The family is the smallest unit of society but musn't we all admit that it's the strongest and the most influential and therefore the most important? It is where everything begins, where everything is formed, where the first values are learned, where the formative attitudes are inculcated, where discipline emanate from.

For this year's Philippine Expat/OFW Blog Awards Inc (PEBA), it is only timely (and timeless) that it zeroes in on Filipino families, particularly, of OFWs.

I personally do not believe that the absence of parents from home is an absence of morales and values. We Filipinos, of all people, are tightly-knit. We regard our aunts, cousins and other relatives as an extension of our family. We learn, not just from our parents, but also from our cousins, from grandparents, from aunts. The truth however is this: "Parental absence creates displacement, disruptions and changes in care giving arrangement. There is always an emotional aspect that goes along with parents leaving their children, especially for long periods of time" (Reyes 2008).

“When men migrate, the leftbehind wives indeed assumed more responsibilities with their dual roles as fathers and mothers. But when women migrate, it appears that families go through more adjustments – this is not surprising because changes in women’s roles often have more implications for the family than changes in men’s roles. If women assume men’s responsibilities when the men are not around, men do not as readily take up care giving" (Scalabrini 2004).

More than the question of how, I am taken aback by the question of why OFWs would cause and allow the breakdown of a marriage; why there are OFW children who go astray.

Sadness is akin to all Filipinos abroad, but I personally do not think there is an excuse to leave your family just because you're sad in Saudi or Kuwait or UK or Australia. Sadness is the lamest excuse to break the bond (and vows) of marriage.

Perhaps we will learn more of these issue when bloggers around the world (OFW, Pinoy expats, or Philippine-based bloggers) express their thoughts on the theme.

And so PEBA encourages you to take part in this PEBA 3 nomination stage. Please feel free to visit PEBA's site for more details on how you can join the contest.

Let your voices be heard, kabayan! Somewhere, someone may have the soundest solution to our problems. All together, let's join hands in strengthening the smallest unit of our society: the family. In it, I personally believe, lies the solution to all our woes.

Sourced, inspired by and adapted from the following: 
NJ Abad’s article formally announcing the commencement of PEBA 3 Awards Season!
Migration and Filipino Children Left-Behind: A Literature Review by Melanie M. Reyes Miriam College – Women and Gender Institute (WAGI) for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Hearts Apart: Migration in the Eyes of Filipino Children. Manila: Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People – CBCP/Apostleship of the Sea-Manila, Scalabrini Center and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.