All These Years: Katas Ng OFW

“Basta may kanin”, is a Filipino saying that means, as long as there is rice, life is good. Rice is a central part of our culture and history that has fed and nourished the soul of a nation. Rich or poor, at the end of the day, putting rice on the table is what every single Filipino aspires to do. According to Philippine Statistic Authority, as of 2020, 2.2 million Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) have left the country in order to do this. Millions of Filipinos subject themselves to the sacrifice of leaving their families just to put rice on the table. Rice is not only a cultural staple, it also acts as a social and political barometer (Mangahas 299). The rice crisis of 1971 was the peak of social unrest in the Philippines. By 1973 the military controlled the rationing of rice and corn throughout the nation (Chicago Tribune 54). The nation was starving, literally and metaphorically. After Marcos’ twenty-one years in power and nine years of martial law, the Filipino people protested the feared dictator during the People Power Revolution of 1985 (Lacsamana). Albeit a glorious victory, the Philippine economy was ravaged by the Marcos regime (Loeppky 16). What used to be a wealthy nation second to Japan, is now known as the sick man of Asia (Encernacion). Every president since Ferdinand Marcos preaches OFW propaganda, calling us “the new heroes” (Delfeld 47), a more fitting name would be the new martyrs. What was meant as a temporary