It’s never the boy she’s had a crush on all throughout high school, nor the pretty freshman who finally mustered up enough courage to come up and say hi.

A girl’s first Valentine is always her father.

Running on fumes, he still breaks into a wide grin the moment he hears little footsteps pattering up to meet him at the front door— with the single, innocent pink rose stem hidden behind his back. It was the best he could find after clocking out from work at a late hour. 

It’s one of the memories a daughter holds closest to her heart. 

But, as years go by and flowers wilt and die, she begins to wonder if those memories are all she has left. 

He’s still alive and well, yet their relationship feels anything but. And now, on every 14th of February, this girl silently yearns for the love she can no longer get from her father.

One in three Filipino youth grows up without the presence of their parents, according to the UP Population Institute. The lack of such crucial support forces children to take on the responsibility of providing for themselves and the rest of their family, leaving them with scars that will struggle to heal for the rest of their lives.

However, the story is different for every “broken” home. Perhaps it’s not always as angering a reason as your parents simply deciding that their priorities have changed. Sometimes, it’s because they were taken from you too soon, too unfairly. Sometimes, it’s because your parents realized that the family would be happier if they went their separate ways. And sometimes, it’s because they only want to give you, their precious child, the life you deserve, and the best way to do that is by working in another country.

Early this February, the Philippines Statistics Authority released data showing that an estimated 2.26 million Filipinos were unemployed in December 2025. In turn, the number of overseas Filipino workers rose to around 2.19 million that year.

But what is being done?

With how deeply Filipinos value family, you would think that the government would put more effort into protecting them. There are laws that alleviate the financial strain on single-parent households like the Republic Act No. 1186: Expanded Solo Parents Welfare Act and DSWD family welfare programs, but families that have been through hell and back deserve more.

They also deserve universal access to free, effective, counseling and livelihood programs from their local government units (LGUs), services that can truly support both the parents’ and children’s well-being.

A large portion of LGUs still operate without "child-friendly" programs, but the 1,091 local governments that were reported to be active with these services in 2025 are a start.

This won’t keep a child from getting hurt by their family, because a parent’s absence will definitely be a girl’s first heartbreak.  

But, it may be what tells her that the love she is looking for will find her again.