I knew what it meant when my mother broke out the big, cardboard box, and I dreaded it. The cardboard box meant hours of sorting through old toys, old clothes, canned goods and just about anything that could be sent to our family in the Philippines. I didn't mind giving away my old stuff but I hated the work; sometimes the box would be so full that I had to sit on it while my mom taped it shut.

"Ma, why do we have to do this," I once complained, shifting my weight so I wouldn't fall. I didn't understand why we couldn't send boxes around Christmas like most people.

My mother paused, with duct tape in hand, and she shook her head.

"We are fortunate to live in America. We have to send back."

I didn't know it at the time, but sending these boxes, called "balikbayan boxes," had a lot more cultural and diplomatic weight than just sending American candy to my cousins. 

Balikbayan boxes and remittances are part of a massive Filipino migration that started with early 20th century field workers in Hawaii, according to Rappler. Today, there are millions of Filipinos not only in the United States, where they are most concentrated, but also in 200 other countries such as Saudi Arabia and Canada. These permanent and temporary overseas Filipinos remitted more than $26 billion to families in the Philippines in 2013, according to an article written by Dr. Joaquin Jay Gonzalez III, professor of public administration at Golden Gate University. Just as a comparison, the GDP of Nepal was $19.29 billion that year.

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But after 68 years of independence, the Philippines is still trying to get its economic and diplomatic footing with the rest of the world. The solution to the Philippines' international relations issues may lie, in part, in overseas Filipinos.

There are several drivers of overseas Filipinos, one of them being family culture in the Philippines. The basic Filipino family unit, unlike in America, includes extended family members such as uncles, aunts and cousins. Once a person is able to work, he or she is expected to financially contribute toward supporting these members in addition to his or her own parents and siblings.

Working conditions in the Philippines, however, are poor; the country has one of the highest unemployment rates in Asia, which is currently at 6.7 percent, according to the National Statistics Office of the Philippines. The improved education system in the Philippines, Gonzalez says, produces many skilled workers. But the country's slowing-improving economy still cannot supply jobs for these workers. Because laws allow OFWs to send remittances to their families without taxes, workers have high incentive to move out of the Philippines. 

Though IT Project Manager Gino Adriano already had a job in Manila, he couldn't resist an offer to work in Barcelona, Spain. Adriano struggled with basic tasks such as opening a bank account and shopping for groceries because of language barriers, but he enjoys his life in Spain because of the better working conditions.

"Work-life balance is valued, employees are given more vacation days," Adriano said. "Not considering factors like cost of living, I probably earn at least twice than what I earned in the Philippines."

The billions in remittances, however, don't directly benefit the federal government of the Philippines. Instead, families in the Philippines will sometimes use the money to help their communities; Gonzalez believes that this is best because many government officials in the Philippines are corrupted. 

"Government sometimes acts as a middle person that prevents the money from getting to the people, or not getting the whole amount to them," Gonzalez said. "It is better for each worker to care for his or her family."

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What makes overseas Filipinos valuable is that they act as informal diplomats, Gonzalez explained. Filipinos tend to be very sociable, particularly with the people they work around; Filipinos represent their culture everywhere they go. Having so much representation in other countries, Gonzalez argues, allows for people in other countries to understand and be more appreciative of the Philippines. This, in turn, helps with diplomatic relations.

"Look at the amahs, the housekeepers taking care of children in other countries," Gonzalez said. "When those children grow up and remember who took care of them, do you think they are going to hate Filipinos?"

Yet racial stereotyping can have negative effects on other countries' perceptions of Filipinos. The number of Filipino nurses in America, for instance, does not always generate negative views against Filipinos. Yet in 2010, 69 Filipino nurses filed a lawsuit against a Central California hospital. The nurses claimed that hospital managers discriminated against them because of their struggles with speaking unaccented English, according to the L.A. Times, and the nurses won a nearly $1 million settlement in 2012. 

Even though Filipino amahs in Asian countries generate goodwill on an individual basis, Gonzalez acknowledges that many Asian countries are "hierarchical" and are vulnerable to racial stereotyping. In June, for instance, Aljazeera reported on viral pictures that showed a Hong Kong children's textbook that stereotyped Filipinos as domestic workers. About two weeks later, Inquirer.net reported that a Hong Kong insurance commercial came under social media fire because a Chinese male actor with orange makeup and a curly wig played a clumsy female Filipino maid.

These incidents may not reflect all opinions of Filipinos in other countries, but racial tensions may increase with time. Until the economy in the Philippines can meet the demand for jobs, Filipinos will continue to look for better opportunities outside the country—some may encounter basic transition issues like Adriano, and others may experience much more serious ones like the Filipino nurses in California. 

But many overseas Filipinos, like my mother, don't place representing their home country as their first priority. What matters most is supporting and keeping in touch with the family they left behind. And being far away from home is worth it to send back a heavy balikbayan box. 

Reach staff reporter Heidi Carreon here. Follow her on Twitter here.