Message from Central Luzon

My first post through a dial-up connection. Hope this makes it through. I am continuing my plunge into the rough and tumble world of Philippine politics with daily forays inside the heartland. There is no better way to educate oneself.

Most of the real economic gains during the last 10 years have originated from the millions of Filipino workers overseas. Yet while the Socialists, the women, the farmers, labor have "sectoral representatives" in Congress, there is not a single representative from among the ranks of the overseas Filipino workers, hailed as the "new heroes" by our very own government.

This needs to change soon. We need competent representation that will not only provide benefits for the millions of displaced Filipinos but we also need to have representation that will help determine how these billions of dollars in contributions are accounted for.