Jackie Buntan ‘humbled’ by experience in first-ever trip to the Philippines

Filipino-American striker Jackie Buntan always knew that she would eventually have the opportunity to reconnect with her Filipino roots sooner. She finally got that opportunity through the help of ONE Championship.

The strawweight Muay Thai sensation recently traveled to the Philippines for the very first time to film a project with ONE Championship. She was happy to finally experience Filipino culture.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Buntan described how much it meant to her to travel to the Philippines and get to know the communities her parents lived in while growing up.

While her parents and older siblings grew up in the Philippines, Buntan never got to experience living in the country and her brief visit will always be a special moment for her.

Jackie Buntan said:

“Yeah, it was my first time there ever and I was able to go with my mom. So it made it even more special. I have three older sisters, they were all born and kind of raised there. I'm really like the first-gen American in my family who was born and raised in the US. So it was super special for me to be able to go back. And I don't know, I can't speak too much on it but I actually went for a ONE Championship project. So being able to go back to my roots through Muay Thai is just so special to me.”

She added that she saw firsthand how Filipinos display resiliency in the face of everyday adversity. Buntan admitted that she was humbled when she realized how much her parents had to sacrifice so that they could live a better life in the United States:

“I think it really humbled me and gave me a bigger sense of gratefulness to be born and raised here and for what my family sacrificed in order to give us a better life here. Like it really did open my eyes so much and it made me understand my family as a whole and why we are the way we are. It really was a big realization of a trip for me.”

Jackie Buntan also traveled to Benguet and met with Team Lakay and its founder Mark Sangiao for their project with ONE Championship.

Just like any wandering soul, the strawweight world title contender took the time to visit her relatives from both her parents’ sides. Buntan also got to indulge in the local cuisine that her parents once enjoyed.

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Jackie Buntan experiences how her parents grew up

Jackie Buntan lived her entire life in the United States, so experiencing the everyday triviality that her parents went through was a culture shock for her.

She said in the same interview that she visited the very same street in Navotas City where her father grew up. Buntan also went to the neighborhood where her mother and sisters used to live before leaving the country.

While it was an enjoyable moment for her to connect with her roots, she also saw how hard life was for her parents before immigrating to the United States:

“I actually got to visit my dad's neighborhood that he grew up in as a kid and where my sisters and mom used to live before they left. Like the exact neighborhood and street as well. And I hear so many stories about it growing up but I don't think anything does it justice when you're there in person… it's called Navotas, that's the city my dad's from and it wasn't until we got there where I was like in a complete culture shock.”

She added:

“I've traveled well enough, I've been to Thailand in terms of like Southeast Asia, but it doesn't compare to over there in the Philippines, you know. They have to, they have no other choice, they're forced to make do with what they have. And they're doing it with a big smile on their face even though their conditions aren't the best conditions in the world.”