Karla A. Esguerra
Professor Camille Ocampo
SOCI 3103
POWER STRUCTURE IN THE TRANSNATIONAL WIFE & HOUSEHUSBAND FAMILY IN A RURAL SETTING I. INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study
The family is the one major sphere of capitalist society in which labour replacement services can be absorbed without payment-women pick up the burden unpaid (Engels 8). This notes the existence of patriarch societies in the past decades that gave women no power in the family. The patriarchism was brought into the country during the Spanish regime (Medina 174).In the Philippines, men are metaphorically referred to as “pillar of the home” signifying both the metaphorical importance of the man who makes the home stand and the material contributions he is expected to make to the family (Parrenas 57). This was the traditional power structure.
As the marital relationship evolves, it is interesting to know the roles of the women, specifically the transnational wives as a subject of the power structure nowadays. The modern Filipina wife, being more enlightened and more knowledgeable of what is going on around her is no longer confined to home. In her desire to help uplift the economic conditions of her family, she has extended herself to management of the farm and other productive enterprises (Medina 174).
It was also noted that women outnumbered men in international migration, in October 1991, 59.4% of overseas workers were females (Medina). As of 2012 according to the National Statistics Office, 43.3% of OFWs are women. Transnational wives’ employment has thus become an opportunity to uplift families from their destitution (Pingol). This perspective confirms that wives contribute economically in the family which may or may not be a factor of the power structure in the family.
This study also views the role of the househusband since the wife becomes the provider, and his relative power on this phenomenon. Relative power of the spouses varies from time to time. A wide variety of possibilities can emerge, ranging from complete dominance of the spouse, to a more egalitarian structure (Medina 161).One of which holds true for this case.

B. Statement of the Problem
It has been a dispute that the spouse who has greater contributions has the greater relative power however; findings in the Philippines do not consistently support this argument. Regardless of the monetary contribution of the wife to household income, and no matter who brings the bigger income, the wife predominates in household allocation decisions (Alcantara 103). On the other hand, labor force participation of the wife has the most significant effect in increasing her share in decision-making related to money-matters (Bautista). The two opposing forces of egalitarian and double standard remain and continue to impinge on husband –wife relations, blurring the issue of who has the real power (Medina 174).
Every marriage or marriage-like relationship has a power structure or a dominance-deference pattern (Medina 161). Bases of power includes cultural norms, legal authority, socio-economic and political pressures, personal traits, skills and competence, family and kinship structure, situational factors, as well as the kind of resources each individual spouse brings into the marriage (Medina 177).
Certain indicators of power used by Contado are task role allocations, who makes decisions, who exercise the greater authority, and who exerts more influence in the decision making (as cited by Medina 165).
Considering these factors, this study sought to determine the power structure of the transnational women and the househusband marriage relationship in rural setting.

C. Objectives
This study generally aims to determine the power structure of a Filipino family with a transnational wife and a househusband. Specifically, it intends to: (1) inquire the factors of such power structure; (2) to know the factors of transnational wife’s participation in the labor force; (3) to know the dynamics in the family with the parents’ shift of role and; (4) to identify how the children and the parents adapt in that kind of situation.

D. Significance of the Study Traditionally, men are expected to be the head of the family and to be the main provider for the family’s needs, but due to the economic crisis in the Philippines, a lot of women no longer stay at home to do household chores but become bread winners themselves leaving their husbands in charge for the family’s welfare. There are a lot of cases of a transnational mother and a househusband parents in the Philippines but few studies were conducted to support and explain it. A study done by Pingol about the breadwinning wives and househusband in a Filipino setting discussed the changed of roles between the husband and the wife and primarily gain understanding about the lives of the husbands that is left-behind by their breadwinning wives (34). One important aspect of conjugal relationships is the power positions of the partners (Medina 161), thus, this is what this study would like to convey. If one would like to study about the change in roles of the husband and the wife, one must study the power structure inside the family. II. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
The challenges of balancing employment and family care have been the focus of over two decades of research critical to the development of workplace supports to assist workers with typical family care to manage both their work and family responsibilities (Barnett, 56; Greenhaus, & Beutell, 10; S. A. Hill & Zimmerman, 57; D. A. Major, Fletcher, Davis, & Germano, 29). It has always been the issue of who will take over the role of taking care and the role of providing for the needs of the family. Role and ecological systems theory provide a useful framework to understanding how employees balance their work and family roles and how these roles interact within the work–family interface to produce different outcomes for family caregivers (Stewart 116).
A recent increase in women’s labor migration from developing countries has drawn greater attention in comparison to men’s migration; the former transgresses gender boundaries while the latter does not (Hoang and Yeoh 722). Wives taking the role as breadwinners, leaving their husbands in charge for the mothering to the left behind children. Hence, one of the biggest challenges faced by the transnational family following the mother’s departure is to provide left-behind children with an alternative care arrangement. Migration studies in Sri Lanka and the Philippines have pointed to female relatives as the most important carers in mother migrant households (Hoang and Yeoh 731). The continued pressure to follow gender norms with respect to caring practices, as noted by Parrenas, explains men’s resistance to adjusting their parenting responsibilities in their wives’ absence (92). The delegation of the mother’s nurturing and caring tasks to other women family members, and not the father, upholds normative gender behaviors in the domestic sphere and thereby keep the conventional gendered division of labor intact (Parrenas 99). However, qualitative studies show that Confucian-based patriarchal norms remain persistent, not least in rhetoric. For example, Pham observes that men try to maintain their domination inside the family if their wives are in higher social positions than them (240). Women, in turn, often feel obliged to appease their husbands and avoid hurting their masculine pride in both social and sexual terms (Luong 218). By becoming transnational mothers, migrant women not only take economic responsibility as important as―or even more important than―their daily presence in the home (Montes) but also cross gender identities by becoming breadwinners (Parrenas). In addition, some recent studies on internal migration in Northern Vietnam also show that despite their increased mobility and enhanced economic power, migrant women are keen to maintain that the reversed division of labor is ad hoc and distinctly temporary, indicating that norms of conventional role assignments still largely apply (Resurreccion and Ha 219; Truong 321). In Bangladesh, husbands who take on household chores in the absence of their migrant wives often do so with the help of older children (Afsar ). The CHAMPSEA quantitative survey in Vietnam, however, identified a different pattern: the father was the most important carer of left-behind children when the mother migrated. Out of the 287 surveyed mother-migrant households, children in 204 cases (71 percent) were cared for by the father whereas paternal grandmother carers accounted for nearly 18 percent (Hoang and Yeoh). In a number of contexts, it has been found that although men rarely become full-time caregivers of children, the prolonged absence of women indeed pushes them toward taking a larger share of domestic work and care—albeit on an ad hoc and temporary basis (Asis, Huang, and Yeoh 25; Chantavich ; Gamburd ). The pressure for men to live up to masculinity ideals is truly immense, especially when different dimensions of the masculine identity in the family conflict with one another. Indeed, some men were torn between fathering responsibilities and the sense of masculinity attached to their breadwinner role when their wives decided not to remit her income. The reversed division of labor was already difficult, making them hesitate to compromise their sense of masculinity even further by asking their wives for money, even if it was for the children’s benefit (Hoang and Yeoh 725).
In accounting for their family’s decision making about migration, men made sure that their sense of agency and authority was spelled out clearly. This is exemplified in the narrative of Tien—a 37-year-old father of two— who, despite acknowledging that his wife took the initiative to migrate, affirmed, “I am still the main decision maker.” This echoed other men who maintained that the final decision rested with them and the women thus could not have migrated without their consent (Hoang and Yeoh 728). The decision to migrate depends on the women if she still wants to go back or if she wants to stay. Occasionally, migration is perceived as parents’ individual choice that excludes any move towards family solidarity in the sense the scholarship on democratization argues. Young people internalize a strong sense of not being part of their parents’ project, especially when migration is accompanied by family dissolution (Pantea 383). Young people do have a first-hand experience of the family’s economic situation; they do realize the consequences of underemployment, those of failed family enterprises or increased consumption needs (Pantea 382).That is why the children and parents share a similar understanding of family needs, but the decision to migrate is taken by parents on behalf of children (Pantea 392). Statistical evidence indicates a low level of children/young people participation in decisions on migration. A survey conducted by AAS and UNICEF last 2008 shows that only 19 per cent of children between 10–14 years and 34 per cent of those between 15–17 years seem to have been consulted by parents about the decision to migrate. To sum up, the decisions to migrate are grounded in a shared understanding of needs. Yet, the decision making itself is rather parents’ individual choice, taken for children/young people’s best interests (Pantea 390).

III. THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK A recent increase in women’s labor migration from developing countries has drawn greater attention in comparison to men’s migration; the former transgresses gender boundaries while the latter does not (Hoang and Yeoh). Wives took over the role of being the breadwinner thus, leaving their husband in charge for the child rearing and housekeeping. The role and resource theory best provide a useful framework to understanding the power positions of the husband and wife in the migration process.
Role theory posits that human activity involves living up to the social roles, or expectations, of others (Pleck, 1977). The expectations correspond to different roles individuals perform or enact in their daily lives. Role theory includes the following propositions:1) people spend much of their lives participating as members of groups and organizations;2) within these groups, people occupy distinct positions; 3) each of these positions entails a role, which is a set of functions performed by the person for the group;4) groups often formalize role expectations as norms or even codified rules, which include what rewards will result when roles are successfully performed and what punishments will result when roles are not successfully performed;5) individuals usually carry out their roles and perform in accordance with prevailing norms; in other words, role theory assumes that people are primarily conformists who try to live up to the norms that accompany their roles; and 6) group members check each individual's performance to determine whether it conforms with the norms; the anticipation that others will apply sanctions ensures role performance (Wikibooks). Role theory illustrates the role in which the husband and the wife play. Given that the wife took over the breadwinning role, the husband is expected to play the role of which the wife left; the role to care for the left-behind children. Thus, in some way or another affects the husband’s role as the head of the family. Blood and Wolfe (1960) theorized and confirmed that the spouse who has the greater resources at his or her disposal has the greater relative power. Resources include financial ability, prestige, high educational attainment, competence, special skills, or other characteristics which enable one to make a contribution to the marriage (Medina). The role expectation of both the husband and the wife is affected by their contributed resources in the family in this case. IV. METHODOLOGY A. Research Design
This study is a qualitative research. The researcher interviewed Mr. Agkis, a househusband whose wife is an OFW and father of four boys. The interview was set at the residence of Agkis family in Batangas, which is also the hometown of the researcher. This study is a narrative type of research which narrates the answer of the respondent to the questions provided by the researcher.

B. Sampling
The researcher used the snowball sampling technique or referral sampling. Since cases of a househusband and a transnational wife are rare in the rural area, the researcher has to ask for a recommendation to find one family with such phenomenon.

C. Data Collection
By having lived there all her life, the researcher was able to observe the family even before the study was conducted. The researcher prepared a questionnaire with open-ended questions. The researcher cited some observations while interviewing the respondent. Follow-up interview were conducted for more specific answers. As for the absence of the mother in the interview, only the side of the father was taken. The interview was conducted twice for reviewing the answers and additional questions. Both interviews lasted for more or less 30 minutes and were recorded but the respondent refused to release the recording.

D. Data Processing and Analysis
By data processing, the interviews were transcribed to finalize the answers of the respondent. The data were gathered through summarizing and analyzing.

V. DATA PRESENTATION
AGKIS FAMILY
Personal Background/ Family of Orientation
Mr. and Mrs. Agkis were both sewers in Las Piñas when they first met. They were both 18 years old back then. In 1990, they got married at Mrs. Agkis’ province in Nueva Ecija and decided to establish their first few months of marriage in Manila. At present, they are both aged 41 and are both Roman Catholics. They reside at Batangas in Agkis’s compound. They could be considered well-off compared to their neighbors who are Mr. Agkis’s relatives.
Mr. Agkis was the youngest of the 3 siblings. He finished high-school education and started to have a more stable job when he reached 18. His salary when he is young was only for him for he said that his family of orientation has a fair life. He said that he is contented for what he earns. His parents advised them to help each other to make their children grow with good values. Unlike other kalalakihan in their place, Mr. Agkis is not much of a mabarkada type. He doesn’t even belong to any political organizations in their community. He devoted himself in caring for the children and the house. He manages his sari-sari store, look for his children and do household chores himself. They are married for 23 years and still love each other, said Mr. Agkis.
Mrs. Agkis is from Nueva Ecija. She is a highschool graduate. At 18 she started to work and became the breadwinner of her family. According to Mr. Agkis, his wife always wanted to have a better life when she was young. They were both working at the early years of their marriage and even managed to have a house and a car. But then again, his wife wants to go abroad to fulfill her dreams and give their children better education.
Transnational Wife
Since her wife left to work overseas, there weren’t many changes in their relationships as family. Mr. Agkis said that they are used to it. During the migration process, Mr. Agkis became more caring to their children. He didn’t hire any helper or ask relatives to look for their children.
Decision-Making/ Power Structure
They have four children namely Chris John,20, John Robert,19, John Peter,12,John Carlo,10. Two of them are in college and two are in elementary. Mrs. Agkis decided to have four children, said Mr. Agkis. Also, his wife decided as to what school their children should go.
When asked if Mrs. Agkis dominates since she is the main provider, Mr. Agkis laughed and said “parang”.
They both decided to stay in Batangas for the education of their children. However Mrs. Agkis wants to move in other place because she believed that staying there won’t give them enough development.
There were no properties sold after she left for abroad. Almost all of their income goes to their children’s education.
House Husband
All of their children are close to their parents. When they have problems, they go to their father or their aunts who live nearby. Both of them discipline their children in different ways. Mr. Agkis is more strict and Mrs. Agkis verbally discipline their children.
Mr. Agkis pointed out that there were not regularly helping any relatives financially. He has to work as well to provide at least and add to their income. It gives him also a pride since he is the father. He doesn’t even know how much his wife earns. He seems shy to ask. He said that he is contented with how much his wife sends them. He has sidelines such as sari-sari store and fishing (pangingilaw) which could help them.
He devotes his time in fishing and watching TV when he is alone.
To strengthen their relationship, as husband and wife, Mr. Agkis revealed that he has to follow his parents-in-law (when they are still alive) and maintain good relationship with them as well as to their children.

VI. DATA ANAYSIS
The family of orientation of both the husband and the wife affects their way of parenting. The wife is much of a dreamer than her husband who is contented with what they already have and what they accomplished. In coping out for the wife’s achievement, the husband felt the need to fill up the mothering role that his wife left. The decision making is done by both of them but the husband said that it is mostly from his wife, like the education of the children, abode of the family, and the decision to work abroad. In terms of their children, the husband, who is left behind is closer. It seems that they trust to confide their feelings to their parent who’s living with them. Given that wife is the main provider, the husband establish his own source of income to mainly help support some expenses but partly to cover up the shame for being the one left behind. The husband in return for the sacrifice of his wife maintains good relationship with his in-laws and children. It is expected for the husband to perform such roles to help him remain the feeling and the image of a good father as well as a husband.

VII. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
When the role of the husband and the wife shifts as the family’s provider and the domestic care giver, the power structure is questioned. The traditional power structure such as the husband as the main head of the family is diminished. Using the resource theory as an explanation, the wife who shares greater resources, holds the relative power.
Personal aspiration and socioeconomic status are the factors resulting to the wives’ participation in the labor force; the wife’s goal to uplift the economic status of the family.
The role expectation of the husband therefore, is to look after the domestic care left by his wife. Leaving him no choice to do the mothering and still maintain the role of the head of the family. In the case of Mr. Agkis, he did not just depend on his wife’s monthly remittances to keep being the family’s somehow, provider to gain his title as the father. VIII. REFERENCES
Alcantara, Adelamar M. "Gender Roles, Fertility an the Status of Married Filipino Men and Women." Philippine Sociological Review (1994): 94-109. Print.
Bautista, Cynthia Banzon. ""Women in Marriage"." Stereotype, Status and Satisfactions: The Filipinos Among Filipinos (1977).
Blood, Robert Jr. and Donald M. Wolfe. Husbands and Wives. New York: The Free Press of Glencoe, 1960.
Engels, Frederick. The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State. Australia: Resistance Books, 2004. Pdf.
Hoang, Lan Anh and Brenda S. A. Yeoh. "Breadwinning Wives and ''Left-Behind'' Husbands: Men and Masculinities in the Vietnamese Transnational Family." Gender and Society (2011): 717-740.
Medina, Belen. The Filipino Family. Quezon City: UP Press, 2001. Print.
Montes, Veronica. "The Role of Emotions in the Construction of Masculinity: Guatemalan Migrant Men, Transnational Migration, and Family Relations." Gender and Society (2013): 469-491.
Pantea, Maria-Carmen. "Young People's Perspectives on Changing Families' Dynamics of Power in the Context of Parental Migration." Young (2011): 375-395.
Parrenas, Rhacel Salazar. Children of Global Migration: Transnational Families and Gendered Woes. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press., 2005. Print.
Pingol, Alicia Tadeo. Remaking Masculinities: Identity, Power, Gender Dynamic in Families with Migrant Wives and Househusbands. Quezon City: UP Center for Women's Studies and Ford Foundations, 2001. Print.
Stewart, Lisa M. "Family Care Responsibilities and Employment: Exploring the Impact of Type of Family Care on Work -Family and Family-Work Conflict." Journal of Family Issues (2013): 113-139.
Wikibooks. 5 October 2013. <http://en.wikibooks.org>.

APPENDIX
Appendix A
Questionnaire:
Name of the Husband:
Age:
Place of origin:
Birth order:
Educational attainment:
Work:
Parent’s work:
Religion:

Name of the Wife:
Age:
Place of origin:
Birth order:
Educational attainment:
Work:
Parent’s Work:
Religion:
Paano kayo nagkakilala ni Misis?
Anung edad ng magkakilala, sino ang mas matanda sa dalawa? Anong taon ikinasal? Saan kinasal? Saan unang tumira?
Gaano ka katagal nanligaw kay Misis? anong nga pinagdaanan bago sagutin ni Misis at anu-ano ang payo ng mga magulang ninyo patungkol sa pagpapamilya?
Family Background
Ano ang responsibilidad ninyo noong dalaga at binata pa lamang kayo sa inyong kanya kanyang pamilya?
Pang ilan sa magkakapatid si nanay? Pang-ilan si tatay sa magkakapatid?
Ilang taon nagsimula magtrabaho si Misis at Mister noong dalaga at binata pa lamang kayo?
Anong estado sa buhay noong dalaga at binata pa?
Ano ang relihiyon, paniniwala at mga panata ang meron kayo patungkol sa pagpapamilya?
May kinabibilangan ba kayong organisasyon sa inyong Barangay/lugar?
Gaano ninyo kamahal ang sa’t isa?
Anu-anong problema ang sumubok sa inyo bilang mag-asawa?
Power structure
Bakit kinailangang mag-abroad ni Misis?
Sinong nagdesisyon na mag-aabroad? Bakit hindi si Mister ang nag-abroad?
Paano nabago ang pakikitungo ninyo bilang pamilya sa isa’t isa mula ng nangibang bansa si Misis?Mas naging mas naging maalaga ba si Mister sa mga anak?
Anong paraan ang ginagawa ninyo upang mapanatiling matatag ang relasyon ng pamilya? Lalo na ng mag-asawa.
Sinong kamag-anak ang malapit sa tinitirahan ngayon ng pamilya? Sino ang nagdesisyon na doon tumira?
Nagbabayad ba kayo ng renta para sa bahay?o sa inyo na mismo itong bahay?
May properties ba na binili? Sino ang nagdesisyo sa pagbili nito?
Paano nagbubudget? Ilang porsyento ang sa pagkain?..etc..
Ano ang nabago sa pamumuhay ni Mister bilang house husband?
Sino ang namamalengke? Naglalaba? Nagluluto para sa mga anak?
Ilan ang bilang ng anak? Sinoang pumili sa ganoong bilang?
Ilang taon na ang mga anak?
Kanino mas malapit ang loob ng mga anak, mas kinakausap pag may problema?
Pareho ba kayong may trabaho bago ikinasal?
Sino ang nagdedesiplina sa mga anak?
Tumutulong ba si Misis financially sa mga kamag-anak? Kung oo, ayos lang ba kay Mister ang pagtulong iyon?
Bakit nagtatrabaho pa rin kayo(mister) kahit kumikita na si Misis?
Magkano ang kinikita ni nanay? At ni tatay? Sa ngayon? Kumpara sa noon..
Ano ang pakiramdam bilang house husband? O bilang wife as provider?
Paano nag-adjust bilang tatay as provider noong una at ngayon ay bilang tagapagalaga na din ng mga anak?
Anong ginagawa upang hindi mangulila sa asawa?
Appendix B

Name of the Husband: Pedro Agkis
Age: 41
Place of origin: Calatagan, Batangas
Birth order: 3rd child
Educational attainment: High School
Work: Househusband/owns a mini sari-sari store
Parent’s work: Sewer
Religion: Roman Catholic

Name of the Wife: Lilibeth Agkis
Age: 41
Place of origin: Nueva Ecija
Birth order: 4th child
Educational attainment: High School
Work: OFW (factory sewer)
Parent’s Work: Deceased
Religion: Roman Catholic
Interview:
Nagkakilala sila ni misis noong parehas silang nagtrabaho sa isang pabrika sa Las Pinas bilang mananahi. 18 taon anyos sila parehas. Inabot lamang ng isang taon ang panliligaw ni mister kay misis at taong 1990 ay nauwi ito sa kasalan. Sa probinsya ni misis sila ikinasal ngunit duon sa Maynila nagsimulang magtayo ng pamilya.
Ang kanilang pamilya sa kasalukuyan ay nakatira sa Batangas, kung saan malapit sa mga magulang ni Mister.
*ano ang payo ng mga magulang sa pagpapamilya?
“ayun.. magtulungan nga lamang para mapalaki (ng maayos) ang mga bata.”
Bagama’t nakaranas sila noong mga unang taon ng pagsasama ng mga pagsubok kagaya ng noong minsan ay talagang nagipit sila financially mahal na mahal daw nila ang isa’t isa.
Personal Background/Family of Orientation
Noong dalaga at binata pa lamang sila, si Misis ang talagang bread winner ng pamilya niya, samantalang si Mister ay tanging sarili lamang ang sinusustentuhan.
Pangatlo sa tatlong magkakapatid si mister at pang apat naman sa apat na magkakapatid si Misis.
Pareho silang 18 anyos nagsimulang magtrabaho.
Pareho din silang katamtaman ang estado sa buhay noong dalaga at binata pa lamang. “minsan maluwag, minsan hindi”-Pedro Agkis
Bilang Katoliko, lagi lamang nilang itinuturo sa mga anak na “huwag na huwag makakalimot sa nasa itaas at magkasundo sundo dapat”
Hindi palabarkada si Mister at tanging nakatuon lamang ang atensyon sa mga anak at sa kanyang maliit na tindahan.
Wala silang sinasalihang organisasyon o kung ano man.
Power structure
*Bakit kailangang mag-abroad si misis?
“aba’y para makapag-aral ang mga bata…”
Si misis ang nagdesisyon na mangibang bansa, dalaga palang daw kasi ay eto na ang pangarap ni misis upang kumita ng malaki.
Ayon kay Mister wala naman daw gaanong pagbabago hinggil sa pakikitungo ng bawat isa simula ng umalis si Misis.
Mas naging maalaga daw si Mister sa mga bata simula noong sa kanya na lamang naiwan ang mga anak. Hindi rin naman daw siya nakakahuka ng anumang tulong mula sa kanilang mga kamag-anak hinggil sa pag-aasikaso sa mga bata.
Para mapanatili ang matatag na relasyon nila bilang mag-asawa, “…pag-igihin(ayusin, pag inaman) ang pakikisama sa mga magulang niya(ni misis) at pag-aalaga sa mga bata.”
-sa paggawa ng desisyon kung saan pag-aaralin ang mga anak si Misis ang nasusunod.
*bilang si misis ang pangunahing kumikita at nagsusustento sa pamilya nagbibigay ba ito sa kanya ng karapatan bilang maging dominante sa tahanan/pamilya?
“parang *laugh*” –mister
Lumipat sila sa calatagan,batangas noong mag-aaral na ng elementary ang pangalawa nilang anak. Parehas nilang desisyon eto ngunit ayon kay mister “parehas naming desisyon nabumalik na lamang dito(batangas) pero parang gusto niya(misis) atang lumipat” Simula noong nag-ibang bansa si Misis ay wala pa silang nabibiling property dahil ang lahat ng pera ay napupunta sa pag-aaral ng mga anak. 2 na ang college nila at ang dalawa pa ay elementary. Yung bahay nila ngayon at sasakyan ay napundar at nabili na nila bago pa lamang mag abroad si misis noong full time worker pa silang parehas(maliit pa mga bata). *ano ang pagbabago sa schedule noong naging house husband ka?
“marami.. gaya ng paggising ng maaga para sa paghahanda para sa mga estudyante”
Si Tatay ang lahat ng gumagawa ng mga gawaing bahay kagaya ng pagluluto,paglalaba,pamamalengke,pamamalantsa, pag-aalaga sa mga anak.
“minsan nahihirapan ako…lalo na pagsabay sabay na yung Gawain… pasma ang aabutin”
Mayroon silang 4 na anak, sina Chris John,20, John Robert,19, John Peter,12,John Carlo,10. Ayon kay Mister, si misis daw ang may gustong magkaroon ng apat na supling. Bagaman ang mga bata ay parehong malapit naman daw sa kanilang mga magulang, sa tatay at sa mga tiyahin nila ang mga ito lumalapit sa tuwing nagkakaroon sila ng problema.
Ayon sa Mister, pareho daw nilang mag-asawa dinedesiplina ang mga anak ngunit talagang mas mahigpit lamang ang kanyang pagdedesiplina kesa sa asawa.
“ako ang namamalo... siya(misis) pasalita lamang…”
Wala naman daw ibang tinutulungang financial si misis.
*bakit pa nagtatrabaho parin si Mister gayong kumikita na si Misis?
“Kailangan eh, malaki ang gastos sa mga bata… para nadin hindi nakakahiya syempre ako ang ama”
Hindi alam ni Mister ang kabuuang kita ni Misis, kung ano lamang ang kanyang natatanggap yun lamang ang kanyang pinagkakasya. Hindi niya na tinatanong kung magkano ba talaga ang kita ng asawa.(siguro nahihiya na siyang itanong sa asawa niya)
Kumikita rin naman si Mister ngayon dahil sa may maliit siyang sari-sari store.ayon sa kanya may mga racket din naman siyang maayos din ang kita. Nangingilaw din siya(nanghuhuli ng isda gamit ang sulo) para nadin sa pang ulam at nagsisilbing libangan narin daw. Ayon sa kanya, mas malaki ang kinikita niya noong hindi pa siya nagiging full time house husband. (background: may panaderya sila dati noong nandito pa si misis. Marami ring sideline si Mister kagaya ng kung ano anong tinda, bali parang siya namumuhunan sa mga naglalako ng kumwari ice cream etc so masasabi kong maparaan din si Mister.) ayun nga lang natigil lahat yun dahil umalis si Misis para makipagsapalaran sa ibang bansa.
*ano ang pakiramdam bilang house husband?
“mahirap , dahil sa akin lahat(ang responsibilidad ng pagkalinga sa anak)”
Ayon kay Mister, sanay na daw siya sa mga ginagawa niyang paggising sa umaga at kung ano ano pang mga ginagawa nniya ngayon kasi umpisa palang naman daw ganoon na ang Gawain niya.
Tanging pangingilaw, pagtitinda at panonood ng t.v. ang tanging nag aaliw sa kanya sa tuwing naiiwan sa bahay.
Mr. Pedro Agkis

Figure 1

Agkis’s residence in Calatagan, Batangas

Figure 2

Agkis’s properties

Figure 3.2

Figure 3.1