Filipinos In the Epstein Files Witnessed Global Elites Commit Sex Crimes

Filipinos are everywhere. They are even in the Epstein Files! But it's not the rich and powerful Filipinos such as the Marcoses or Villars and Tans whose names appear in the files. There are global Filipinos who attend the World Economic Forum in Davos but did any of them set foot on Little St. James? Instead it's the lowly drivers and housemaids whose names appear unredacted. One writer laments this as a grave injustice. 

https://usa.inquirer.net/188800/opinion-the-invisible-filipinos-in-the-epstein-files

If you were in the Epstein Files would you be proud? Or would you feel shamed?

I found some Filipino names in there, and my first question is why weren’t these names redacted along with the other victims who were sexually abused?

The three million page dump of the Epstein files are overwhelming – like trying to catch up on a Russian literature class  the week before finals. The scale alone ensures that only certain stories will be told.

And sure enough, the early focus has been predictable: celebrity names. Trump. Clinton. Musk. Billionaires. The powerful people who drive clicks and headlines.

Meanwhile, another group has been exposed without protection and without voice: the workers who made Jeffrey Epstein’s life function.

This is not a metaphor. It is literal.

The files contain names, résumés, contact information and employment histories of household staff, yacht crew and service workers recruited through agencies. I won’t mention them here because I don’t want to add to the offense. Many of these workers were Filipino – part of a global labor pipeline that has long supplied wealthy households with compliant, replaceable service labor.

Their information is not meaningfully redacted.

The girls who were abused must – and should – remain the priority. They were victims of sexual violence and trafficking. That hierarchy matters.

Another injustice

But recognizing that truth does not require ignoring another injustice unfolding in plain sight.

What happened to these workers is not just embarrassing exposure. It is unequal exposure – and that is the injustice.

The Epstein files bend over backward to protect the reputations of the powerful. Redactions obscure elite identities. Legal language shields decision-makers. Accountability diffuses upward until it disappears.

But workers – especially migrant workers – are left naked in the record.

Names searchable forever. Résumés frozen in time. Phone numbers traceable.

That is not transparency. That is downward accountability without power.

Silence

These workers were embedded in a criminal ecosystem they did not design, control or profit from. They did not have leverage. They did not have lawyers. They did not have the freedom to speak – because NDAs, immigration status, financial precarity, and the unspoken rules of elite service work all pointed in one direction: silence.

That silence was not freely chosen. It was coerced by structure.

For migrant service workers – especially Filipinos – employment is rarely just a job. It is tied to remittances, visas, family survival and obligation. Breaking an NDA doesn’t just risk a lawsuit. It risks deportation, blacklisting and economic collapse for families thousands of miles away.

Now, years later, these same workers are publicly identifiable in government-released files – without warning, consent or protection.

That is harm.

It exposes them to stigma: You worked for Epstein. It exposes them to suspicion: What did you see? What did you know? It exposes them to retaliation from future employers who don’t want “complications.”

And it does so without offering legal support, anonymity or a path to tell their own stories.

That is not accountability. That is scapegoating by omission.

There is also a racial and labor hierarchy the files reveal with bureaucratic indifference.

Invisible

Filipinos appear again and again as “the help” – butlers, house managers, yacht crew, domestic staff. This is not accidental. It reflects a global racialized labor system where Filipinos are trained, marketed and perceived as obedient, grateful and invisible.

When elites grow accustomed to Filipinos as servants inside private compounds, it bleeds into how Filipinos are seen everywhere else: not as colleagues, not as equals, but as support staff in someone else’s world.

In earlier centuries, these workers would have been enslaved. Today, they are paid – and we are told that makes the arrangement fair.

It doesn’t.

Payment does not erase exploitation when power is this unequal and exit is this constrained.

The injustice here is not that workers existed.

It’s that when the reckoning came, they were exposed while the powerful were shielded.

True accountability punches up.

This punched down.

If the Epstein files reveal how sexual abuse was enabled, they also reveal how elite crime is sustained – by armies of invisible workers whose vulnerability is treated as collateral damage.

Seeing that is not a distraction from justice.

It is part of it.

The fix

There is a fix – and it requires choosing sides. When the government releases massive investigative records, it must stop protecting power while exposing labor. Redaction rules should automatically shield domestic and service workers, especially migrant workers, unless there is clear evidence of criminal liability.

For Filipino labor in particular – often recruited through agencies, bound by NDAs and tethered to visas and remittances – there must be mandatory anonymization, advance notice before disclosure and access to independent legal counsel and trauma-informed support. Names, résumés and contact details should never be released by default. Transparency that punches down is not transparency – it’s exploitation by paperwork.

If accountability is real, it must not protect the powerful,  while exposing  Filipino migrant workers and other invisible laborers as collateral damage – so Congress, the DOJ and the media need to fix this now or admit that “transparency” is just another word for exploitation.

Until that’s done, the most honest reading of the Epstein files isn’t that justice is finally being done.

It’s that power is still deciding who gets protected – and who gets sacrificed.

Boo-hoo Filipinos are exploited by the rich and powerful to do menial labor. They are actually slaves. Paid, but slaves. Surely this writer is aware that the government encourages Filipinos to be overseas workers? 

Let’s drop the faux-naïveté about exploitation for a moment. Filipinos being used for menial labor by the global elite is not a revelation. The Philippine government openly encourages it. There is an entire bureaucracy devoted to exporting labor. The DFA proudly calls overseas Filipinos part of the country’s soft power. Since the 1970s, Filipinos have been deliberately deployed abroad as instruments of foreign policy.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1217840

Diaspora, or the spreading of Filipinos across the globe along with the Filipino culture, is the country's “soft power”, an official of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Monday.

In diplomacy, soft power is the ability of a nation to influence other nations through attraction and persuasion instead of force or intimidation.

"We send our people or they themselves go without government intervention or support. We deploy our workers, beginning 1973 in the oil crisis, caused by the conflict between Israel and their cousin, the Arabs but not just as workers," DFA Undersecretary Eduardo Jose de Vega said during his speech at a multi-stakeholder symposium.

He said these Filipinos sent abroad are instruments of the country's foreign policy.

"Oftentimes, especially after Republic Act 8042, our diaspora drives our foreign policy," he added.

So spare us the sudden moral shock. If this is exploitation, the proper address is not an opinion column, it’s Malacañang.

Jeffery Epstein is dead. No one is working for him anymore. Any NDA that these people signed while working for him should be ignored as legally and morally irrelevant. Silence no longer protects anyone except the living elites who benefited from it. These people are perhaps eyewitnesses to crimes committed by the elites who run this world. And the author treats that like its shameful!

Now, years later, these same workers are publicly identifiable in government-released files – without warning, consent or protection.

That is harm.

It exposes them to stigma: You worked for Epstein. It exposes them to suspicion: What did you see? What did you know? It exposes them to retaliation from future employers who don’t want “complications.”

Those aren’t accusations. Those are investigative questions.

Those menial workers are material witnesses and their testimony needs to be heard. No doubt in the coming years researchers and investigators will be contacting these people to obtain the necessary details. Some of them could write books about their time being Epstein's driver or pool boy. 

But, as the author laments, these Filipino servants are invisible. It could be no investigator will come knocking on their door. In that case the solution would be for them to go public on their own. 

Abandoning The "Colonial Mentality" By Immigrating To the USA

Is there anything more confounding than immigrants to a foreign country who continue to show loyalty to the country they left? To import the customs of their home country and even uplift and celebrate their home country's holidays? To basically recreate their home country in their host country? Probably. Why do hot dogs come in packages of eight while hot dog buns come in packages of ten? The world may never know. But the situation of confused and, at times, ungrateful immigrants is up there. 

Take this Filipino family who lives in Albany, NY. In their average Pinoy IQ of 86 wisdom they decided to launch a Philippine Independence Day parade in Albany. While that is problematic in itself, there are no American Independence Day parades in the Philippines as far as I know, the issue runs much deeper with what they decided to call this parade which is now an annual event linked to the NYC Philippine Independence Day parade. 

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/pinoyabroad/pinoyachievers/952423/sol-and-mary-ann-kapunan-husband-and-wife-tandem-behind-albany-s-kalayaan-1521/story/

June 2021 was an auspicious time for a celebration, at least in Albany.

Two reasons were brought up: One, travel restrictions caused by the pandemic had been lifted. Two, the labor issue involving Albany nurses reached an impasse and subsequently led to a contract signing.

Hence, on June 26, 2021 Albany’s first Philippine Independence Day parade took off in Washington Park. It was sponsored by the New York State Nurses Association with support from local organizations. In her keynote message, Mayor Kathy Sheehan paid tribute to Filipinos for their contributions to “our culture, health care institutions and business community” and enriching the city’s diversity.

Parade organizer Sol Kapunan, 49, made this cheeky remark: “This is the best opportunity to gather the support of local population because people are raring to go out after a long imprisonment.”

The 123rd Philippine Independence Day parade of June 26, 2021 – Albany’s first — attracted a sparse 800 people. Such number would balloon in stunning numbers in the years to come. On June 28 this year, several thousands of Filipino Americans across the state turned out for the 127th Independence Day parade prompting Sol and his wife Mary Ann, 47, to remark that the success could be gauged by the participation of more Filipino organizations closing ranks with the greater Asian community and the local population.

“We gained traction,” said Sol.

Kalayaan 1521 is now in motion. It is Albany’s version of PIDCI or the Philippine Independence Day Council, Inc. which mounts the iconic annual parade in New York City’s Madison Avenue.

Sol shared the story of how Kalayaan got its name.

“People thought the ‘Kalayaan’ came from the declaration of independence from Spain in Kawit, Cavite. It was not. About ‘1521,’ they thought it’s about Lapu Lapu defeating Magellan. That’s not the reason,” he began.

He said Kalayaan 1521 is some kind of a rallying cry for Filipinos to abandon the “colonial mentality that plagues us.”

He and wife Mary Ann, then an ICU nurse at Ellis Hospital, would lock horns while brainstorming on the name. “Nag-aaway talaga kami,” both of them confessed in jest.

“I said I wanted freedom from the colonial mentality that plagues us. That anything foreign is good. That we allow ourselves to be relegated to second-class citizens in this country. I see that in the inferiority complex of some of us. I want us to be superior in our own way. That’s the Kalayaan part. 1521 refers to the start of the  colonialization of the Philippines.” It is the year Magellan arrived on Philippine shores.

There are three problems here. 

1. Philippine Independence Day is actually July 4th, 1946 not June 12th 1898. These people are still operating under the strong delusion created by President Diosdado Macapgal who changed the date because the US did not send him a $73 million payment. That change erased the achievement of independence by the will of the Filipinos through a national plebiscite, a unique event in world history. You can read about that here. 

2. The parade itself. As noted above there are no American Independence Day parades in the Philippines or anywhere else in the world except for the USA, as far as I know. The mayor of Albany "paid tribute to Filipinos for their contributions to “our culture, health care institutions and business community” and enriching the city’s diversity." Well, Americans contribute quite a lot to the Philippines by giving millions in aid every year. And it's the government taking from the taxpayers who does this. Not to mention all the American businesses that operate in the Philippines providing steady employment as well as American retirees and tourists who stimulate the economy. The USA actually does more for the Philippines and Filipinos than vice versa.

3. This is the most important point. Sol Kapunan and has wife have named this event Kalayaan 1521 as "some kind of a rallying cry for Filipinos to abandon the “colonial mentality that plagues us.” How the heck does someone immigrate to a foreign country and then talk about abandoning the "colonial mentality that plagues us.” Moving to the USA is an admission that the USA is better than the Philippines. There is objectively better government, better infrastructure, and most importantly better pay in the USA which is why Filipinos are so eager to flee their homeland. Immigration is the "colonial mentality" par excellence. 

What does this statement mean exactly:

“I said I wanted freedom from the colonial mentality that plagues us. That anything foreign is good. That we allow ourselves to be relegated to second-class citizens in this country. I see that in the inferiority complex of some of us. I want us to be superior in our own way. That’s the Kalayaan part. 1521 refers to the start of the  colonialization of the Philippines.” It is the year Magellan arrived on Philippine shores.

Sol wants Filipinos in America "to be superior in our own way?" How? How exactly does this man feel like a second class citizen? There are second and third generation Films-Ams who are elected members of the local and national government. As far as I am aware no foreign born person or person with foreign blood is an elected official of the Philippine government. Well, VP Sara Duterte is half-Jewish. 

This guy is also very ignorant of what actually happened in 1521. The normie story is Magellan arrived and was killed by Lapulapu as an act of rejecting colonialism. That is false. Lapulapu , as well as his rival Humabon, was very willing to bow the knee to the king of Spain. What he did not want to do was bow the knee to Humabon as Spain's main attache to the Philippines. 

Another version concurred with the narrative of Lapulapu’s outright submission to Magellan’s demands, including the payment of tribute. It was the demand of Magellan for him to accept the leadership of a fellow native chief, Humabon, which provoked the Mactan chieftain to anger. Primary sources claimed that the reason which prompted Magellan to explode in anger was Lapu-lapu’s alleged refusal to kiss the hand of Humabon as an acknowledgement of his subordination. Another member of the expedition who made his testimony upon their return in Spain, Fernando de Bustamante, barber-surgeon of the Victoria, in agreement with the other testimonies, also recalled that the natives of Mactan were actually willing to accept Spanish sovereignty but were not disposed to accept Humabon as their overlord: “...those of Mactan wished to obey the king of Castile but the said Ferdinand Magellan told them to kiss the hand of the king of Zebu and those do not wish to kiss the hand of the king of Zebu.” It appears that Lapulapu was not the only chief who regarded the order of Magellan to accept Humabon as a supreme ruler of the islands for others shared such animosity as evident in the testimony made by Juan Sebastian Elcano on October 18, 1522, few weeks after their arrival, in Valladolid. 

His testimony reads: 

Magellan went from the island of Zubu to the island of Bohol, or to the island of Matan, sending bateles to wage war with the mend so that those from other islands may obey the King of Zubu; and those they say that they would obey the King Our Lord, and would give him parias, (a tribute paid by one prince to another); but that they would not obey the King of Zubu since they are also of the same status; and that they would give the King Our Lord jewels of gold.  

While Magellan seemed to have used Humabon as a political ally to establish his base in Cebu as a springboard for establishing Spanish hegemony, Humabon, on the other hand had also used Magellan to coerce others to submission to his authority. As Pigafetta recalled Humabon was said to have asked Magellan: “but that if the captain would send him the following night one boat full of men to give him assistance, he would fight and subdue his rival. On the receipt of this message, the captain decided to go himself with three boats.”  

https://philippinefails.blogspot.com/2021/05/the-god-culture-lapu-lapu-did-not.html

He is also ignorant of the 1599 referendum where Filipinos actually voted to be under Spanish dominion. You can read about that here. 

In short, this man is crazy. He is confused. It sounds like he would be better off in the Philippines. But he knows the Philippines fails in every category. He doesn't have to read this blog because he lived it and that is why he left the Philippines for the greener pastures of the USA where he can pretend to be superior and show what an ingrate he really is. Mabuhay!

Foreigners Can Be Miss Universe Philippines Too

In the Philippines beauty pageants are a big deal. Oddly enough Philippine beauty pageants are not restricted solely to the Philippines. Promoters are actively looking for foreigners to represent the Philippines in the Miss Universe Philippines contest. This year three beauty queens from New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut will vie for the Miss Universe Philippines crown.  

https://entertainment.inquirer.net/595006/tri-state-new-yorks-miss-universe-philippines-2025-bets-crowned

Three Filipino-American women earned their spots in the 2025 Miss Universe Philippines pageant at the culmination of the Reina Filipina North America pageant in New York City on Jan. 25 (Jan. 26 in Manila).

Filipino-Americans in Northeastern United States organized the search for the ladies who will represent New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut in this year’s edition of the national pageant, and have found their queens.

Valerie West was crowned Reina Filipina North America at the culmination of the competition held at the Palladium Times Square and has been designated as Miss Universe Philippines-New York.

First runner-up Pauline Rowbelle Del Mundo received the Miss Universe Philippines-New Jersey title, while second runner-up Amanda Russo was also proclaimed as Miss Universe Philippines-Connecticut.

West also took home the Best in Swimwear and Miss Photogenic awards from the competition, while Del Mundo was Best in Talent and Best in National Costume. Russo, meanwhile, received the Miss Monarch Montage Skin Glow award.

This is the first time that New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut will be represented in the Miss Universe Philippines pageant since the national competition’s inception in 2000.

Dr. Alicia Sta. Maria Almendral, 2013 Mrs. International Philippines, mounted the tri-state competition as the accredited partner of the Miss Universe Philippines organization in the three states.

The three ladies will fly to Manila soon to take part in the 2025 Miss Universe Philippines pageant, and try to inherit the national title of Miss Universe Asia Chelsea Manalo.

Why are these Americans competing in a Philippine beauty pageant? Because they are citizens of the Philippines by blood. Their parents are Philippine citizens which makes them Philippine citizens which will make their great-great-great grandchildren Philippine citizens even if they have no connection the Philippines except by blood. 

Canadians will also be competing in the Miss Universe Philippines pageant. 

https://entertainment.inquirer.net/594997/filipino-canadians-crown-pageant-veteran-as-miss-universe-ph-2025-bet

The Filipino community in Canada will be participating in the Miss Universe Philippines pageant for the first time this year, with not just one, but two delegates to represent “The Great White North.”

Two Filipino-Canadian women were proclaimed queens at the coronation ceremonies of the first staging of the Miss Filipinas Worldwide pageant held in New Westminster, British Columbia, on Jan. 25 (Jan. 26 in Manila).

Kristel David was crowned Miss Filipinas Worldwide, while international pageant veteran Jessica Cianchino received the Miss Filipinas Global title, trouncing 17 other women from all over Canada for the two crowns at stake in the competition.

David also took home the Best in Evening Gown award and Miss Arctic Fame Diamonds title, while Cianchino won the Miss Photogenic award.

Cianchino represented Canada in the 2019 Miss Asia Pacific International pageant in Manila, where she finished as second runner-up. She once again carried the North American country in the 2022 Miss Earth pageant, also held in Manila.

Stephanie Artuz, who was earlier proclaimed as Miss Graceful Esssence, settled for the first runner-up spot, while Miss SELC College Rochelle Kristen Canlas finished as second runner-up.

David and Cianchino will fly to Manila soon to compete in the 2025 Miss Universe Philippines pageant, and the two ladies will be representing Canada. The specific areas of the country that they will carry in the national tilt will be revealed soon.

Reigning Miss Universe Asia Chelsea Manalo will relinquish her national title to her successor, who will be chosen among the more than 80 participants from across the Philippines and from different overseas communities. The new queen will take part in the 74th Miss Universe pageant later this year.

"Two delegates to represent “The Great White North?” These ladies are not even representing the Philippines. They are representing Canada! But by some strange alchemy they will also be representing the Philippines if they happen to win. That alchemy is citizenship by blood or jus sanguinis. Any person born to a Philippines citizen is by right of blood a Filipino.

It's total madness since these ladies are clearly not Filipinas. They are Americans and Canadians. The only thing Filipino about them is their ancestry. Yet Filipino is not a race. There are Negritos, Cebuanos, Illocanos, Tasuigs, Tagalogs, and more. Filipino is a fictitious political designation. 

The degradation of the Miss Universe Philippines pageant is the result of the OFW program. Now there are large swaths of Filipinos working overseas making big bucks who have no plans to be a part of the culture in which they live. They remain in their Filipino enclave, they send millions in remittances to the Philippines, and many of them plan to retire in the Philippines. All that wealth they generate is siphoned out of the USA, Canada, Australia, or wherever else they live. Their children are also bequeathed with dual citizenship, that of their parents and that of the country in which they are born. 

What is the point of Miss Universe Philippines when anyone can represent the country? There are Americans, New Zealanders, Canadians, and Australians all vying for the crown of Miss Universe Philippines. Why shouldn't Miss Universe Philippines be a born and bred Filipina? 

Filipinos Prepare for Trump 2.0

Filipinos both in the Philippines and the USA are preparing for Trump's second term as President. His cornerstone proposal is to put a halt to illegal immigration and deport all illegal aliens currently living in the USA. Illegal Filipinos are being urged to self-deport.

https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2024/11/08/2398606/philippine-ambassador-warns-mass-deportation-under-trump

The Philippines' ambassador to the United States has called on undocumented Filipino workers there to start the process of obtaining legal status before US President-elect Donald Trump assumes office next year. 

With an estimated 250,000 to 300,000 undocumented Filipinos currently in the US, Philippine Ambassador Jose Manuel Romualdez advised them to immediately seek legal aid or face deportation, which could permanently bar them from re-entry.

Trump secured a return to the White House in a decisive electoral victory earlier this week after leading a campaign that promised "the largest deportation effort in American history." 

On Friday, November 8, Trump told NBC News that his administration has "no choice" but to carry out that promise and that it will not have a price tag.  

"My advice to many of our fellow men who actually are still here but cannot get any kind of status, my advice is for them not to wait to be deported," Romualdez said in a forum with international and local media on Friday.

The ambassador said it is likely that Trump will proceed with his plans of deporting illegal immigrants en masse. But this will "take a lot of resources," he added.

The increased exchange of information among American immigration authorities now makes it nearly impossible for undocumented individuals to remain undetected, Romualdez said.

He estimated that nine out of 10 "TNTs" (tago nang tago or always hiding) — a term coined for Filipinos abroad who are in hiding or overstaying — "will be discovered at some form or another." Different US departments from immigration to the transportation security administration (TSA) are now interconnected, he added.

"Plus, anybody can just simply send a picture of you or whoever it is to the [US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.] That's the one that goes after illegal immigrants, and then you have a problem," Romualdez said.

The Philippine ambassadors advice to self-deport comes with the caveat "if you cannot get any kind of status." Lucky for all those illegals the Pilipino Worker's Center is holding free legal clinics to educate illegal Filipino aliens of their rights. You see, they can't simply be deported. 

https://usa.inquirer.net/160023/mass-deportation-help-hotline-free-legal-clinics-for-undocumented-filipinos

The Pilipino Workers Center (PWC) has announced initiatives to support undocumented Filipinos as Donald Trump’s return to the presidency sparks anxiety among immigrant communities.

“(Trump’s) return is causing a lot of anxiety, fear and stress among many in our communities,” said PWC Executive Director Aquilina Soriano Versoza during a virtual post-election town hall Friday night.

“We gather here to prepare to protect and stand strong for our communities, especially the immigrant families.”

PWC announced the launch of a rapid response hotline that undocumented Filipinos can call for deportation defense.

The center will also hold free legal clinics and “Immigration Know Your Rights” trainings, and launch new communications plans “to make sure that our community is able to have up-to-date information.”

Versoza has urged undocumented immigrants “not to panic and self-isolate” and to make sure they are “connected to reliable information.”

She reminded undocumented immigrants that “ICE can’t just deport you…there’s a legal process and that’s why it’s important to connect to legal support.”

Versoza also stressed that undocumented immigrants should not feel they need to voluntarily leave the United States to avoid deportation as “they have rights and don’t need to leave.”

She was reacting to the statement of Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez advising undocumented Filipinos to voluntarily leave the US instead of facing deportation.

“There are real economic reasons why (undocumented immigrants) are here,” she said. “They don’t have to self-deport. There are resources…and pathways to citizenship and we’re ready to support the immigrant community.”

PWC is preparing for their legal advisors “to be paired” with their 24/7 rapid response hotline, Versoza said.

Perla Santos, one of the more than 100 town hall participants, shared that “many of our kababayans are feeling downhearted” in the face of Trump’s mass deportation plan and the shifting immigration policies.

“We’re not liabilities. We are assets,” Santos said, bewailing Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric.

Looks like there is no need for illegal Filipino aliens to panic. The PWC has their back. All they have to do is reach out and grab that lifeline. 

Trump's 2nd term is also being seen as bad for remittances. This would seem to be related to the mass deportations of illegal Filipino aliens but this article does not make that very clear. 

https://business.inquirer.net/489317/trump-2-0-seen-bad-for-ph-remittances

Remittances to the Philippines and receipts from the business process outsourcing sector could take a hit from US President-elect Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies, while the possibility of diminished security support from Washington could stir up more tensions in the West Philippine Sea, said Japanese investment bank Nomura.

Those are the channels where the Philippines is most vulnerable after Trump won the race to the White House again following a divisive Nov. 5 election.

Zooming out, Nomura said in a commentary that Trump 2.0 will be negative for growth in Southeast Asia, albeit at varying degrees.

“The Philippines does not have a similar cushion and will be at risk from the impact on workers’ remittances from a possible tightening of US immigration policy and on the outsourcing sector,” Nomura said.

“Increased geopolitical tensions in the South China Sea due to the lack of US security support could put the Philippines on the front line. This could be an issue for the broader region, if China’s assertiveness in the disputed waters intensifies,” it added.

There are thousands if not millions of legal Filipinos in the USA working in every sector sending big bucks to the Philippines. What are they worried about exactly. Besides this just goes to show how fake much of the Philippine economy is as it relies so much on remittances.

Senator Escudero is urging the government to prepare for a Trump presidency. 

https://globalnation.inquirer.net/255157/escudero-urges-ph-govt-prepare-for-trump-presidency

Senate President Francis “Chiz” Escudero on Monday urged the national government to start preparing for potential policy shifts in the US with the looming fresh administration of  Donald Trump.

Escudero referred to Trump as a “major macroeconomic assumption” that the Philippines must be “one step ahead” because his moves as US president would impact not only Americans but also Filipinos.

He pointed out how Trump has always been transparent about his plans as US president, encouraging the Philippine government to assess his promises and see how they would affect the Philippines.

“From trade to security to immigration, what he said he plans to do, some on day one of his administration, would certainly impact us,” the Senate president stressed.

For one, Escudero pointed out Trump’s commitment to carry out mass deportation of illegal immigrants. The Senate leader noted there are 300,000 undocumented Filipinos in the US.

“How many of the estimated 300,000 vulnerable Filipinos will be in the first wave of expulsion?” Escudero asked.

According to the Senate president, even if the US deported only one percent of the 300,000, it would already require 10 big airplanes.

He also suggested that the national government think about how Trump plans to impose high tariff walls and how it would affect the Philippine economy, especially how almost $1 of every $7 in its economy comes from its trade with the US.

“If because of him the dollar will strengthen, what effect will it have on us if it causes the peso to weaken? The value of our foreign debt is sure to balloon,” Escudero said in mixed Filipino and English.

Escudero further urged the national government to revisit the US-Philippines relations, noting that the alliance was only boosted because of the Biden administration.

“On the security front, will a second Trump administration be hawkish or dovish against China?  We must be ready in case they have a new position in Washington,” he said.

“There is no reason for the Philippine government to be caught flatfooted and stand helpless as the ground beneath it caves in,” he added.

Escudero is out of his mind! He's thinking too much about all those illegal Filipino aliens that might be deported calling them "vulnerable." Is he going to stop the Philippines' deportation of illegal aliens who are here to work, most notably the Chinese? Of course not. 

As for his questioning as to whether or not Trump will be hawkish or dovish against China, has he listened to a single thing Trump has said? US-Philippine relations weren't boosted becasue of Biden. They were great under Trump who was a good friend of Duterte. He even visited the Philippines in 2017 for the ASEAN meeting. EDCA was signed into law while Trump was President. 

Ambassador Romualdez has a different take on Philppine-US relations under Trump. 

https://www.reuters.com/world/philippines-confident-us-alliance-under-trump-amid-china-tensions-envoy-says-2024-11-07/

The Philippines expects U.S. policy in the Indo-Pacific and support for its treaty ally amid South China Sea tensions to remain steady under Donald Trump, driven by bipartisan resolve in Washington, its ambassador to the U.S. said on Thursday.

Both Democrats and Republicans prioritise countering China’s influence, including in the South China Sea, Jose Manuel Romualdez said, suggesting that military cooperation, economic ties and security commitments with the Philippines will continue.

"It is in their interest that the Indo-Pacific region remains free, peaceful and stable, especially given the economic part of it, with trillions of dollars passing through the South China Sea," Romualdez told Reuters in an interview.

U.S.-Philippine security engagements have deepened under President Joe Biden and Philippine counterpart Ferdinand Marcos Jr, with both leaders keen to counter what they see as China's aggressive actions in the South China Sea and near Taiwan.

Marcos said in a congratulatory message after Trump's victory: "I am hopeful that this unshakeable alliance, tested in war and peace, will be a force of good that will blaze a path of prosperity and amity, in the region, and in both sides of the Pacific."

Under Marcos, the Philippines has increased the number of its bases accessible to U.S. forces to nine from five, some facing the South China Sea, where China has built artificial islands equipped with runways and missile systems.

The U.S. has proposed $128 million for infrastructure improvements at those bases, in addition to a $500 million pledge for the Philippine military and coastguard.

Romualdez expressed confidence that these commitments, including joint U.S.-Philippine maritime exercises that began last year, would continue under Trump.

"We have very strong bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress where the money comes from. Every single one of our friends in the Republican side has signified their concern and strong support for whatever we're doing right now in relation to the challenges we face with China today," Romualdez said.

He suggested potential changes under Trump would be "minimal" and could even be favourable.

During Trump's previous term, the U.S. dispelled any doubts about its defence commitments when then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo assured Manila in 2019 that Washington would defend its ally if attacked in the South China Sea, reinforcing the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty. 

Beijing claims much of the South China Sea, where about $3 trillion in ship-borne trade passes annually, with the area becoming a flashpoint for Chinese and U.S. tensions around naval operations. There have been recent clashes over territorial claims between China and the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Romualdez emphasized Manila's intent to manage disputes peacefully, and "will continue to dialogue with China as long as it's not detrimental to our interests."

"We're not at war," Romualdez said, adding there are many areas where Philippines and China can work with.

How much more reasonable is Romualdez thats Escudero. It seems Chiz forgot he was a Senator during Trump's first term and everything was fine.

President Marcos has assured the nation PH-US relations will be normal under Trump. After all he did get the overwhelming support of the Filipinos-AM community.

https://globalnation.inquirer.net/255960/marcos-calls-to-congratulate-trump-cites-fil-am-votes-he-got

President Marcos said he had personally congratulated US President-elect Donald Trump in a “very friendly and productive” phone call on Tuesday morning, where he expressed his desire to see the Philippine-American alliance enduring under Trump’s second term.

Marcos said he reminded the incoming Republican president that Filipino Americans “overwhelmingly voted for him” and that “I’m sure he will remember that when we see each other.’’

“I expressed to him our continuing desire to strengthen that relationship between our two countries, which is a relationship that is as deep as can possibly be—because it has been for a very long time,” Mr. Marcos said.

“[I]t was a very good call; it was a very friendly call, very productive. And I am glad that I was able to do it, and I think President-elect Trump was also happy to hear from the Philippines.”

The conversation, he said, did not touch on Trump’s immigration policy, a key issue of his campaign that can potentially affect the Fil-Am community.

“We didn’t talk about that. It was just a congratulatory call,’’ he said when asked if the subject came up. “But, of course, our ambassador (to Washington, Jose Manuel Romualdez) is already working on that.”

“The overwhelming support of Filipinos in the United States on your triumphant win is a testament to the deep and enduring friendship between our nations.”

Democrats and liberals in the USA are losing their minds over Trump's election and Filipinos also seem to be losing their minds or are at least being cautious. But there is nothing to worry about. Philippine-US relations were great under Trump. Mass deportation of illegal Filipino aliens won't be so easy and there is legal help available for them. Remittances will likely not change because there are many legal Filipinos slaving away for their deadbeat families in the Philippines. It's very doubtful Trump 2.0 will change the status quo.

First Woman of Color Makes Historic Win as Miss Universe Philippines 2024

In the Philippines beauty pageants are not only big business but also a source of pride for many. No beauty contest is more important to Filipinos than Miss Universe. So far the Philippines has brought home the Miss Universe crown four times. 

But apparently not a single Miss Universe Philippines winner has been "a woman of color." Until now.

https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/fashion-and-beauty/2024/05/23/2357317/woman-color-makes-historic-win-miss-universe-philippines-2024

Chelsea Manalo of Bulacan was crowned Miss Universe Philippines 2024, besting 52 other hopefuls at the close of glitzy ceremonies in Pasay City.

Outgoing titleholder Michelle Marquez Dee passed on the beautifully crafted La Mer de Majeste crown to the dusky Bulakeña as the first national winner of color, who won the title on her first try.

A dark horse, in the truest sense of the word, though not alluding to her skin color, Chelsea was beneath most of the prediction radars, probably because she was a first timer to the national stage. She came out of nowhere to win the most coveted title. 

Chelsea will be the country's representative to the Mexico pageant toward the end of the year. She will also be the country's first delegate who is a woman of color.

Excuse me but aren't all Filipina women women of color? From yellow Chinoy's to light brown mulattos to the dark Negritos and Igorots isn't every single Filipina a woman of color? Apparently not. Here are  two pictures of several Miss Universe Philippines winners over the years. 

To call Chelsea Manalo "the country's first delegate who is a woman of color" is bizarre. A woman of color, a person of color, is someone who is not White. 

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/woman%20of%20color

a woman whose skin pigmentation is other than and especially darker than what is considered characteristic of people typically defined as white : a woman who is of a race other than white or who is of mixed race

Are Filipinas White? Catriona Gray, who was raised in Australia by a Scottish father, could be called White but look at the ladies in the above pictures. They are all women of color. 

What this dsignation really means is Chelsea Manalo is the first half-African American to represent the Philippines. 

https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/fashion-and-beauty/2024/05/23/2357300/bulacan-barbie-becomes-first-filipino-black-american-win-miss-universe-philippines

The 22-year-old stunner from Meycauayan, Bulacan is a Filipino-American who is not new in the pageant scene. 

In the comments section, fans have been supportive and even projected her as the next Miss Universe.

“Living black barbie," one comment said. 

The Bulakenya beauty is believed to be the first-ever Filipino-African American who will represent the country in Miss Universe in Mexico by the end of the year.

At least Chelsea, unlike Catriona Gray, is a native Filipina. The only thing American about her is her father who died a few years ago. But because she inherited his black genes she is now being touted as the first woman of color to represent the Philippines at the Miss Universe pageant. It's as dumb and untrue as when Jennifer Lawrence claimed she was the first female action star. It is also incredibly racist and denies that Filipinas are women of color.

OFW's Drive the Philippines' Foreign Policy as Soft Power

The OFW program is undoubtedly a brain drain program which robs the Philippines of its best and brightest. No rational nation would encourage its workers to leave the nation. But all is not as it seems as the DFA recently made clear.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1217840

Diaspora, or the spreading of Filipinos across the globe along with the Filipino culture, is the country's “soft power”, an official of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Monday.

In diplomacy, soft power is the ability of a nation to influence other nations through attraction and persuasion instead of force or intimidation.

"We send our people or they themselves go without government intervention or support. We deploy our workers, beginning 1973 in the oil crisis, caused by the conflict between Israel and their cousin, the Arabs but not just as workers," DFA Undersecretary Eduardo Jose de Vega said during his speech at a multi-stakeholder symposium.

He said these Filipinos sent abroad are instruments of the country's foreign policy.

"Oftentimes, especially after Republic Act 8042, our diaspora drives our foreign policy," he added.

According to DFA's latest report to Congress, there are 10,854,592 Filipinos abroad. The Americas host 49.04 percent of the tally; the Asia-Pacific, 22.83 percent; the Middle East, 21.88 percent; Europe 6.03 percent and Africa, 1 percent.

Filipinos experience disasters, calamities, famine, war and pandemic happening in their host countries.

While the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) ensure the welfare of Filipinos abroad, the DFA sees their potential to be leaders -- their capability to be rescuers instead of being only rescuees.

"In such manner, our diaspora becomes not only a group of Filipinos who seek employment abroad, but more than that: they are a great gift of the Filipino nation to all peoples on earth, and our contribution to world peace and harmony," he added.

To establish a framework of the RA 9148 implementation abroad, de Vega said the DFA could work with the Commission on Filipinos Overseas, the DMW, Department of Trade and Industry, the Department of National Defense, the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, and the Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency.

That is an absolutely incredible admission. It should not be forgotten that Philippine citizenship is by blood or "jus sanguis." That means the children of OFWs born abroad are Filipino citizens and are "are instruments of the country's foreign policy."  It's a ridiculous policy as anyone related to a Filipino citizen can become a Filipino citizen despite never having set foot in the Philippines. 

So, how exactly does this soft power manifest? RA 8042 says:

SEC. 2. Declaration Of Policies—

(a) In the pursuit of an independent foreign policy and while considering national sovereignty, territorial integrity, national interest and the right to self-determination paramount in its relations with other states, the State shall, at all times, uphold the dignity of its citizens whether in country or overseas, in general, and Filipino migrant workers, in particular.

(c) While recognizing the significant contribution of Filipino migrant workers to the national economy through their foreign exchange remittances, the State does not promote overseas employment as a means to sustain economic growth and achieve national development. The existence of the overseas employment program rests solely on the assurance that the dignity and fundamental human rights and freedoms of the Filipino citizens shall not, at any time, be compromised or violated. The State, therefore, shall continuously create local employment opportunities and promote the equitable distribution of wealth and the benefits of development.

These words are very clear that "the State does not promote overseas employment as a means to sustain economic growth and achieve national development. That cannot be any clearer yet what do we see in reality but OFWs sustaining economic growth!? Nay, as a PILLAR of economic growth!

https://www.philstar.com/business/2023/11/25/2313962/

Remittances from overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) will continue to fuel consumption and boost the Philippines’ economic resilience, according to British banking giant HSBC.

Aris Dacanay, economist for ASEAN at HSBC, said OFWs are among the Philippines’ strongest “exports,” providing services and manpower to the rest of the world.

“In return, OFWs earn incomes that are usually better than what they could get back home, and a substantial portion of these incomes is remitted to their households to cover their daily expenses,” he said.

Dacanay said OFW remittances remain a pillar of Philippine economic growth.

“This cycle has strengthened the country’s current account, supported the peso, and fueled consumption to the point where consumption became the economy’s pillar for growth,” he said.

According to Dacanay, remittances have represented around 20 percent of the economy’s current account receipts and around nine percent of gross domestic product (GDP) since 2006.

Latest data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) showed personal remittances grew by 2.8 percent to $27.24 billion from January to September versus last year’s $23.82 billion.

Of the total, cash remittances coursed through banks rose by 2.8 percent to $24.49 billion from $23.82 billion.

Remittances are the LIFEBLOOD of the consumption-dependent Philippine economy. 

Remittances are considered the lifeblood of the consumption-dependent Philippine economy. Money sent home by overseas Filipinos augment their families’ income here. 

https://www.philstar.com/business/2022/11/15/2223976/remittances-sustain-growth-expats-help-ease-inflations-sting

Now, those are not official government pronouncements but if the rest of the world can see what is so obvious you can bet your bottom dollar or peso the Philippine government knows the score. The government is not seeking to retain workers by raising wages and working conditions. They are elated that more OFWs are leaving the country post-pandemic. In fact, they encourage it by partnering with other countries to ship off healthcare workers among others. 

This is not merely a private working relationship between employer and employee. The government is deeply involved in promoting overseas jobs. 

The rest of the RA 8042 is mostly about protecting workers. 

SEC. 4. Deployment of Migrant Workers – The State shall deploy overseas Filipino workers only in countries where the rights of Filipino migrant workers are protected.

SEC. 5. TERMINATION ORBANONDEPLOYMENT – Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 4 hereof, the government, in pursuit of the national interest or when public welfare so requires, may, at any time, terminate or impose a ban on the deployment of migrant workers.

SEC. 23. ROLE OF GOVERNMENT AGENCIES. – The following government agencies shall perform the following to promote the welfare and protect the rights of migrant workers and, as far as applicable, all overseas Filipinos:

(a) Department of Foreign Affairs. – The Department, through its home office or foreign posts, shall take priority action its home office or foreign posts, shall take priority action or make representation with the foreign authority concerned to protect the rights of migrant workers and other overseas Filipinos and extend immediate assistance including the repatriation of distressed or beleaguered migrant workers and other overseas Filipinos;

That whole section is outrageous. Filipinos are regularly deployed to countries where they are raped and murdered by their employees. This happens with alarming frequency in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Employment bans on those countries should be permanent but they never are. It is only when a particular case is amplified and causes outrage that the DFA does anything and only for a month or two when the commotion dies down. If they really cared about protecting migrant workers no Filipino would be allowed into countries where they are routinely killed. 

This final section contradicts Section 2 Paragraph c which says "the State does not promote overseas employment as a means to...achieve national development."

SEC. 31. INCENTIVES TO PROFESSIONALS AND OTHER HIGHLY-SKILLED FILIPINOS ABROAD. – Pursuant to the objective of encouraging professionals and other highly-skilled Filipinos abroad especially in the field of science and technology to participate in, and contribute to national development, the government shall provide proper and adequate incentives and programs so as to secure their services in priority development areas of the public and private sectors.

https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1995/06/07/republic-act-no-8042-2/

This section says that the government does encourage highly-skilled OFWs to "contribute to national development" by providing them with proper incentives to "secure their services!" That means the government is encouraging workers to go abroad, hone their skills, and return to the Philippines to participate in national development!

I mentioned that people not born in the Philippines but born to Philippine citizens have Philippine citizenship by right of blood. That is VERY important. This is where the real soft power of the Philippines could come into play. Here is a recent example. 

https://usa.inquirer.net/144013/3-fil-am-legal-luminaries-named-superior-court-judges-in-southern-california

California Governor Gavin Newsom has announced the appointment of 16 Superior Court judges, including three Filipino Americans in Southern California.

Appointed as Superior Court judges in Los Angeles County were Cristina Legaspi, a principal deputy county counsel for the Office of the Los Angeles County Counsel, and Lowrie Mendoza, assistant head deputy district attorney at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Bryan Clavecilla, a commissioner at the Orange County Superior Court, was named Superior Court judge in the County.

Mendoza has been assistant head deputy district attorney at the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office since 2023 and has served in several roles there since 2005.

She was a law clerk at the Law Offices of Enrico Mendoza from 2004 to 2005 and at Yuhl, Rhames, Yuhl & Atkinson in 2003.

Mendoza earned a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School Los Angeles. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Terry A. Green.

Legaspi has served as senior deputy county counsel in the Los Angeles County Counsel’s Office since 1999 and an adjunct professor at the University of Southern California, Gould School of Law since 2022.

She was an associate at Weissman and Associates from 1998 to 1999 and at Ivie, McNeil and Wyatt in 1998.

Legaspi earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of West Los Angeles School of Law. She fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Monica Bachner.

Clavecilla has served as a commissioner at the Orange County Superior Court and a senior deputy district attorney and assistant head of court at the Orange County District Attorney’s Office Central Justice Center.

Clavecilla earned a Juris Doctor degree from Chapman Law School. He fills the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Linda Marks.

Legaspi, Mendoza and Clavecilla have been active as leaders in the Fil-Am community.

Legaspi has served on the Board of Directors of the Philippine American Bar Association (PABA) and the UCLA Pilipino Pipeline Project.

Mendoza is PABA Foundation  director and Clavecilla is a PABA lifetime member.

Founded more than 40 years ago, PABA is the largest local association of Filipino American lawyers in the United States.

Late last year, Gov. Newsom also appointed accomplished Fil-Am lawyer Christine Gonong as a judge in the LA County Superior Court.

As children of Filipino immigrants these people are all Philippine citizens. This is how Philippine soft power is really working through OFWs. They migrate for economic reasons, raise children who are born citizens of the host country and yet retain their Filipino identity and citizenship, and work their way into the higher echelons of power in a foreign land. 

And the Philippine government wants it this way. Rather than build up the Philippines as an industrial and technological powerhouse with livable wages and safe working conditions the fat cats in charge would rather plunder the national coffers, drive away the best and brightest so they can send back dollars and euros to prop up the economy, and let the masses eat cake pretending they are so happy and resilient. But the DFA did not need to tell us this is what they are doing. It is rather obvious to anyone who cares to look.