UnFilipino…

Friday, 04 November 2011 17:04

Written by Aaron Benedict De Leon

At the centerpiece of news and reports recently are family-related incidents, whether these were crimes committed against a family member by a fellow family member or tragic endings/deaths because of issues occurring within the family. No amount of fame or fortune could ever buy peace within one’s family, as evidenced by the outrage of the relatives of Charice Pempengco’s father towards the International Pop Sensation, after their much publicized conflict, and with the killing of Sen. Bong Revilla’s Brother, reportedly perpetrated by his very own brother.

Indeed, times have changed, and at this day and age, gone are the days when we can always claim that “blood is thicker than water.” Survival has indeed compromised value systems, and has pushed individuals to forsake others, even their own flesh and blood, for their own personal agenda and interest.

For some, they have made “water thicker than blood” not only a belief, but a matter of principle and resolve. So it shouldn’t come to any one’s surprise now that we’re hearing and seeing these things.

Families as a microcosm of widespread Institutional Breakdown

Philippine Society takes a lot of pride in preserving culture and values, yet its institutions do not mirror such state of mind and attitude. Much worse, the influence of families towards its members are now shaped by what media is feeding them, over and above the standards of right and wrong in a just society, shaped and molded by history and heritage.

And when I speak of “Blood is thicker than water”, I just don’t speak of blood relationships that exist within families. The blood I’m referring to speaks of our lineage, our history, our identity and the mark of our being Filipino.

It is UnFilipino to kill innocent people during times of war…

It is UnFilipino to dishonor one’s mother and father…

It is UnFilipino to take a family member’s life…

It is UnFilipino to take the law into this own hands, at all cost…

Killing is not an instrument of justice, but an instrument of divisiveness. And I’m not just talking about killing in literal terms. There are many forms and ways of killing one’s identity, one’s esteem, one’s purpose and mission to live. The seeds of vengeance and retribution have consumed not only our minds, but souls, which has led us to these unfortunate endings.

These developments do not only kill individuals, but they also kill our pride as Filipinos, our identity as good willed people, and our pride as a nation. Everytime we hear of families disintegrating, everytime we hear of family members murdering each other, everytime we hear deaths because of war and petty crimes, our kindred spirit as Filipinos is being massacred.

But even as our spirit and soul may be down and disillusioned over these spate of events, Filipinos are known to be resilient and they have a soul which is indomitable. All it needs is a resolve to restore its collective dignity, for one’s self and one’s country.

The restoration of our true Filipino identity rests upon our hands, even with those hands that have mercifully killed. Taking back life for life taken should not be made as a matter of national principle, but a mentality that should be outrightly rejected by Filipinos.

This is a society that believes in reform, and this is a society that gives second chances. This is also a society that believes in the rule and exercise of law, and a society that does not tolerate and abuse opportunity. The challenge for our leaders, and even us citizens, is to find the critical balance between discipline and relentless punishment, between encouragement of crime and certainty of corporal accountability.

This is also a country that believes that the family is the basic and most important unit in society. Let this statement be a living word, and not just a spoken dialogue that comes out of one’s ears.

There is time to restore the dignity of our institutions- of our families, of our communities and of our society…

Unless we don’t act on it…

Until we do something about it…

UnFilipino we shall become…

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