(Originally published as a column piece on Jan. 24, 2007)

AS I’ve said in my previous column piece “The revolution will not be televised, but blogged,” I believe 2007 will be the Year of the Filipino Blogger.

I’m glad Filipino blogger Abe Olandres, whom many know by his nick yuga, finds himself agreeing with this assessment, though it seems the comments on his blog post have gone on a different tangent, as some apparently felt it was offensive to Filipinos who work overseas, particularly blue-collar workers. While I respect where people in both sides of the debate were coming from, I think some things were said in the heat of the moment, and I just didn’t want to add to that. Or maybe I was just lazy, heh.

Abe’s site, by the way, is arguably the most popular Philippine blog — heck, apparently ABS-CBN even used it as one of the answers to the trivia questions in its game show “Pilipinas, Game KNB?” (To those who aren’t familiar with Filipino SMS-speak, that’s pronounced “Pilipinas, Game Ka Na Ba?” meaning “Pilipinas, Are You Game?” It’s a spin-off of Kris Aquino’s earlier game show “Game Ka Na Ba?” and… why the hell am I recounting Filipino show biz history, heh.)

J. Angelo Racoma has an excellent post on “Why The Blog Herald is a Big Deal,” or, as Mike Abundo would put it, why it’s a big frickin’ deal.

I agree with what Angelo says about the redistribution of capital, with “the foremost capital [being] Knowledge (with a big K).” Thanks Angelo for also citing my post on Filipino bloggers in discussing citizen journalism over at The Blog Herald.

And yes, I still believe Filipino bloggers are taking over the blogosphere, heh. It would be such a waste of talent if we don’t.

I’d like to add that apart from the Filipino blogger, I believe the Filipino gamer and Filipino game developer will also experience a very fruitful year in 2007. Here’s an excerpt from Alex Villafania’s article, which was the hackenslash banner story when I wrote this. hackenslash is the gaming site I edit for INQUIRER.net.

“THE UPCOMING e-Services Philippines conference and exhibition has finally recognized the game development industry as among the newest IT sub-sectors in the country, along with the business process outsourcing, call center and transcription sectors.

“An executive from game development firm Anino Entertainment was invited to speak regarding game development in the Philippines and its potential to provide outsourced services and create original content.

“Anino Entertainment CEO Niel Dagondon told hackenslash that this would be the first time that game development will be presented as a high-value industry.”

It’s great that the importance of the local game development industry is finally being recognized. The thing you have to remember about our Filipino game developers is that with the talent many of them possess, they could easily find greener pastures abroad — and many do. Some, however, choose to stay, or return here to put up studios that will generate jobs here and get outsourcing projects from game development companies in other countries, or create their own original intellectual property.

I’m proud to say we have world-class game developers, though we need more of them and greater support from the government and private sector. The Philippines could be a game development hub and in fact is becoming one thanks to the sariling sikap and lakas loob of our developers, who have relied on their own pockets due to the lack of support. As Villafania and Erwin Oliva wrote, however, the country’s game developers are now consolidating their efforts, and we may now see a whole industry reaping success, instead of just a few studios.

Just today, another story came out on the growing number of Filipinos who are seeking greener pastures in other countries. According to this wire report that came out in the INQUIRER.net Breaking News section, more than a million Filipinos left the country last year to join more than 8 million of our countrymen who are working overseas.

Am I belittling the efforts of our countrymen who work abroad when I celebrate the fact that Filipinos are discovering they can stay here in the Philippines and still take advantage of global opportunities? I don’t think so. Nor was that yuga’s intent, I’m sure.

I’m just saying we have alternatives. If people want to go abroad, that’s fine. But if people also start to realize that the jobs can migrate to them instead of us having to migrate, what’s wrong with that?

I know it’s a sensitive issue, and I know the flow of remittances is, as various people over the years have said, “propping up the Philippine economy.” But that’s the point — why should it have to be propped up in the first place? And while those who remit dollars may feel the country owes them a great debt, why should our economy rely heavily on the earnings of OFWs?

And lest we forget: those of us who stay here in the Philippines are also “propping up the economy.” World-class talents don’t always have to go to another country to be recognized. You can stay here and do a damn good job, in spite of the horrible conditions, and be proud that you’re putting the country on the map.

The irony is that in the Philippines, it’s almost taken for granted that you have to work abroad. Isn’t it strange that we have to convince ourselves to stay? And while I’m sure my friends who have chosen to work abroad mean well, sometimes I get sick of some of them asking when I’m going abroad dahil sayang lang ang talino mo diyan sa Pinas — many of you have probably heard variations on that theme.

I’m not saying I’ll never work abroad, but right now I’m choosing to stay here. I respect the choice of those who leave the country, but I also expect them to respect our choice to stay. And what if I tell you, sayang naman ang talino mo, hindi mo na lang gamitin dito sa Pinas. How can the country be rebuilt, if no one will stay here to do all that hard work?

I’m not putting bloggers or game developers on a pedestal. I’m just acknowledging that they’re becoming a potent force, and giving new career opportunities and setting a new example for Filipinos.

Maybe what we need to do is to acknowledge what the bagong bayani are doing for us, but also look beyond remittances and celebrate a new breed of heroes.

Heroes who will fight the good fight here — and stay.

Note: A slightly different version of this column piece first appeared on the author’s personal blog.