MARLEN V. RONQUILLO
THE best and brightest Filipinos, and the most desperate ones too, emigrate to America with no regard for how they will fare there, or what the future will bring. The move to the US is almost always a combination of blind faith and total, unshaken belief in the “American Dream.” Most Filipinos dream of a better life, not in their own native setting, but in the US of A. The happiest Filipino bar none—and you can witness this at the major airports of the US—is the one lugging a plastic folder that holds the documents for his entry into the US. TSA officers would often guide them into the immigrants-only booths, the entry point to their undying dream.