ANOTHER meeting, another official from the Aquino administration.
Well, not quite an official really, but more like an independent elder statesman who has been tasked to lend his expertise and experience to help the new administration straighten things out in the country.
This week, it was the turn of former chief justice Hilario Davide Jr., one of Cebu’s favorite sons, to face the general assembly of the Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (Finex). Speaking on the topic “Moving Forward: Doing The Right Things,” he purposely avoided controversy by skirting direct questions about the Truth Commission, but a lot of what he said in relation to the topic at hand did speak volumes about the commission, why it was created, and why he is there to oversee it.
The former chief justice started off by defining “right,” and what it meant to be doing the right things in all aspects of our lives. Not relatively right, not right enough, but absolutely right. And he stressed that the latter is what we all have to strive for, whether we are in the private sector, and especially for those in the public service.
I believe he hit the nail head on.
The problem with many Filipinos is that we have acquired what I would call a very high tolerance for wrongdoing. We have become so used to seeing the wrong things being done all around us, that we are now inured to them. In fact many of us have ourselves resorted to doing some wrong things from time to time, rationalizing that after all, everybody is doing them anyway.
When asked why he thought it was still important to investigate the alleged wrongdoings of the past administration, instead of just putting things behind us and moving on, the chief justice replied that the Truth Commission sends a loud and clear message to present and future public servants that public service is a sacred trust that must not be abused, and those who dare and break this covenant will surely face the consequences.
I say amen to all that.
For too long, we have suffered in silence, as those in power pillaged and plundered our public coffers, to feather their own nests. Public officials have flaunted their wealth in front of their hungry constituents, relishing their disgust, and enjoying the fact that everyone else resents what they are doing, but can do nothing about it. Well now, the time has come for reckoning. And I say bring it on.
It is time that we see change, and change for the better.
And it is the little things that count. No more “wang-wangs” for those self-important public servants who are always late for their meetings anyway. No more eyesores on public structures, declaring to all and sundry that it was built by some congressman, through no money of his own. No more overpaid executive of a government-owned and controlled corporation, whose competence is questionable, at best.
That’s why I believe President Noynoy is a psychic of sorts.
The actions he has taken over his first few days as public servant-in-chief are precisely calculated to assure the nation that he is listening to their woes, and attentive to their wishes.
Good on you sir, and here’s wishing you more power to read our thoughts as much as you want.
(asbb-foreignexchange. blogspot.com & twitter.com/asbbatuhan)