Filipino Actress Mariel Rodriguez to Give Birth in the United States

Here we go again. Another Fil-Am identity crisis.  But this time it's a little different. Usually the case is a person born in the USA to Filipino parents who has only lived in the USA, knows nothing but the USA, yet eats lumpia and thinks he is a Filipino. That scenario is pure delusion. This case is the reverse. Actually it's rather unique. A Filipino actress with American citizenship is flying to the USA to give birth.

https://entertainment.inquirer.net/345074/mariel-rodriguez-flies-to-us-before-giving-birth-to-baby-no-2

Mariel Rodriguez is on her way to the United States to give birth to her second child with Robin Padilla. 

The TV host, who is an American citizen, was accompanied by her 2-year-old daughter, Isabella. Padilla sent off his wife and daughter in the airport before their trip, as seen in Rodriguez’s picture on Instagram yesterday, Sept. 12. 

“Here we are embarking on another journey…. making sacrifices and doing what’s best for our children,” Rodriguez said. “Thank you for our trip babe @robinhoodpadilla we miss you already!!! When we see you next time we will be with Gabriela.” 

As to why Rodriguez still wants to have baby No. 2 in the US, she said in an interview with the Philippine Star last August: “I want to be able to give my baby the same attention I gave Isabella when I gave birth to her… No one will bother us, no one will visit us. You know what I mean? So I want  to be able to give her that.” 

With Rodriguez giving birth in the States, her kids would be Americans too. Under that country’s constitution, children can become American citizens if they are born in the United States or one of its territories. A child born to a US citizen, even if the birth is in another country, can still acquire citizenship, athough the process is more complex. 

It should be obvious why she is giving birth in the USA and not in the Philippines. Because she wants her children to be American citizens and if she gave birth here the process to get them American citizenship is "more complex." Plenty of folks have taken to social media to give her a hard time about this decision. Her husband Robin did not take kindly to that.

https://entertainment.inquirer.net/346969/robin-padilla-defends-mariel-rodriguez-having-baby-in-us

Robin Padilla justified his and Mariel Rodriguez’s decision to have the TV host give birth to their second child, Gabriela, in the United States. 

Many of her fans wished her well, but one Instagram user, a certain @georg_supreme, did not seem to be in favor of Rodriguez’s giving birth in the US. 

The netizen, addressing US President Donald Trump’s Instagram account (@realdonaldtrump), pointed out that Rodriguez only goes to the US to give birth. He/she added that it made Rodriguez a “birther,” and that it was not allowed. 

After being asked by another Instagram user about what was wrong in giving birth in the US, the netizen chose to “research” about the celebrity couple. He/she then asked why would Rodriguez leave the Philippines to give birth if Padilla prided himself on being nationalistic. The said comments have since been deleted.  

In response, Padilla said, “Ang pagiging [Filipino-American] ay hindi pagtataksil sa Inangbayan (Being Filipino-American is not betraying the motherland).” 

He then claimed that he and his wife are more American than those who speak English and live in the US, after pointing out that Rodriguez is an American citizen, and stating that he bears some Native American blood. 

Padilla also said he and his wife were more Filipino than anyone else, citing that since his grandparents are the heroine Gabriela Silang and one Captain Pablo of Nueva Ecija, they bear great love for the Philippines (“lumalangoy na kami sa pag ibig sa bayan na ito”).

Mariel's husband's response is absolutely ridiculous. He says they are both more American and more Filipino than anyone else and cites as proof that he has a drop or two of native American blood. But he does not say what tribe. Most people who claim native American ancestry will at least give a tribe name. I bet Robin is lying.

As an American citizen it certainly is Mariel's right to go to the USA and give birth. It's also her right to go to the USA and get a job in Hollywood and never return to the Philippines. Instead she will return with her new child in tow.

According to the limited biography available online she was raised in Parañaque by her maternal grandparents after her parents split which means her father is probably an American and she was likely born in the USA and then brought back here after her parents divorced. There is no indication that she ever spent any of her formative years in the USA. As such she is a Filipino through and through.

You certainly can't fault her for wanting her children to have a golden ticket to the USA. If things get hairy here they can just get on a plane and go with no problems. If they do well in school they can apply for universities in the USA. Maybe then can even land a high paying job. Who knows?

But does Mariel know that as an American citizen she must pay taxes to the IRS? Does she know that as American citizens her children will be shouldered with that same burden as well and that ignorance of the law is no excuse? That means a double tax burden to the Philippines and the USA. Who wants that?

Then there is the cultural mess.  Her children will grow up as Filipinos. They will have Filipino cultural mores and they will speak English with a Filipino accent. Everything they will know, all they will know, is the Philippines. But they will also legally be Americans.

As I wrote above this is a very unique situation. Many Chinese women fly to California to give birth so their children will have American citizenship. Many illegal aliens make their way to the USA to give birth in the hopes that they will grow up and help them attain citizenship. That is the anchor baby problem. Here is a situation that is not criminal at all. Mariel is an American citizen and she can come and go as she pleases even if that means to give birth.

But her children will pay the cultural price as they will be duped into believing that having an American passport makes them Americans.