oh, my god. this is from albert. >> another request from the audience. ♪ ♪ ♪ i took a walk through this beautiful world ♪ ♪ felt the cool rain on my shoulder ♪ ♪ found something good in this beautiful world ♪ ♪ i felt the rain getting colder ♪ ♪ sha la la la la sha la la la la la ♪ ♪ sha la la la la sha la la la la la la ♪ >> anthony: it was the week before christmas when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. actually, that's not true at all. metro manila, bustling, sprawling, southeastern asian capital. the world's most densely populated city. ♪ i light a candle put the presents round the tree ♪ >> anthony: but it is christmas. where the mostly catholic population take their holiday season very seriously. because filipinos are, for reasons i have yet to figure out, probably the most giving of all people on the planet. think i'm talking shit? keep watching. ♪ ♪ >> good afternoon everyone. we're the band called keystone. ♪ ♪ >> anthony: ofw stands for overseas filipino worker and they're one of the largest and most important exports, people. go abroad, make money, improve the quality of life for the whole family. all over the world, the philippines sends architects, doctors, construction workers, house keepers, nannies. the entire filipino economy relies heavily on the money sent back by nearly 10 million or 10% of the nation's gdp. until recently, the largest category were musicians like filipino cover bands. they're everywhere. on cruise ships, hotel lobbies, bars and of course in manila, where the competition is fierce and the penalties for not getting a beloved biker favorite like billy idol can be severe. ♪ ♪ ♪ hey little sister what have you done hey little sister who's the only one ♪ ♪ hey little sister who's your superman hey little sister, who's the one you want ♪ ♪ hey little sister shotgun it's like nice day to start again ♪ ♪ come on it's a nice day for a white wedding ♪ ♪ it's a nice day to start again come on it's a nice day for a white wedding ♪ ♪ it's a nice day to start again ♪ >> anthony: know this, pampered rock and roll stars, at any given moment in the philippines there's someone who can step in and do your act better than you and after only a couple hours of practice. ♪ ♪ >> hey, mom. >> anthony: it is true that i lie to my daughter and tell her that ronald mcdonald has been implicated in the missing of young children, but i am also a hypocrite, because to me, filipino chain, jollibee is the wackiest place on earth. can i have the spaghetti with the hot dogs on it. >> yes, sir. >> anthony: and chicken joy. thank you. welcome to jollibee. there are over 900 of these things and a whole lot more internationally wherever there are filipinos. there's one in jersey city. ♪ ♪ ♪ jollibee ♪ [ speaking foreign language] ♪ ♪ >> anthony: i hate mascots. you know they fart in those suits? oh, yeah. chicken and spaghetti and i think it's sweet banana, ketchup meat stuffed with hot dogs. their spaghetti is deranged, yet strangely alluring. oh, it's not a burger. it's rice. pork, sinister brown sauce. i don't know what it's for. oh, that's awesome. that's what you do with the brown stuff. oh, i hate myself. >> hi, mom, jolly afternoon. >> anthony: did i mention it's christmas? the 7,000 plus islands that make up the philippines rank number one when it comes to celebrating the jolliest time of the year. holiday cheer begins a full hundred days before christmas. and there's a lot to do especially if you like crashing other people's parties. welcome to the seven continents, travel and tours corporate christmas party held in the fabulous banquet room of the downtown pearl garden hotel. ♪ ♪ ♪ deck the halls with bows of holly ♪ ♪ la, la, la, la, la, la, ♪ >> so, cheers. merry christmas. >> anthony: very catholic country? >> very catholic. 80%. christmas starts in september. >> so, at 12 midnight of september 1, everyone greets merry christmas on facebook. >> i have very fond memories of the last time i had it in the philippines and it is the finest pig i've ever had. amazing. providing these babies to holiday parties is big business. and standards here where pork is king and luchaung the best in the world, very, very high. today our little friend is prepared the old school way, turned slowly over a spit for hours. oh, delicious, delicious lachon. >> if you have two, you must be a big shot. >> anthony: man, that is good pig. >> so, i'm hr director. and i'm also the happeningest guru of the philippines. ♪ ♪ ♪ dashing through the snow in a one horse open sleigh ♪ >> anthony: as we know, one must, at a holiday party, drink. i was prepared to do. and the games i was a little surprised by. ladies. ♪ jingle all the way oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh ♪ [ laughter] >> anthony: then, if i remember correctly, i totally kicked as at a game of drunken musical chairs but i can't be certain. ♪ jingle bells jingle bells jingle all the way ♪ >> anthony: i'm told i was bob from accounting. and they find out things could get ugly. ♪ ♪ ♪ jingle bells jingle bells jingle all the way oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh ♪ ♪ hey jingle bells jingle bells jingle all the way ♪ ♪ oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh ♪ [ applause ] feeling sluggish or weighed down? 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what's in it? let's find out. >> halo-halo. >> anthony: halo-halo means mix, mix and it is delicious. looking good. an icy milky, technicolor concoction of mung beans, candy fruits and gelatins. this is a wonderful creation. it's got that kind of -- if you let the fruit loops marinade in the milk for a little while, the milk tastes like this. yeah, you want one? that's okay. very satisfying. yeah, i recommend it. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ applause ] >> anthony: this looks really good. night in metro manila and i'm ready for my single favorite filipino street food, possibly the best thing you could ever eat with a cold beer. i'm talking, of course, about sisig. hot, sisig pig face with a runny egg on top and you better ask somebody because nothing is getting between me and this spicy, chewy, fatty goodness. >> there's a lot of sisig restaurants here but this is the best. >> anthony: this evening's dining partners, the cover band, you might remember them from such epic christmas parties such as last night. this is the christmas season, a lot of christmas parties? >> yes. >> anthony: a lot of work? >> yes. >> anthony: all over southeast asia, any hotel band, lobby, there's a filipino band and i've sat there drunk and challenged band after band, all of dark side of the moon, no problem. all of guns and roses, no problem. music and singing are a huge part of life in the philippines. so, making it as a cover band, being sent abroad to perform is a big deal. but one thing remains the same always. to succeed, you better be able to pick up new material fast. >> we started toni braxton, beatles and elvis presley. >> anthony: how many in your repertoire? >> about a thousand. >> anthony: and if you don't know it, you can fake it real quick. >> yeah. >> anthony: five years from now, where would you like to be playing? >> that's a good question. my biggest dream is to play las vegas. the u.s. this is my dream. >> when we get to the dream, you know, playing at las vegas, we want to play first, we are the champions. if we get there. ♪ ♪ ♪ e calls can be. not with schwab. nina made it easier to set up our financial plan. we can check in on it anytime. it changes when our goals change. planning can't be that easy. actually, it can be, carl. look forward to planning with schwab. schwab! ♪ ♪ my name is austin james. as a musician living with diabetes, fingersticks can be a real challenge. that's why i use the freestyle libre 2 system. with a painless, one-second scan i know my glucose numbers without fingersticks. now i'm managing my diabetes better and i've lowered my a1c from 8.2 to 6.7. take the mystery out of managing your diabetes and lower your a1c. now you know. try it for free at freestylelibre.us my hygienist cleans with a round head. so does my oral-b my hygienist personalizes my cleaning. so does my oral-b oral-b delivers the wow of a professional clean feel every day. every day in business brings something new. so get the flexibility of the new mobile service designed for your small business. introducing comcast business mobile. you get the most reliable network with nationwide 5g included. and you can get unlimited data for just $30 per line per month when you get four lines or mix and match data options. available now for comcast business internet customers with no line-activation fees or term contract required. see if you can save by switching today. comcast business. powering possibilities. >> merry christmas, everyone. ho-ho-ho . merry christmas, everyone. ho-ho-ho. happy new year too. >> anthony: despite initial appearances, the philippines is not all holiday cheer, and dancing bugs. ♪ >> anthony: the filipino martial art, kali, is among the most brutal remorseless defense systems going. it was developed to deal with very harsh realities in a very tough, very bloody history. three centuries of brutal spanish colonial rule, invasion by the japanese, near the end of world war ii, american forces bombed manila, pretty much leveling the city. martial law. ♪ although the philippines has remained a democracy since then, it can seem at times, fragile. [ bell ringing] >> anthony: now, you both photo journalists? >> yes. >> anthony: based out of manila? >> me. >> anthony: now, does a journalist need to carry a firearm in this country? >> for me, yes. >> anthony: in the philippines a press badge is no defense, particularly in the south of the country where mark lives and works. >> because of the radicalization of recent years, this is fertile ground for that. >> anthony: traditionally the argument against journalists arming themselves is they've been able to portray themselves as noncombatants. there was some presumption they wouldn't shoot you, but these days people don't make that distinction. >> dating back to the marcos years. >> anthony: 77 journalists were just before christmas in 2009, the massacre claimed the lives of 58 people. dozens of whom were journalists. it was the single deadliest event for journalists in history. mark was the first one on the scene with a camera. >> there is no system of justice, no government attending to your needs. >> anthony: no one's coming to save you? >> no one's coming to save you. >> you know, i have a family, small kids. for me, to defend myself. >> anthony: it's a very much do-it-yourself culture. you see it in their homes the way they're stack said on top of one each other. it's like, i'll make it myself. >> right. >> anthony: there's a lot of poverty in this city, that's for sure but there's not a sense of hopelessness or rage. they decorate. they may not have much but they decorate, they sweep the street. >> anthony: there's still a sense of humble ownership and this is my home and it's going to be safe, it's going to be fine. ♪ ♪ ♪ for those you love. vanguard. become an owner. ♪ [text alert] ♪ son of a bi— beth? if it's “i thought we said no gifts” season, it's walgreens season. this is your home. this is your family room slash gym. the guest bedroom slash music studio. the daybed slash dog bed. the living room slash yoga shanti slash regional office slash classroom. and this is the basement slash panic room. maybe what your family needs is a vacation home slash vacation home. find yours on the vrbo app. ♪ ♪ ♪ in any metropolis, you find all of the good and the bad in the world. manila has plenty of both, yet this is a nation of 7,000 islands and i really wanted to see at least one more of them. but i learned about something filipinos are only too familiar with, the typhoon. so, it looks like it's going to be christmas in the city. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ i never meant to be so bad to you one thing i said that i could never do ♪ ♪ one look from you and i would fall from grace and i would wipe the smile right from my face ♪ ♪ because it's the heat of the moment telling me what your pulse is ♪ ♪ the heat of the moment ♪ >> anthony: name of the band is? >> keystone. >> anthony: how long you been playing together? >> around five years. >> anthony: five years. >> doubles in the house. >> anthony: looking pretty. >> thank you, thank you. >> anthony: as one does, i drag the band, keystone in the lunch, assuming correctly that one of these young punks would know how to make a good adobo. is there a single recipe? >> everyone would stake claim to having the best adobo, but the basic ingredients would remain the same. so, it's garlic, pork, we can now add the chicken, vinegar, pepper corns, bay leaf, soy sauce. >> anthony: this adobo is amazing. delicious. where did you learn to cook adobo? >> i learned from my mom. >> anthony: so, who makes the best adobo? mom does. >> that's the best answer. >> anthony: filipinos like feeding people. >> yes. >> anthony: what else do filipinos like? >> hospitable. everybody knows how to sing. they don't necessarily have to be in tune but they want to sing, they like to sing. >> we've been listening to music from a very young age. >> i'm the drummer but i'm not actually formally trained. up to this day, i don't read notes but i could memorize a song. if you gave it to me in a day. >> anthony: but you have to. and you guys have played abroad? >> no. it's one of the goals actually. >> anthony: five years from now, where would you like to be? >> hopefully we get to play for a bigger crowd because i think the fulfillment for me is getting more people to enjoy the music. ♪ the heat of the moment heat of the moment ♪ ♪ heat of the moment heat of the moment heat of the moment ♪ thank you so much. we're keystone. hi. so you're the scientist here. does my aveeno® daily moisturizer really make my dry skin healthier in one day? it's true jen. this prebiotic oat formula moisturizes to help prevent dry skin. impressive. aveeno® healthy. it's our nature.™ new daily moisture for face. it's the most joyous time of year. especially at t-mobile! let's go to dianne. i got the awesome new iphone 13 pro and airpods, and t-mobile is paying for them both! and this is for new and existing customers. upgrade to the iphone 13 pro and airpods both on us. only at t-mobile. feel stuck with student loan debt? move to sofi and feel what it's like to get your money right. ♪ ♪ move your student loan debt to sofi— you could save with low rates and no fees. earn a $1,000 bonus when you refi— and get your money right. ♪ my hygienist cleans with a round head. so does my oral-b my hygienist personalizes my cleaning. so does my oral-b oral-b delivers the wow of a professional clean feel every day. is now a good time for a flare-up? 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just this once. so good. so, how long have you been back? in the philippines? >> three years. >> anthony: where have you worked? hong kong for five years? >> hong kong for five years and then i went to america. i stayed there for almost 30 years. >> anthony: aurora is recently back in manila after spending most of her life abroad. >> i did the house keeping. >> anthony: the money she sent home put everybody here and many, many more through school, lifted them up to a more comfortable life. and you left your family behind. that's never an easy decision. a painful, painful choice. aurora's children, now middle aged, are now getting to know their mother. >> okay. bring the food inside. >> anthony: many, many, many filipino women, like you, who had to leave their families, go abroad. >> absolutely. three children. my eldest is about four years in qatar and the other one is in hong kong. >> anthony: working conditions can be punishing at best, abusive or worse. >> i'm a single mom with my two grandchildren. i really worked a lot, especially this holiday season. >> anthony: still, due to lack of opportunity at home, many filipinos have little choice but to go somewhere far, far away. find a job, money. but hopefully in a few years they'll come back? >> yes. i'm not getting younger anymore. i need them at my side. i call them many times, please get home soon. i need you. ♪ ♪ and close your books. cool. yep. know where your business stands. intuit quickbooks live bookkeeping. ray loves vacations. but his diabetes never seemed to take one. everything felt like a 'no'. everything. but then ray went from no to know. with freestyle libre 2, now he knows his glucose levels when he needs to. and... when he wants to. so ray... can be ray. take the mystery out of your glucose levels, and lower your a1c. now you know. try it for free. visit freestylelibre.us thanks for coming. now when it comes to a financial plan this broker is your man. let's open your binders to page 188... uh carl, are there different planning options in here? options? plans we can build on our own, or with help from a financial consultant? like schwab does. uhhh... could we adjust our plan... ...yeah, like if we buy a new house? mmmm... and our son just started working. oh! do you offer a complimentary retirement plan for him? as in free? just like schwab. schwab! look forward to planning with schwab. xfinity rewards are our way of thanking you just for being with us. enjoy rewards like sing family fun nights! rent sing for $1 then belt out all your favorite tunes from the movie with sing karaoke. plus, see sing 2 in theaters with buy-one-get-one free fandango tickets. join over a million members by signing up for free on the xfinity app. our thanks. your rewards. ♪ >> anthony: any filipino watching will recognize this immediately. the balikbayan box. a christmas tradition. a way for ofws to show loved ones, though separated by oceans, that you miss them, that you're still out there. what's in these boxes? whatever you can send. little things you'd casually give to a loved one if you didn't live on the other side of the world. this facility alone sorts thousands of these boxes a day during the christmas season, just one of hundreds of facilities like it. some 5 to 7 million boxes a year. that's a lot of love. so how many relatives do you think you have in america? >> aurora: in america, oh my gosh. >> analyn: florida. >> aurora: california, albert. >> rubin: my ate, my other sister, is in california. >> analyn: in hong kong, we have at least ten. >> aurora: and then dubai around eight, in qatar. >> anthony: i'm at this christmas gathering today because of one of our producer directors, erik osterholm. it was aurora who raised him. for over 20 years she cared for and loved erik and his sister, looked after his whole family. erik sent me a letter talking about you. i want to read you what he said. "aurora is such an incredible woman. she has an infectious and loving energy that is so powerful. i am 100% the man i am today, because this woman literally raised me from when i was six months old -- singing to me, dancing with me, wiping away my tears, cooking for me and making me laugh at every turn. unfortunately like so many filipinos, her story is not all smiles and love. she had to choose a life away from her daughter and thousands of miles from her family. there are literally thousands of people around the world -- thousands of people around the world, me included, who have been influenced by her endless kindness and love." filipinos give. of themselves, of their time, their money, their love, to others. they do and continue to do what needs to be done to survive. ♪ edelweiss, edelweiss every morning i greet you ♪ ♪ small and white clean and bright bless my homeland forever ♪ ♪ blossom of snow may you bloom and grow bloom and grow forever ♪ ♪ edelweiss, edelweiss bless my homeland forever ♪ ♪ ♪ >> aurora: oh my gosh. oh this is from albert. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> aurora: oh my gosh. oh this is from albert. oh, my gosh. wow! oh, my gosh! i really hope you enjoy the simple gift i sent and i know that my heart is with you always. i love you very much. albert. ♪ ♪ joy to the world the lord is come let earth receive ♪ ♪ her king let every heart prepare him room ♪ ♪ and heaven and nature sing and heaven and nature sing and heaven and heaven ♪ ♪ and nature sing he rules the world with truth and grace ♪ ♪ and makes the nations prove the glories of his righteousness ♪ ♪ and wonders of his love and wonders of his love and wonders, wonders ♪ ♪ of his love ♪ >> anthony: it's easily the most contentious piece of real estate in the world. and there's no hope -- none -- of ever talking about it without pissing somebody, if not everybody, off. maybe that's why it's taken me so long to come here. a place where even the names of ordinary things are ferociously disputed. where does falafel come from? who makes the best hummus? is it a fence or a wall?