BUT PERHAPS the women cannot fault the men for looking for something to occupy themselves with. Small-time gambling may in fact be among the more benign pastimes. According to Pingol, the wives' prolonged absences have forced many of the men to confront their sexual needs in various ways. In Marcelino's neighborhood, a corner store with a billiards table has become the favorite hangout of husbands with wives abroad. For the more adventurous, yet another diversion is venturing elsewhere for paid sex.

	NOT QUITE GOING TO SEED. Danilo Guce, a retired port worker, tends a backyard garden to supplement the income his wife makes as a maid in Italy.

"You can't discount that especially among the lonely," says Leandro. "It happens from time to time, especially when one is out with male friends. It would be a lie to say it doesn't."

At other times, jokes provide a veiled expression of the extreme loneliness that they feel for their wives — just like the kapitan's banter that his wife should be more worried that he could fall for another instead of him getting concerned that she would find someone else.

In Cavite, fulltime househusband Macoy also admits to occasionally drinking at home, either alone or with friends. At one point, he even agreed to become a board member of the village association just so he could better endure the long separation from his wife. But that meant some of his time was being diverted away from the house, which Florence took issue with, as she saw it as less time devoted to the children. Macoy doesn't deny that, but since a new set of officers has been elected, he is no longer part of the board and is back full throttle at home — and missing Florence.

"I think of her every day, she is never out of my mind," he confesses. "Sometimes the children see me staring into space, and it's because I'm thinking of her. I'd ask them, 'I wonder if your mommy has already eaten?' I keep wondering if she's still at work, if she has gone home, if she is safe."

There's no doubt Florence also wants to be home with her family. She was here recently for a month-long vacation, and could barely tear herself away from them when it was time for her to leave. She says her dream had always been to be a fulltime housewife: adding, "I've been abroad for so many years, I just want to wake up in the morning and go to the market, cook for my family, and serve them." For the moment, though, it is Macoy who is doing that, and without her by his side.

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