WHEN IT RAINS IT POURS

 

Pinoy 1: Musta na?

Pinoy 2: Si bossing, ang daming binagsak na trabaho sa mesa ko.

Pinoy 3: Ako rin.

Pinoy 4: Pare, “when it rains, it pours.”

“When it rains, it pours” is a proverb that means “when something good or bad happens, similarly good or bad things tend to follow” as defined by the online Free Dictionary.

“Something good.” The rain is good. It brings joy and relief to our farmers for it falls on the soil where plants grow. It restores rivers, lakes, streams, reservoirs, and ponds where animals can drink. We even talk about “showers of blessings” and the Bible is teeming with verses about the goodness of rain.

“I will send down showers in the season; there will be showers of blessing.” (Ezekiel 34:26)

“Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God.” (Hebrews 6:7)

“Something bad.” Headline: “Heavy Rain Brings Floods to the Philippines; Market, Offices Shut.” The Bible, on the other hand, gives us fair warning about such heavy rain that would bring flood:

“But if anyone listens and does not act, he is like a man who built his house on the ground without a foundation. As soon as the flood burst against it, the house fell: and what a terrible waste that was!”(Matthew 7:26-27)

Listening to or reading the whole PBBM’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) is like standing up to heavy rains of works that keep pouring over your head. Well, it’s good enough. But, there’s the rub -- works without ethics.

WORKS WITHOUT ETHICS

What is work?

“Man is made to be in the visible universe an image and likeness of God Himself, and he is placed in it to subdue the earth. From the beginning therefore he is called to work.” (Pope John Paul II)

French philosopher Rene Descartes coined, “I think, therefore I am.” We may rephrase that popular dictum: “I work, therefore I am” since work characterizes our public persona. Usually, we ask, “What do you do?” when we are introduced to a new acquaintance.

I recall a colleague, a retired bank manager, invested a portion of his retirement pay in a large tract of productive farmland. One time, his kid, filling up a school questionnaire, asked him about his present work. He replied, “I am now a farmer.” Distressed, his kid burst into tears thinking their family was getting to be poor.

What is work ethics?

“It is a belief in work as a moral good: a set of values centered on the importance of doing work and reflected especially in a desire or determination to work hard,” according to Merriam-Webster’s definition.

Wikipedia reported that “according to GAN Integrity’s Philippine Corruption Report updated May 2020, the Philippines suffers from many incidents of corruption and crime in many aspects of civic life and various sectors […] judicial system, police service, public services, land administration, and natural resources [among others] […] which include graft, bribery, favoritism, nepotism, impunity, embezzlement, extortion, racketeering, fraud, tax evasion, lack of transparency, lack of sufficient enforcement of laws and government policies, and consistent lack of support for human rights.”

Interestingly, in a May 2022 study by Milieu Insight, a Singapore-based market research firm that surveyed employees in Southeast Asia on the importance of values at work, its findings came upon Honesty as highly valued by Filipino workers. The other two important work values that went along behind: Taking Responsibility and Quality Work.

An Asian Journal’s article on “The Best Traits of Filipinos That We Should Be Proud Of” vouched for such findings: “Filipinos over the years have proven time and again that they are a people with an industrious attitude […] this is also present in the country’s workforce, particularly the farmers. Even with little support, technological weaknesses, and the country’s seasonal typhoons, the Filipino farmers still strive to earn their daily meal.”

MORAL RECOVERY PROGRAM

A “disconnect” lies between the GAN Integrity’s Philippine Corruption Report and the findings of Milieu Insight’s study on Filipino work values.

Question: How do we “connect”?

Answer: Moral Recovery Program

The Moral Recovery Program (MRP) refers to the national campaign for moral renewal which includes the objectives, strategies, and cumulative experience generated in the course of implementing Presidential Proclamation No. 62.

The Senate Task Force, after a comprehensive study, has established the need to develop in the Filipino:

1. A sense of patriotism and national pride, or pagmamalaki sa bansa – a genuine love, appreciation, and commitment to the Philippines and things Filipino;

2. A sense of the common good or “kakayahang magmalasakit” – the ability to look beyond selfish interest, a sense of community living, a sense of justice, and a sense of outrage at its violation;

3. A sense of integrity and accountability, or “katapatan at pananagutan” – an aversion towards graft and corruption in society and an avoidance of the practice in one’s daily life;

4. The value and habits of discipline, hard work or “pagsisikap,” self-dignity and self-reliance; and

5. The value and habits of self-reflection and analysis or “pagpapahalaga at pagsusuri sa sarili,” the internalization of spiritual values, the emphasis on essence rather than on form.

This is an old wheel that needs no reinvention. Let’s just do it.

A 2019 research paper “Impact of the Moral Recovery Program (MRP) for Drug Surrenderees in Cavite” showed that out of 131 attendees of the 3-month MRP, 85% resolved to stop using drugs and 75% have a better relationship with God. The MRP was carried out by different religious organizations in cooperation with the Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB) of the Philippines, the Philippine National Police, Local Governments Units, Non-Governmental Agencies, and various business sectors.

Let’s give credit where credit’s due.

To former Senator Leticia Ramos-Shahani who sponsored the resolution directing the Senate Task Force in inquiring into the strengths and weaknesses of the Filipino Character to solve the social ills and strengthen the nation’s moral fiber, thereby laying the groundwork for the national campaign for Moral Recovery.

To former President Fidel V. Ramos who signed Proclamation No. 62 declaring a moral recovery and enjoining active participation of all sectors in the Filipino society.

The absence of FVR in the SONA was an insightful symbol for what was wanting in the message – Moral Values.

PBBM: “The state of the nation is sound.”

Let Jose Rizal’s words face it off and wind up this article:

“The people do not complain because they have no voice; do not move because they are lethargic, and you say that they do not suffer because you have not seen their hearts bleed.”

Head still photo courtesy of Aleksandar Pasaric @ pexelsdotcom