walang natira (no one left)

A few months ago, while I was doing my report on the media coverage of the Middle East and North African protests, I stumbled upon one of Gloc9's music videos titled Walang Natira, a social criticism packaged as a rap song.

The song talks about labor migration in the Philippines. About 1.5 million Filipinos left in 2009 alone to work abroad. Remittances from overseas Filipino workers have been the driving force of the Philippine economy for years. But it has always been a question if the government can actually take care of every Filipino they send abroad.

More than the OFW's welfare abroad, the song also pointed out the very important outcome of this labor migration.

Napakaraming guro dito sa amin ngunit
Bakit tila walang natira
Napakaraming nurse dito sa amin
Ngunit bakit tila walang natira
Nagaabroad sila
(Gusto kong yumaman)

Brain drain, which refers to the large-scale emigration of technically skilled people from one country to another. As more nurses, doctors, teachers and engineers from the Philippines move to other countries in pursuit of greener pastures, the more incompetent ones are left here, allowing the deterioration of knowledge of the field in this country.

As the last line of the song goes, "Napakaraming tama dito sa atin ngunit bakit tila walang natira."