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Of OFWs, 380 million trees, and a national-scale agroforestry program
Every December, no matter where I am in the world, my compass points home.
Since Elephunk came out more than twenty years ago, I’ve spent just about every Christmas in the Philippines—sitting beside my mom, eating the food I grew up with, laughing at stories we’ve told a thousand times. I fight to try and keep it because I remember the years before I could. When I spent my Christmas longing for the farm and the family.
But I also know I say that from a place of privilege. I’m lucky. I get to come home.
Millions of other Filipinos—our OFWs—spend Christmas oceans away, working jobs that pull them from the very people they’re trying to uplift. They trade noche buena for night shifts. They trade hugs for video calls. And they trade their presence for the promise of a better future.
So many Filipino families don’t get to share the same table in December. Instead, they open balikbayan boxes carefully packed, taped tight, filled with love disguised as sneakers, chocolates, lotions, towels, and everything in between. They send these boxes in lieu of the warm embrace they wish they could give.
And every time I think about that, it hits me: What if we can grow a future that keeps us together?
What if one day, Filipinos don’t have to seek opportunity across the world? What if that opportunity is thriving right here at home?
That’s the dream I hold onto as we plant coconut trees and build the systems around a new regenerative economy in the Philippines. Because planting trees is just the first step. The real mission is building industries—industries that let families stay whole.
I imagine a Philippines where the balikbayan boxes of tomorrow look different. Where they’re not filled with items from abroad, but with gifts made here, grown here, crafted here, and recognized around the world for their excellence.
Imagine sending home a box of single-origin Philippine coffee that sells for a premium in Tokyo or New York because buyers can trace the exact tree it came from. Imagine coconut sugar, cacao, moringa, fruit wines, artisanal oils, and world-class packaged foods that carry our identity with pride, not as commodities, but as brands.
Imagine if we could build a future where our exports aren’t just raw materials shipped out cheaply, but finished products that keep value, dignity, and prosperity in our own communities.
And imagine if the jobs that supported those industries—the farmers, roasters, packagers, designers, logistics teams, engineers, marketers—were right here at home, so our kababayans no longer needed to leave their children at a young age just to provide.
I meet many OFWs around the world, and every time I perform in a different country, I see the same story reflected back at me: People working with incredible strength, carrying both homesickness and hope in their hearts.
They deserve more than applause. They deserve a Philippines that works for them.
So as we roll out a national-scale agroforestry program, it’s not just about planting 380 million trees. It’s about planting 380 million chances. 380 million possibilities. 380 million reasons for Filipinos to stay rooted in their own land while still reaching the world.
Because a coconut tree—though it lives only 30 years—gives us something special. It produces endlessly. It powers a zero-waste economy. Food, water, lumber, charcoal, fiber, sugar, oil—every part of it contributes to prosperity. And when those products become world-class, they create pathways that keep families together.
My hope is simple:
That someday, your kids won’t have to look at a balikbayan box to feel your love. Because you’ll be home—working in communities where opportunities grow like the coconuts overhead.
And when boxes do arrive, they’ll be coming from the Philippines, filled with gifts the world is lining up for.
We have everything we need: the land, the people, the talent, the creativity, the resilience. All we have to do now is build the future together.
A future where prosperity doesn’t cost us our togetherness, where where our families don’t have to be divided by oceans. A future where the Philippines exports excellence, not people.
This is the Philippines I dream of. This is the Philippines we can grow. And this Christmas, as I sit beside my mom once again, that’s the gift I’m working for. — LA, GMA Integrated News
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