At Home Sa Abroad

Since United States President Donald Trump began his new term in office, some of the fears of the migrant community have been coming true. White House figures show that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested over 100,000 people suspected of violating immigration law from January 20 to the first week of June. That’s around 750 arrests per day, double the average over the past decade. Tr...

There were around 1 million registered overseas Filipinos who did not get to vote in the 2025 midterm elections. The Commission on Elections overhauled its overseas voting system in a bid to increase turnout from the record-high 40% in 2022. For the first time, it implemented an  internet voting system  for overseas Filipinos. This system intended to make it easier to vote, especially for Filipino...

In the Philippines, not everyone has the absolute right to marry the person they love. This includes the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer+ (LGBTQ+) community – since same-sex marriage or civil unions are not recognized by law. In this episode of At Home sa Abroad: Stories of Overseas Filipinos, Rappler reporter Michelle Abad speaks to singer-songwriter Nica del Rosario, and actress Justi...

Rappler sits down with University of Pennsylvania sophomore Eliana Atienza about her journey into activism and why she thinks Filipinos should care about the war in Gaza. https://www.rappler.com/philippines/overseas-filipinos/at-home-sa-abroad-episode-us-based-filipina-student-speaks-out-vs-war-gaza/

In first fully in-person episode of At Home sa Abroad: Stories of Overseas Filipinos, Rappler multimedia reporter Michelle Abad sits down with Hyku Desesto, one of the awardees for the Junior Chamber International Philippines’ The Outstanding Young Men of 2023. She was recognized for her advocacy in overseas Filipino worker (OFW) empowerment. https://www.rappler.com/nation/overseas-filipinos/at-ho...

In this episode of At Home sa Abroad: Stories of Overseas Filipinos, Rappler multimedia reporter Michelle Abad speaks with Joanne DG Rico, an Abu Dhabi-based marketing chief who recently released a new book, It’s Not What You Think: Cracking OFW myths on personal finance. https://www.rappler.com/nation/overseas-filipinos/at-home-sa-abroad-episode-ofw-personal-finance-101/

In this episode of At Home sa Abroad: Stories of Overseas Filipinos, Rappler multimedia reporter Michelle Abad speaks with seafarer turned lawyer Niko Tolentino to talk about his journey from marine engineering to representing seafarers and their families in times when they need legal assistance. https://www.rappler.com/nation/overseas-filipinos/at-home-sa-abroad-episode-how-seafarer-turned-lawyer...

In this episode of At Home sa Abroad: Stories of Overseas Filipinos, Rappler multimedia reporter Michelle Abad speaks with Canadian Minister of Small Business Rechie Valdez to talk about her recent appointment, her roots as a Filipino-Canadian, and what lies ahead. https://www.rappler.com/nation/overseas-filipinos/at-home-sa-abroad-episode-road-ahead-rechie-valdez-first-filipina-canadian-cabinet/

In this episode of At Home sa Abroad, Rappler's Michelle Abad speaks to Filipino-Australian radio producer Alan Weedon, who traces in an audio documentary the phenomenon of 'mail-order brides' and the other ways Filipino women migrated via marriage from the 1970s. https://www.rappler.com/nation/overseas-filipinos/at-home-sa-abroad-episode-realities-filipina-marriage-migration/

In this episode of At Home sa Abroad: Stories of Overseas Filipinos, Rappler multimedia reporter Michelle Abad speaks to Carmel Abao, a political science professor who is part of the Working Group on Migration of Ateneo de Manila University’s political science department. Erwin Lladoc Jr., who works as a global manager in human resources in Dubai, also joins virtually. Lladoc, originally from Sors...

On its first Independence Day episode, At Home sa Abroad: Stories of Overseas Filipinos, Rappler's Michelle Abad features Nora Galleros, PIDCI president, to talk about what it means to celebrate Philippine independence, even when one is far away from home. https://www.rappler.com/nation/marcos-tells-filipinos-assert-liberty-independence-day-june-2023/

For Mother’s Day, Rappler speaks to Roselle, executive director of diversity, equity, and inclusion strategy at Circa, and her daughter Monchette, marketing manager at Chime, who take us into their journey of immigrating from the Philippines and how they inspire each other in their careers of human resources and financial technology. https://www.rappler.com/nation/overseas-filipinos/at-home-sa-abr...

On Labor Day episode of At Home sa Abroad, Rappler speaks with migrant workers' rights advocates on what pushes Filipinos to work abroad, and what it would take to make local jobs a better option for those who would rather stay at home. https://www.rappler.com/nation/overseas-filipinos/at-home-sa-abroad-episode-why-do-so-many-filipinos-go-abroad-work/

In this episode of At Home sa Abroad: Stories of Overseas Filipinos, Rappler multimedia reporter Michelle Abad speaks to Concerned Seafarers of the Philippines chairperson Xavier Bayoneta on what the EU decision to continue recognizing Filipino seafarers' certificates means to the sector, and other concerns seafarers continue to have. https://www.rappler.com/nation/overseas-filipinos/at-home-s...

As Women’s Month comes to a close, in this episode of At Home sa Abroad, Rappler's Michelle Abad sits down with Emmy award-winning Filipino-American documentary filmmaker Michele Josue to discuss her career and why she chooses voices often unheard to feature in her documentaries. https://www.rappler.com/nation/overseas-filipinos/at-home-sa-abroad-episode-woman-navigating-international-film-ind...

In Rappler’s Women’s Month episode for At Home sa Abroad: Stories of Overseas Filipinos, Rappler multimedia reporter Michelle Abad speaks to Ivy Ancheta, marketing and communications head of nongovernmental organization Sandigan Bahrain, and Johanna Zulueta, a sociology professor at Toyo University in Japan who has written about gender and migration.

In the EDSA People Power anniversary episode of At Home sa Abroad: Stories of Overseas Filipinos, Rappler multimedia reporter Michelle Abad speaks to two migrant Filipinos who lived through the Marcos regime and continue to engage with their respective Filipino communities on the political situation at home.  Melba Marginson, now Melbourne-based, experienced the EDSA revolution in 1986. She i...

With millions of Filipinos working and living abroad, a good fraction of them likely have partners back in the Philippines, patiently waiting for the day they meet again.  In this Valentine’s Day episode of At Home sa Abroad: Stories of overseas Filipinos, Rappler multimedia reporter Michelle Abad speaks to a young Filipino couple who have chosen to embark on a long-distance relationship

In this episode of At Home sa Abroad: Stories of overseas Filipinos, Rappler multimedia reporter Michelle Abad speaks to Jean Franco, political science professor at the University of the Philippines Diliman, to unpack labor export and its nuances.

Rappler speaks to Maki Somosot, founder of new online platform PUNTO, on how the platform aims to tell the unique perspectives of the Filipino diaspora

Rappler sits down with freelance labor migration journalist Ana P. Santos to discuss what happens behind the scenes of writing about the Filipino diaspora

In this episode of At Home sa Abroad: Stories of overseas Filipinos , Rappler researcher-writer Michelle Abad sits down with two OFWs – Lia Quirante, a domestic worker in Hong Kong, and Migs Lizaso, a babysitter based in Switzerland – to find out how the local economic crisis affects Filipinos abroad providing for their loved ones at home

Rappler sits down with Leezel Tanglao, president of the Filipino Young Leaders Program, as it celebrates 10 years of helping US-based Filipinos advance their careers

What should Migrant Workers Secretary Toots Ople focus on while leading the newly created Department of Migrant Workers?