As the head of her own marketing agency in Los Angeles, Shaina Renee Manlangit has made it a mission to elevate Filipino American talent and culture. But, it occurred to her last year, she still had never actually been to the Philippines.
The Philippines has long been interested in attracting Filipino Americans to come and add to the economy, but its incentives have mostly drawn retirees or immigrants catching up with relatives. Today, they are aiming a younger generation of Filipino American professionals who live on TikTok and Instagram.
Alexander Martin Jr., 31, has already committed to one of the 10 spots on the trip she designed. Born and raised in San Leandro, California, the entrepreneur only knows the Philippines from family photos and stories. School, sports and then work always seemed to make it impossible to squeeze in a visit.
“Those were like the first sort of American or Americanized Filipinos,” said Evelyn Ibatan Rodriguez, a sociology professor and part of the University of San Francisco’s Philippine Studies Program. “I think that kind of sets the tone, this idea that what is native to the Philippines is less than.” “Coming to university... where Asian Americans are such a significant presence, it’s sort of given them permission to be like, ‘Wait a second, there’s actually something I can learn from the Philippines,’” Rodriguez said. “Not just the Philippines is sort of a ‘charity case.’”