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By LESLIE ANN G. AQUINO
The Catholic Church celebrates today the 21st National Migrants Sunday, with focus on women leaving their families here to work abroad and the meaning of the "balikbayan" box.
The theme of this year is "Social Costs of Migration, a Deep Concern for the Church."
The balikbayan (box of the belongings of a returning Filipino from abroad), unlike an ordinary box, has a special meaning to the Episcopal Commission on Migrants and Itinerant People of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (ECMI-CBCP) because it symbolizes Filipino migration.
"The balikbayan box could very well be seen as the strongest symbol of Filipino migration. It continues to project the hope of many Filipinos that migration is the only way to improve their economic condition and that of their families," Bishop Precioso Cantillas, head of ECMI, said.
The Maasin, Southern Leyte prelate said the Church has aired concern over this mentality, particularly now that migration has acquired a new face, that of feminization, because more and more women are leaving their homes to work abroad as nurses, teachers, and entertainers.
This new face of migration, he said, challenges some values since the absence of mothers in the family has ill-effects on the upbringing of children.
"As more balikbayan boxes appear at our airports, our concern for the welfare of the migrants and their families, especially the children left behind, becomes more frightening," Cantillas said.
Cantillas said this year’s rites hopes to promote awareness among the faithful and society on the growing phenomenon of migration, particularly its social costs.
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