Also sometimes used as "kababayan" it literally means
"my fellow countryman".
It has become a common greeting between filipinos who happen to meet while working or living abroad.
One pinoy looking guy sees another pinoy looking guy while strolling through the local mall.
Kabayan?
Kabayan!
The filipinos love their country and its culture, they do even if they leave it for another one, sometimes for an entire lifetime. And this is evident through their willingness to connect with their fellow migrant workers who best understand how they feel.
On the other hand this open trust on fellow filipinos is also how some of the illegal aliens get caught by the INS, their own kababayans who befriend them turn them in for the $1500 reward.