Tag: honor

People like Alan Purisima exist because Filipinos allow them to

June 10, 2015June 10, 2015 benign0 12 Comments

There is no justice in the Philippines. If it weren’t enough that the massacre of 44 police officers of the police’s elite Special Action Force was such an unnecessary tragedy, the reappointment of disgraced police chief Alan Purisima to his position as Philippine National Police (PNP) Director adds insult to national injury. Purisima figured significantly…

Crime, Culture, Government, Society

Defining Honor in the Philippines

January 18, 2015 Grimwald 33 Comments

So, just what is honor? That’s right, honor. Honor is one of the more common words I hear being thrown around in this little country of ours but I often wonder if its people has any real understanding of what it means. I hear “palabra de onor” (word of honor) being said but I somehow…

Civics, Lifestyle, Society

In order for Filipinos to change, they need to feel disgust for their shameful ways

July 10, 2014 benign0 23 Comments

I have often asserted that Filipinos are a people who are primarily driven by hiya (shame). Unmoved by any calls to higher purpose or noble pursuit, Filipinos continue to do the same thing over and over again while expecting different results. As such I remain convinced that any political solution pitched as a “cure” to…

Civics, Culture, Lifestyle, Society

You can’t apply dishonorable Filipino civilian standards to military institutions

March 18, 2014November 13, 2014 FallenAngel 39 Comments

Standards of honor in Filipino civilian society are quite simply, bulok. The only opinion I have had – and will ever have – of Mr. Aldrin Cudia’s case with the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) is this: the only thing known for sure is that the Honor Committee found him guilty of violating the Honor Code….

Crime, Culture, Lifestyle

Why cadet Cudia’s case has played out on social media like an EDSA revolution

March 17, 2014March 18, 2014 FallenAngel 48 Comments

I don’t pretend to know much about the nitty-gritty of military life. In fact, the closest I ever came to experiencing it involved being an officer in the Citizen’s Army Training (CAT) program in high school, and being a normal cadet in the Reserved Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program in college. If anyone cares to…

Civics, Crime, Culture, Media, Society

Upholding honor: Filipino civilian and military societies need to work hand in hand

March 16, 2014March 17, 2014 FallenAngel 2 Comments

The definition of “honor” that Filipinos are more familiar with – and therefore live out more – is, in the vernacular, dangal. Dignity. They will use whatever means necessary, even illegal, to protect their dignity from hiya (shame, losing face). The other, just as important way to define honor – katapatan, propriety – is hardly…

Civics, Culture, Lifestyle, Society

Honor is not a strong part of Filipino tradition

March 14, 2014January 15, 2022 benign0 42 Comments

You don’t need to look far. The current political tele-dramas that have rivetted Filipinos lately point to it. Thievery on such an unprecedented vast scale perpetrated by the elected officials of a society are proof in itself. Many of them were not elected once but twice — and their offspring and kin elected despite all…

Civics, Culture, Development, Government, Society

Filipinos need to develop a sense of shame or guilt

October 17, 2013February 14, 2014 Ilda 113 Comments

Japanese prime ministers resign every now and then, some of them for as little as the shame of breaking an election promise. One I remember from a couple years back won in a landslide victory but was forced to resign because of mounting criticism for his flip-flopping on the issues he promised to solve during…

Civics, Crime, Culture, Politics, Religion, Society