It’s such a pity that the old traditional Filipino values have inexorably been overtaken by more radical and twisted trends of neo-culture.
The accepted norms of propriety in finely cultured and civilized social engineering have met some unexpected crossroads and forks. And thus, growing abandonment of time-honored values, giving way to the vagaries of change and the ballyhooed progress and skewed modernity.
What used to be imperturbable and immutable institutions, like, the church, the court, the school, and the institution of government itself, have succumbed to the erosions of evil and bad influence. Priceless institutions are becoming passé, obsolescent, irrelevant, and inutile.
Firstly, in spiritual and moral virtues, the church or religion personifies the national integrity and rectitude. But the sexual abuses of seducing and raping the religious community worldwide of innocent minors by homo priests and other sexual perverts, or the material avarice of some men of the cloth, have put the religious institution into shame and degradation.
Secondly, as in most civilized nations, the judiciary represents an inviolable institution of justice, fairness, and righteousness. The court epitomizes the last citadel of earthly wisdom and inflexible humanism. But some incidents betray the flawed and ailing system now vulnerable to graft and corruption, or such indignity as ignorance of the law, or of mediocres sitting on the bench, or of courts dispensing injustice, or inhibiting from cases cowering in fear. Theoretically, the court as an institution used to be infallible, but which is now getting debatable.
Thirdly, due to its lofty functions, the school is the premier institution steeped in idealism and learning. Since time immemorial, the educational system has been associated with such virtues as honesty, sagacity, and probity. If there was anybody that the legendary Diogenes could find in his search of an honest man, it could have been in the school or academe.
Alas, with the culture of corruption wrought by changing lifestyle and nihilism, the teaching-learning institution is now tarnished. No need of repeating the mega scams in school programs and projects …Even DepEd’s noodles feeding program for the underfed pupils had been sucked. Instead of a reasonable price of P9.00 per packet, it was jacked up to P20.00 each, or an overprice of P11.00 per packet. “Hasta ang daginoton nga timo-timo sa mga bata, gidaginot pa gyud! Kasalbahis ug katig-ag kasing-kasing!"
Lately, in the local turf, there are still the P17M deal of subpar quality of pupils’ chairs/desks and teachers’ tables, and the “questionable promotion of two principals” being investigated… Is there no end to DepEd scams that smear the greater bulk of the teaching-learning institution?
Another institution whose honor is now compromised is the military, despite its supposedly strict adherence to “military discipline”. Remember what caused the military coup attempts at Oakwood and the Manila Peninsula? It was the milking shenanigans over military logistics. There were also the money bilking by military finance generals, like, Gen. Carlos Garcia who fleeced the AFP funds and salted into dollars, or the so-called “Euro” generals on a Russian binge, or the 2007 “Balikatan” fund mess which Navy Lt. Sr. Grade Nancy Gadian had whistleblown as having been pocketed by a now retired general as part of the P46 M budget.
All these and more, have undermined the stability and integrity of government institutions, and principally, the bigger institution of the Philippine government, no less. And mind you, LGUs may not be far behind. Perhaps, it may not be as blatant as asking “Pilay amo?”. Nonetheless, it could just be “bisag pilay amo” SOP, but with the same filth as betrayal of public trust, even if guised as “coffee fund”, and/or petty kitty for some future campaign sortie, left unsaid.