MANILA, Philippines—“Ang Bahay” is what Ambassador Virginia Honrado-Benavidez calls her official residence in Brunei because it showcases Filipino artistry and creativity in every room—especially in the kitchen.

Her success can be attributed to kitchen diplomacy, opening up her house and her kitchen to OFWs and high officials.

Ang Bahay has gained acclaim among Bruneians, Filipinos and foreigners as a welcoming place where multicultural guests can sample Filipino culture and hospitality.

In her own way, Benavidez, the first Filipino woman ambassador to Brunei Darussalam, may have accomplished what her male predecessors had not.

She has not only watched over the well-being of 20,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), she has also hosted affairs for visiting Philippine officials (President Macapagal-Arroyo and former President Fidel Ramos, to name a few) and distinguished Bruneians (Cabinet ministers, members of the royal family).

Benavidez, who is also the dean of the diplomatic corps and one of three women in the male-dominated club, believes that Filipino food and hospitality cut through bureaucracy and open the hearts and minds of foreign officials. They are especially useful in working out a pardon or commutation of a prison sentence and in winning grants and concessions.

The kitchen becomes the busiest part of Ang Bahay when her all-Filipino kitchen staff whip up a full-course, sit-down dinner for four or 24 guests, which could be as often as three times a week. The menu selection, cooking, tasting and decorating are a result of technology transfer and continuing innovation from Benavidez to her household staff, most of whom had been with her family in Quezon City for years.

They say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. Through the years, Ang Bahay’s desserts have grown in popularity among dinner guests. In fact, one favorite has made its way to the royal dining table and to the homes of many Bruneians, and has come to be known as the Chocolate Cake Royale.

Ang Bahay’s chicken adobo recipe has also been featured on Brunei television. Since then, Benavidez’s dinner hosting has been described in private circles as adobo diplomacy.

Aidilfitri dinner

A yearly tradition tendered by Benavidez for the Muslim-Filipino Association and other members of the Filipino community in Brunei is the Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

This year’s dinner, held in October, could only be described as reminiscent of Filipino home-cooking. See for yourself: Tamarind-flavored chicken soup, Pinoy salad topped with danggit chips, lemon sorbet, fish chips with tartar sauce, fried chicken and beef with mushroom, fresh fruits, carrot cake and tea.

The conversation, meanwhile, centered on the positive impact of bilateral initiatives of the Philippine and Brunei governments on the lives of Muslims in Mindanao.

Hataman Paraman, president of the Muslim-Filipino Overseas Workers Association in Brunei cited, among others, the active presence of the Brunei contingent in the International Peace Monitoring Team in helping the peace process in Mindanao and Brunei’s madrasah (Islamic school) scholarship program for Filipino Muslims.

OFWs in Brunei

Benavidez has transformed Ang Bahay into a homelike place for graduation ceremonies of the embassy’s livelihood and training programs for OFWs. It is also a venue for a Filipino language program for Filipino children growing up in Brunei.

Benavidez’s exceptional interpersonal relationship with Brunei’s senior officials has also resulted in the increase in academic exchanges, trade and tourism. It has also allowed the entry of Filipino medical specialists—doctors, nurses and the allied professions—and civil engineers in line with Brunei’s economic diversification projects.

For the past 50 years, OFWs have taken part in Brunei’s development. Filipino engineers built the largest residential palace in the world and Filipino workers helped construct the erstwhile developing country’s roads and bridges.

Filipino commended

Journalist Tony Alabastro, a Filipino working for the largest English daily Brunei Bulletin who has chronicled Philippine-Brunei relations since 1990, wrote: “The high productivity and efficiency of Filipino pioneers, engineers, doctors, teachers, have been acknowledged and commended whenever any Philippine president pays a call on His Majesty the Sultan.”

Alabastro’s first-hand account continued, “The Filipinos came to this Islamic sultanate south of Mindanao to work, teach, to heal, to build and to serve in order to send money home, educate the children, buy a dream house, build a better future for the family. Some have found a spouse and [started] a new family, embraced a new religion, and stayed. Most went back, homesick over the prolonged separation, or upon the end of the first or last work contract.”

Historical, cultural links

Recognized for their industry and dedication and valued for their skills, proficiency and work attitude, Filipinos continue to work in the offices of oil and gas installations and factories, schools, hospitals and construction and communication services.

Benavidez affirms that OFWs are worth every Brunei dollar of their salaries (placed at five times their income at home). At one point, they were remitting as much as $1 million (P49 million) per month to the Philippines. They have also responded to the call of the government by pooling resources for the construction of 12 classrooms costing $4,000 (P197,000) each in depressed areas at home.

Brunei, a major oil producer and the fourth liquefied natural gas supplier in the world, and the Philippines share historical and cultural links, antedating the establishment of formal diplomatic relations 24 years ago. This augurs well for a continuing close bilateral relations much needed in a world plagued by impending economic recession.