By MARK JOSEPH UBALDE
TV5’s InterAksiyon.com
EVERY March, something bad happens to the Contemplacion family, cried Russel, one of the youngest children of Flor, the Filipina domestic worker who was executed for murder in 1995.
Nearly 16 years after her mother was executed in a Singapore prison, four of Russel’s family members are now behind bars, all because of drugs.
Flor Contemplacion’s three sons and husband Efren were arrested in separate occasions for drug peddling in their hometown in San Pablo City in Laguna. On March 1, a Laguna court promulgated the conviction of Sandrex, 37, and twins Joel and Jun-Jun, 30, and sentenced them to life imprisonment. In 2008, Efren and his live-in partner were jailed for drug pushing.
In an interview with reporters, Contemplacion’s only daughter was heartbroken by her family’s fate.
“I don’t know why every time it’s March, something tragic happens to our family,” Russel told reporters in Filipino as she wiped off tears from her face.
The sentencing of Contemplacion’s sons came just two weeks before the 16th anniversary of her execution in Singapore. Contemplacion was found guilty of murdering fellow domestic helper Delia Maga and her three-year-old Singaporean ward.
While admitting her brothers were known drug users, Russel said justice should could have been more fair to them.
“I know you are not criminals, you are not murderers,” she added.
Russel and her twin brothers were just teens, while Sandrex was 21, when they last saw their mother in Changi prison, shortly before Flor went to the gallows. It was reported that the last time Flor was home was in 1989.
Her execution spurred an outrage in the Philippines. Then President Fidel Ramos tried to appease the public by pushing for Republic Act 8042 or the Migrant Workers Act of 1995, considered as a landmark legislation for overseas Filipino workers.
There was also an outpouring of support for the Contemplacion family. An Inquirer report said the survivors of Contemplacion netted about P2.2 million from the movie adaptation of Flor’s life.
The film, starred by no less than Nora Aunor, reportedly grossed $US 3.3 million worldwide and even earned the best picture and best actress awards at the Cairo International Film Festival.
But a decade later, the three brothers were arrested in the 500-meter compound the family acquired through the generous donations of some government officials who sympathized with them after Contemplacion’s execution.
The fate of the Contemplacion brothers is no different from the sad tales of other children of migrant workers. Experts agree that absentee parenting is often seen as among the worst effects of the continued migration of Filipino parents, especially mothers, who traditionally keep the family intact.
A home with no mom
Renowned child psychologist Dr. Lourdes Arellano-Carandang wrote in her book, “Nawala Ang Ilaw ng Tahanan,” that when mothers leave for jobs abroad, the entire family have to adjust.
With the mother’s departure, the father is often unprepared to assume the role of caregiver to his children, in turn, left-behind kids feel lonely and sad.
Carandang suggested that the absent parent should thoroughly explain to their children the reason why they’re leaving. The government should also provide support systems for the family of motherless homes so that they can be guided on how to still function normally as a family despite it being incomplete.
But according to Maruja de Asis, of the Scalabrini Migration Center, motherless homes do not necessarily result in broken homes.
“The Filipino family is more resilient than we expect,” Asis told InterAksyon.com.
Asis and her team are doing a study on how left-behind kids from the top labor exporting Southeast Asian countries like the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesian and Thailand, are coping with migration.
She said even kids 12 years and younger can live a normal life since the extended family steps in to care for them when one of their parents is absent.
“It takes a village to raise a child. The children of overseas Filipino workers are in fact doing quite well, in fact, they even go to private schools. There is a perception that a motherless home will have grave consequences to the family but at a time when communication lines are very accessible, parenting can be continued even when overseas.”
Asis also said that a tight-knit family is less likely to have major problems despite one of the family member’s decision to migrate.
But in Flor Contemplacion’s case, the family was already broken to begin with. Before leaving for Singapore, Efren already took on another wife and allegedly used Flor’s remittances for their whims. Her twins also have reportedly grown detached from her after not seeing their mother for years.
“In her (Contemplacion’s) case, migration might be an escape from a bad marriage. When there’s already an existing issue within the family, migration will not make things any better.”
The Contemplacions’ fate would have been different if they solved the issues at home first, according to Asis. Flor could have visited home more often and the government then could have provided avenues for left-behind families to cope with the social costs.
Meanwhile, the court is still waiting for the Contemplacion brothers to appeal their case on March 16, just a day before their mother was hanged in Singapore in 1995. While their fate still hangs in the balance, Flor Contemplacion’s agony seems to continue like a sequel to a blockbuster film.