BE A HERO

 

“And then a hero comes along

With the strength to carry on

And you cast your fears aside

And you know you can survive

So when you feel like hope is gone

Look inside you and be strong

And you’ll finally see the truth

That a hero lies in you.”

(Lyrics from the song “Hero” by Mariah Carey)

Who is a hero?

TAPAT GARBAGE COLLECTOR

He picked up a bag with P300,000 cash. Working as a garbage collector, coming from a poor family in Bulacan, the 12-year-old Gustin thought of returning the money to its rightful owner.

“Nung nakita ko yung bag, gusto ko po agad isauli iyon sa may-ari…hindi po kasi akin yon eh,” Gustin said in Rappler’s Celebrating ‘Katapatan’ – Integrity over Money article. ”Sabi po nila, huwag na isauli para po may pangtulong sa pag-aaral ko po…sabi ko po huwag na lang, isauli na lang.

(When I saw the bag, I wanted to return it to the rightful owner because it’s not mine. My friends told me to not return the money so I can use it for my education. I put my foot down and said I wanted to return it.)

Gustin learned to be “tapat” from his teachers.

“Nung malaman po nila yung ginawa ko, natuwa po sila…tinawag po nila akong batang tapat,” Gustin said.

(When my teachers learned what I did, they were very happy…they called me an honest kid.)

Gustin dreamed of becoming a soldier. When asked why: “Para po matulungan yung mga tao.” Gustin received a college scholarship and monetary rewards from different groups honoring his integrity, Rappler reported.

“Huwag…magnakaw. Huwag pong kunin ang hindi sa kanila,” Gustin advised.

(Don’t steal. Don’t get anything that’s not theirs.)

Reminds me of Robert Fulghum’s “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten” with this rule in his list: “Don’t take things that aren’t yours.” The young adult Gustin today could be a notable VP Leni’s endorser.

FINEST TAXI DRIVER

Reggie Cabututan, a thirty-year-old taxi driver, dropped off Trent Shields an Australian businessman who was in a hurry to get to Calle Uno building in Baguio, ABS-CBN News reported. Shields realized he had left his bag in the cab with valuables worth about $20,000 and the only thing he could recall about his ride: a white car.

Just as Shields were about to leave to file a report at the police station, all at once, a white taxi pulled in.

“All I did was go back and return [Shields’] belongings when I realized he had left them in the back seat of the taxi cab,” said Cabututan.

For his honesty, Reggie Cabututan was awarded a scholarship by Vivixx Academy and Coder Factory Academy of Australia worth around $4,400 which could lead to an internship and subsequently a five-figures-in-dollars job.

“Mr. Reggie Cabututan, driver of Dustin Brant Taxi, you are the finest of your tribe. I have never felt more proud to be Filipino than today,” Ace Estrada II, president of Vivixx Academy BPO training company wrote on Facebook.

DISCERNING JANITOR

Ronald Gadayan, a 39-year-old janitor at Naia, is known to return lost items like P2.4 million cash, iPad, iPhones, Apple Mac laptop, and jewelry, among others. For his honesty, he was rewarded and cited many times. Dropping by his home in Bulacan, Inquirer got an earful of his profound words to live by.

“If you are honest to God, everything will follow through. You may not be rewarded, but God sees you. And it shall bear fruit at the proper time.”

“It’s enough people outside the country know there are still good people and they are Filipinos.”

“Kindness never stops; it sprouts. The good deed I made happened some years ago, but people are still touched by it. Perhaps they all wanted a hero. An honest one.”

“Never get anything that is not yours. I hope our next President knows and does that, too.”

Those words were spoken eight years ago before the 2016 presidential election. Ronald Ganayan could never have thought then his ominous words are now what the nation is hoping against hope in electing our new president.

BE A HERO, WITHDRAW.

Jessica Soho (JS): Sa report ng Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, nagbayad kayo ng tax na P9.7 million para sa income na P50.5 million. Clarification lang po. Yon po bang P50.5 million na yon is the same P50 million na na-save po ninyo from your campaign contributions?

Isko Moreno (IM): Yes, because I had to pay taxes, kapag may natira sa kampanya dahil yon namay pooled account, pooled money, ibat-ibang tao, you have to declare, tapos kapag yon ay nasa iyo na, ay kailangan mo magbayad ng buwis, which is yon ang ginawa ko.

JS: Pero tama po ba na nasa income nyo po yon?

IM: Yon ang sinasabi ng BIR, kailangan mo kasi, hawak-hawak mo ang pera. Limited ang gastusin mo sa kampanya. Sumobra ang donation mo. So tangan-tangan mo yong pera. Kailangan ka magbayad ng buwis. At yon ay lumalabas na income mo.

JS: Nasaan na po yong pera?

IM: Nasa akin.

JS: Income. Part of your income. Wala ho bang violation doon?

IM: As long na nagbabayad ka ng buwis.

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez said that there is no rule mandating the candidate to return the excess funds to the donor or use it for charitable purposes. He clarified:

“The only rule that there is can be found in revenue regulations issued by the BIR (Bureau of Internal Revenue) which state very clearly that unspent campaign funds shall be treated as income and shall be subject to the payment of the appropriate income tax.”

In the U.S. (where the Philippine Constitution was based), the Federal Election Commission has strict rules about what federal candidates can and can’t do with leftover campaign money. The biggest directive is that they can’t pocket it for personal use. The rules were based on a study that showed a third of Congress personally kept and spent millions in campaign donations. Congress was embarrassed and consequently passed a law against this custom.

“Leftover campaign funds are not necessarily a good thing…That’s great for a house [construction], but a bad sign in a campaign. Individuals donated those funds with the expressed purpose of upping a candidate’s chances of election…Every dollar you have leftover is money you did not spend on campaign…” (Deborah D’Souza, writer and editor)

Isko Moreno has kept the P50 million excess campaign contributions as his income, which by definition, is “money he received for work,” and therefore, he can spend personally.

Embarrassed, U.S. Congress passed the law on leftover campaign money. Doesn’t Isko Moreno get similarly embarrassed? Why doesn’t he donate (no rule mandating against this act) the P50 million to various charitable organizations that will benefit the poor Filipinos?

To Isko Moreno: Be a hero. Withdraw that P50 million from the bank and give it to the poor.

So when you feel like hope is gone

Look inside you and be strong

And you’ll finally see the truth

That a hero lies in you.