The Power of One

Fr. Roberto P. Reyes
October 15 2007


A country where dishonesty seems endemic and even normative, the eruption of its opposite is almost anomalous. Are honest people in the Philippines either oddities or a species on the verge of extinction? Is this how morally bankrupt our country and her people are? The answer is not that obvious precisely because of the nature of honesty. Many honest people are quiet and normally do not flaunt their virtue. There are thousands, I believe even millions of honest Filipinos both in and out of their homeland. There are thousands of honest overseas Filipino workers here in Hong Kong. How else could our Pinays be hired as Domestic Helpers if honesty were not their most desired trait? Yet no one talks nor writes about the honesty of the Pinays and Pinoys in Hong Kong. And that is part of the problem. Honesty is such a private trait that it passes unnoticed and most if not all Filipinos would take it for granted that honesty is better kept a private matter if it were to be a virtue.

It then seems that honesty is implicitly paired with humility. The honest person is also humble. Thus honest persons are expectedly quiet persons. Agreed! How else can the whole country survive if everyone everywhere is a crook. The noisy ones in the Philippines are more likely the crooks while those who quietly do their jobs without fuss and fanfare are the honest and dutiful ones. Look at the NBN-ZTE scandal. Look at the noise coming from both sides of the coin. Aren’t we inclined to ask a different question than who is telling the truth? Aren’t we inclined to ask, is either noise or silence directly proportional to the benefits or profits that one gets through the acquisition or non-acquisition of a deal whether legitimate or not? Silence and noise seem to alternate between known personages from son Joey to father Speaker Jose, from NEDA Director Neri to President Arroyo, from resigned Comelec Chair Abalos to his Malacañang Boss, from Senator Joker to Senator Defensor?

Meanwhile amid the noise, isn’t it reasonable to conclude that the nation remains afloat in spite of the crooks and because and only because of the quiet and honest Filipinos? If there is collusion whether noisy or quiet, among the crooks there too is the communion of virtue among the good. Thank God for all the good Filipinas and Filipinos who collectively continue to do their work quietly and honestly.

But we now need a different kind of honesty, more explicit and public. We need to review and renew the meaning of humility which is not equated with quietism and pacifism. We need some of those who belong to the communion of the virtuous to emerge and proclaim virtue publicly in their lives. While private virtue is noble and saintly, there is a place for public virtue, the good not merely displayed but proclaimed and offered as an example, a model to follow and live. Virtue is ultimately useless if kept under the bed or the bushel basket. Virtue need not be a blinding and glaring spotlight. It can shine just as effectively even as a lone candle burning in a dark forest.

A few days ago, Among Ed or Among Gob of Pampanga revealed that he had received P 500, 000 from Malacañang. He also announced that the money will be distributed to the Barangays after the forthcoming barangay elections. Because of this Among Ed has earned a new title, “Honest Ed.” Well and good. But I am sure earning another title is the farthest thing in Among Ed’s mind. He wishes to lead his people by example. This is what he proclaimed at the beginning, “ours will be a leadership by example.”

But there is something vital and crucial here. Among Ed has and continually breaks the silence of the virtuous and invites all to exercise virtue publicly, to bring faith and morality into public life. Among Ed seems to be the only one for now but what power flows from one. I am sure from one, soon, very soon many will follow.