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During
Sunday Mass at the Resurrection of Our Lord Parish in
Parañaque, Msgr. Mario Josefino Martinez delivered a
homily that spoke of a subject we hear too little about
anymore: Filipino core values.
Monsignor Martinez spoke first of the trend that the
Philippines is about 25 years behind the West in the
incidence of many common life-threatening diseases, such
as cancer and certain types of heart diseases. Many
epidemiology studies have found a link between diet and
the prevalence of these kinds of diseases in certain
societies, particularly those that have or have adopted
a “Western” diet as opposed to “Asian” eating habits.
The homily then drew the comparison to the idea of
Filipino core social values.
When
speaking about Filipino society, there usually arises
the idea that there are few authentic “Filipino” core
concepts because of the long and pervasive result of
Spanish and American colonization. Too many speak of the
infiltration of the most negative societal traits of
these foreign cultures.
However,
that ignores the fact that beneath the McDonald’s,
Mercedes-Benz and Shoyu Ramen influences from other
cultures, there was a “Filipino culture,” even if
fragmented and diverse, long before the Westerners or
Easterners set foot on this land.
The
Monsignor spoke of the diminishing importance of the
concept of delicadeza, leading perhaps to the
Philippines’ poor ranking in its level of perceived and
actual corruption.
However,
there is more to Filipino core values. The concept of
hiya is particularly unique in Filipino culture as
it combines and describes what in English might be
“guilt,” “conscience” and “remorse” but does not have a
suitable and complete English equivalent term.
With
hiya comes the feeling of personal failure, but also
of having let down the family, the nation and/or
society. This type of “shame” is not found so exactly in
other places, even those Asian nations where losing
one’s face still does not reach the level of the
Filipino hiya.
Monsignor Martinez spoke of working together, of the
unity as followers of Christ. I sat there thinking how
often political leaders speak of unity. But the unity
that these leaders talk about usually means a unity of
thought and agreement. And in its worst form, this unity
means there is little room for contrary viewpoints.
Yet,
here I was, sitting in a Mass at the same time with
literally millions of Filipinos listening to thousands
of priests in a dozen different languages and dialects
across 300,000 square kilometers. For all of its
apparent faults and human failings, the Church brought
people together, not in a unity of total agreement, but
in a unity of purpose.
Another
core value in this society that is 25 years behind the
rest of the world, because it still exists in the
Philippines, is the bayanihan spirit and
behavior.
And the
bayanihan spirit cannot exist without a unity of
purpose and a unity of action.
San
Miguel Corp. (SMC) made a remarkable announcement this
past week, that the company will have a joint venture
with the Kuok Group of Malaysia to invest up to $1
billion in Philippine agriculture. The partnership will
offer financial assistance, technical expertise and a
guarantee to buy all agricultural production on up to 1
million hectares of idle and underutilized
government-owned land. Perhaps because of the unusual
nature of this venture, the story was picked up around
the world.
The
logistics of this endeavor are formidable. It will
require a strong coordination between the government and
the SMC/Kuok partnership. Many national and local
government agencies will be necessary for their input
and cooperation. Various farm and other
agriculture-sector representatives will be needed.
Undoubtedly, this private-sector partnership will look
to other companies for their participation. Although San
Miguel has indicated that it is planning to break ground
on its first farm-cultivation project next month, the
enormity of this project will take time. Yet, if it
moves too slowly, its beneficial impact on the country
and the agricultural community will be limited.
This is
an opportunity to show both the world and the
Philippines that this nation and its people can work in
unity on a large scale.
The
various participants in this effort could derail the
project if they do not strive to accomplish a common
goal. This is a private sector-initiated venture. Yet, I
would hope that it be given the visibility and promotion
that a private/public-sector venture of this type
deserves. Neither the government nor the partnership can
do without the other.
The
President, in agreement with San Miguel and Kuok, should
establish a “task force” to make this come to
realization. This group should have a very public face
so that the public might know and see that the
government can work successfully in the open. Members
should publicly pledge to complete fiscal responsibility
of any public monies used and further guarantee that any
separate agendas, be they regional, economic or
organizational, will be laid aside for the furtherance
of the common good and unified goals.
Monsignor Martinez made another statement. When speaking
of following these core values, he said, “Do it not for
your children, but for yourselves.”
He is
right. We need some positive changes right now to make
the current times better.
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