Why not only OFWs can relate to Katas ng Saudi

Weeks back, Funfare wrote about Katas ng Saudi, an entry to this year’s Metro Filmfest topbilled by Jinggoy Estrada and Lorna Tolentino, written and directed by Joey Reyes, and produced by Maverick Films. Funfare described Katas ng Saudi as “Pinoy na Pinoy” as it captures the plight of a family whose father works in the Middle East, excitedly coming home only to find the children alienated from him.

Many Filipinos can relate to Katas ng Saudi as almost every family has one member working abroad, be it the father, the mother, one of the siblings, an uncle or an aunt. The country is not necessarily Saudi. It can be one in Asia, America, Europe and even Africa.

Lack of opportunity in the Philippines forces them to toil abroad, suffering from loneliness and, at times, even abuses from foreign employers. They want to give a brighter tomorrow for their children and, often, even provide for the financial needs of assorted relatives who think money grows on trees abroad. O, di ba Pinoy na Pinoy?

A reader from the Middle East, Joseph Lymwell M. Reyes, a civil engineer, reacts to that column.

Dear Ricky,

Making a movie about the life of a Saudi Filipino worker and its social and family impact on OFWs is a very encouraging move, a must-see for every Filipino wishing to work abroad instead of staying in the country with his family.

Let me share some of the facts and realities of working here in Saudi Arabia. OFWs have these options:

1. One-year contract with one month vacation every end of contract. You can choose if you want to have a family status, meaning you can bring your family or not. Basically, this is for professionals.

2. Two-year contract with two months vacation. Basically, this is for non-professionals.

3. If you’re lucky, depending on your qualifications and the company, you can sign a four- or six-month contract with two weeks vacation after end of contract.

So basically, depending on the contract, you can at least bond with your family, relatives and friends with the help of modern technology such as cellphones and e-mails. Of course, physical presence is better than electronic messages and images. But as they say, this can be compensated by the family members’ comforts in life, especially at this point in time.

Now , let’s go back to the story where Jinggoy plays an OFW who spends 10 continuous years in Saudi then goes back to the Philippines. For an OFW to stay for 10 straight years, I can only say that:

1. The character is not a professional. For him to send a daughter to a private school, give his son  a computer set (the youngest has not seen him in his entire life) and still give money to his mother and sister, he has to render a lot of overtime and convert his vacation and airfare (back and forth) to cash every end of contract.

2. If the character is a professional, he can always go home every end of contract to bond with his family, relatives and friends. One reason why he might not do this is if he finds another woman.

The movie’s plot must be like this. Jinggoy’s character will go back to Saudi just one more time to save money and he and his family will be together again for the rest of their lives…hopefully.

I just hope that the movie will convey the message that OFWs are forced to work away from their loved ones not because they want to but because they are forced to by our political and economic situation.

I just hope that in the future, we will see 3,000 OFWs returning to the Philippines for good, with only three of them leaving daily. I just hope that one day, we can proudly say that OFWs are no longer the  modern-day heroes because sometimes “heroes” die senselessly and uselessly. I just hope that one day politicians will no longer proudly say when they enter any international airport, “I’m proud to see Filipinos working in the airport.”   —JOSEPH LYMWELL M. REYES

Thank you for your enlightening e-mail, Joseph. I share your wish that someday heads of families will no longer leave their loved ones to work abroad. But in the meantime, the OFW is a reality we have to face...and face bravely. People like you keep the country’s economy afloat. We are thankful and, yes, proud of you.

Incidentally, playing the children of Jinggoy and Lorna in Katas ng Saudi are Shaina Magdayao, Arron Villaflor and Julian Estrada (Jinggoy’s son, 11 years old and a fifth grader at Xavier). Also in the cast are Rayver Cruz as Shaina’s boyfriend, Eugene Domingo, Vangie Labalan, Bayani Agbayani, Dick Israel and Liza Lorena.

Lawyer Adel Tamano, United Opposition (UNO) spokesperson,  makes his “acting debut” as a barangay captain.

Writer-director Joey Reyes says, “Katas ng Saudi is one film I’ve been dying to make all these years.”

Well, it may well be called The Contemporary Filipino Family Film. A must-see, as Direk Joey said.

(E-mail reactions at [email protected])