Lawmakers condemned as “pure evil” the cold-blooded killing of a mother and son by a policeman in front of his own child. This happened in December 2020. Hopefully, the police officer is not getting away with murder through our vaunted padrino system.
A month later, a road-clearing task force in Paranaque mauled a poor vendor. The mayor apologized for his task force, but again, it is hoped no padrino came forward to spare the maulers from the punishment they richly deserved.
These incidents can be explained by what I think is the most insidious cultural legacy of our Spanish colonizers, the Filipino’s obsession with power, or with its symbol or with vicarious power through a padrino. This has been drilled into the Filipino psyche even more deeply than the Christian values of honesty, truth and justice. Power is what the Filipino goes for to take control of his/her life.
We saw what our colonial masters could do with the power they had over us. They taught us Christianity but we saw them violate Christ’s teachings to deprive us of our land, our sovereignty, and our dignity. Colonial power not Christian teaching dictated what they could do to us. This is so embedded in our psyche that our obsession with power trumps Christian precepts of equality and justice to this day.
Our inner psyche got the message that what is important in life, what gives you control over your life, is power. Sometimes or often, it is not even power itself but a symbol, a sign that you have it. And among many of us acquiring power and/or its symbol is still an obsession.
Guns, uniforms, badges are symbols of power and we have lower ranked officials in the police, military, and even security guards use these symbols to lord it over others. Diplomas,
titles, appointments are also symbols of power and place the one with the diploma, title or appointment on top of others even if in fact, lacking integrity, he/she is otherwise inferior.
The ordinary Filipino’s obsession with power or its symbols manifests itself in small every day acts of injustice or unfairness to fellow less powerful Filipinos. But its manifestations among high-ranking individuals in society very often explain the neglect or even the contempt our officials have for the powerless Filipino’s problems.
We inherited a hierarchical society that is based on power. There are no signs that those on top are trying to change the set-up. The continued implied message in our schools and churches is, you don’t change the power set-up but simply help yourself, if you can, to some power.
Have you ever wondered why no government official is ever on time for an official event? That’s because making people wait is such a great show or exercise of power.