The new ‘TNT’

FILIPINOS here and abroad know ‘TNT’ to mean tago nang tago (always in hiding), a reference to compatriots living overseas without the proper papers. These days, however, TNT can also mean tatay na tatay, since it seems many Filipino fathers abroad are rediscovering their more nurturing selves especially when it comes to dealing with their daughters.

The latest piece in i Report‘s current series on Filipino women highlights the experience of two immigrant fathers who used to be strangers to their daughters. Now in Canada, both fathers have renewed their bonds with their daughters — to the girls’ delight. Nine-year-old Nina, for example, says her daddy “is around more” than when they were still in Manila. Twenty-nine-year-old Pia, meanwhile, says her father “became more motherly” in Canada, and has become as doting as her mother.

Read more about Pia, Nina, and their respective dads at pcij.org.