“Nothing changed.”

These were the words of Mike “Noy” Pillora Jr., the founding member of the folk rock band Asin, when asked about the continued relevance of their hit songs that raised social awareness among many Filipinos.

In a virtual interview about a documentary film on his life in Israel, Pillora said the Philippines is fighting the same problems it was facing several decades ago.

“The whole situation did not change. That's why even until now, the songs of Asin are still relevant because it is still happening. It even got worse,” Pillora said.

He said Asin evolved from an ordinary singing group when he founded it alongside Cesar Bañares Jr. and Lolita Carbon into a folk band that dug into the past.

“For a time, we were just an ordinary singing group. This is how we started. We went on to another level where we were able to break through, we were making our own songs,” Pillora revealed.

“The sentiments we have are going out through our songs. It's already an original song,” he added.

Asin rose to fame with their songs “Usok,” “Himig ng Pag-Ibig,” Masdan Mo Ang Kapaligiran,” “Balita,” and “Pagbabalik.”

According to him, the group found their niche as a band when they did research and went to local tribes to dig into their culture and applied it to their music, which was sometimes misconstrued as subversion or an attack to the government.

“They were saying that Asin is a radical group but for me, Asin is a moral group,” he said.

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Pillora, who has been living in Israel with his Israeli wife and daughter, also offered some advice to the Filipino youth, following the start of election season in the Philippines.

“You need a very strong logic and common sense. You have to stand on these two,” he shared.

Pillora also admitted that comprehension is not “so strong for the Filipinos,” stressing the importance of strengthening the education system in the country.

“You have to have a certain guideline to choose leaders. He must be a good person, morally. A leader and not a ruler. We need leaders, not rulers. Rulers are the time of medieval,” he quipped.

“We need somebody who has a heart, mind. This is what we need as a country in order to move forward.”

• Israeli documentary ‘Kuya Noy’ features migrant life in the eyes of Asin’s Noy Pillora

After 5 years, the documentary about the migrant life in Israel of Pillora billed as “Kuya Noy” was finally released in time for the 16th Israeli Film Festival.

The story follows Pillora’s life in the slums of Tel-Aviv, where he has a daughter who is about to begin her military service. The singer migrated there when he married his Israeli wife.