Traditions

One tradition which is perhaps shared the world over, is that of beginning the New Year with resolutions. We make promises to ourselves and our families to do better; to lose weight perhaps, to relax more often, to be more circumspect in our spending, to be more prudent in our saving…

In our part of the world however, “tradition” has been hogging the news this early in the year; and not in the usual context of making resolutions. Perhaps it is high time we resolve to examine our traditions; for indeed, while tradition – like culture – is a relatively positive and constructive term, it can also have a darker side.

For decades, our ancestors had passed on to us many traditions. Filipinos who still practice these traditions today do so because they either believe in it or, believe that there is nothing to lose with practicing it anyway. Others adhere to it for fear of bad consequences while some are hoping for good ones. Depending on its effect, practicing these traditions may be good, bad, or neither (just harmless).

Many traditions survive because most people do not see any harm in practicing them; no skin off one’s back, so to speak. To this day, Filipinos celebrate New Year by wearing clothes with polka dots and displaying round fruits on their dining tables to attract prosperity, as circular objects are often associated with wealth (perhaps evoking the image of coins and money).

Traditions (bordering on superstition) also abound in connection with weddings and funeral wakes. A bride is equipped with “something old, something new, something borrowed, and something blue.” She is also admonished not to try on her gown before the wedding day as doing so might mean the marriage ceremony won’t push through. The groom in turn must not see the bride in her gown before the ceremony.

Siblings are advised not to marry in the same year for fear of bad luck. This is what is known in the vernacular as “sukob”. At a funeral, the bereaved family members are not supposed to bring visitors who came to condole with them to the door lest they follow the dearly departed.

A lot of these beliefs are probably more aptly called superstition than tradition. The line between the two is not always well-defined.

The word “tradition” is derived from the Latin word “traditio” which literally means “to transmit, to hand over, or to give for safekeeping.” Webster defines tradition as a “cultural continuity in social attitudes, customs, and institutions.” This is great when the tradition being passed on to our posterity is of a positive value-affirming kind or even when no redeeming value may be discerned but the act is, on the whole, innocuous. However, when it is a problematic practice that has been sanitized by being described as “customary” or “normal,” then we may need to reexamine said “tradition” or how said tradition is applied.

Welcoming the New Year with noise, originally to ward off or scare away evil spirits, is a long-held tradition. But the firing of guns and the use of harmful firecrackers to create such noise – practices that have caused many an innocent bystander life and limb – these should not be countenanced.

Showing one’s colleagues and/or associates appreciation at special occasions like Christmas or at milestone events like their retirement – this is a good thing; a tradition worth keeping. But how should such appreciation and approval be shown?

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Honoring tradition?: In the spotlight this week was the decision of the Senate President to distribute additional MOOE (miscellaneous operating and other expenses) to its members as a result of savings generated during the year. I do not wish to dwell on the issue of uneven distribution nor the supposed “unclean” hands of those who spilled the beans. These are interesting topics in themselves. Neither do I wish to focus on the legality of the action, as this would require an extensive presentation of arguments for both sides. What I would like to point out, however, is that the “unexplainable” act of giving out of cash gifts through additional MOOE was simply justified as “honoring tradition.”

A few years ago, I recall the Senate conducting investigations on practices of the Armed Forces of the Philippines whereby plantilla positions would not be filled up and the savings generated would end up being used to provide “pasalubongs” or “pabaons” for incoming and retiring officers. This practice was then being defended as a long-standing tradition in the military. The Senate also uncovered a similar practice in our Judiciary where savings generated were used as Christmas and additional bonuses to Court employees. It was also argued by the latter that this had been the practice for a long time. The Senate rightly complained and demanded greater transparency in the use of the Judiciary Development Fund. What bothers me is that if these “traditions” were wrong for those agencies, what would make them right for the Senate? The Senate conducted the inquiries in aid of legislation. And now that the shoe is on the other foot, who will investigate the investigator??

Moreover, if I understood the Commission on Audit’s earlier statements correctly, the Senate is the only institution able to liquidate MOOE without actual receipts and through mere certification. That makes it more worrisome.

Perhaps this is one of the bad traditions that the Senate should resolve to do away with in 2013.

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Greetings: This is a beautiful day for my beautiful paternal aunt, Dona Josefina Bautista Geraldez, who celebrates her birth anniversary in the company of her large and loving family. She is beautiful inside and out; the latter, thanks to good genes and the tender loving care of her dermatologist daughter, Dr. Corazon Logarta. Tita Nene, as she is fondly called, continues to be the life of Bautista family reunions where she displays her incisive wit and down-to-earth humor.

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“Tradition simply means that we need to end what began well and continue what is worth continuing.” – Jose Bergamin

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