, Ramon Credo and Sally Ordinario who executed by lethal injection on the 30th of March, year 2011, up roared the burning desires of the Filipinos to condemned China but after all these years, we have remained an underdog. There was also Carlito Lana who was beheaded last December 12, 2014 in Saudi Arabia because of killing his employer out of self defense. Joven Esteva, who, like Lana was also beheaded in the same country last March 9, 2015. Go way back to 1995, a Filipino maid in the name of Flor Contemplacion was found guilty of murder in Singapore. These unfortunate series of demonstrations have depicted that Filipinos were the villains in someone else's culture thus, victims on ours. Committing such acts whether unintentional or not, don't really define the whole form of one's being. After all, why they have to go to the said countries in the first place?

     This is the question that could put the government to the test but most Filipinos are not really expecting some coherent answer but action. Facing the reality, we could not blame the OFWs if the only solution for the striking poverty is to go out of the shell and battle the sea alone, knowing that the shell could not really offer states of contentment at all. But in the light of this lingering disaster, there is no doubt OFWs serve as the living Santa for all generations. Yes, Santa Claus was reincarnated to every soul of our modern day heroes, filling all the stockings the government left hanging on agencies' doors and creating huge Christmas trees at every home's core.

     Being the living Santas, where sleigh has no rope to take them home or reindeers to help them fly, the only intangible communication device they have are prayers and fate; probably one day, they have a one worth of a lifetime chance to embrace their loved ones knowing that they will never ever let them go again or a kiss of promise to maintain that hug forever. But they got to be awakened by the fact that all they have needed was protection from the government and the maturity of the laws that had established for their sake. It is now time to review the Philippine Labor Migration Policy to polish the promotion and welfare of OFWs because since 1995 (where PLMP has implemented), series of distress calls were recorded from around the globe most especially from the countries where wars are rampant.

     It is never too late to change what has become and never too early to predict the good outcome. At the same time, the only solution for this problem that critically dangers the sense of humanity is inclusive growth which will be possible if effective leaders will occupy the thrones ordinary laymen have built just for them.

     "Santa's a busy man he has no time to play. He's got millions of stockings to fill on Christmas day". A salute to the modern Santas that have paved way to rising economy that triggers the entry of investors to its frenzied state. They are the reasons for every gift under the Christmas tree and every queso de bola on Noche Buena. We should be wonderfully amazed and proud by our kababayans and we must convince the government to support and protect them by all means. After all, we are one nation, waiting for their arrival so that we can finally say that Santa will definitely coming to town... for good.