Honesty & Heroes

In a place where thieves infest society like a plague from top to bottom an honest person is lauded as a hero. We hear of this feel good stories landing in the news from time to time where even high ranking officials scrambling to get in the act praising the do-gooder hopefully not to grandstand but share in the glory of the almost extinct species.

Primitivo Salo, a driver for Manalili taxi found a wallet containing P3,000 in cash and more than P28,000 worth in dollar bills went to radio station dzBB with his wife Josephine to find the owner.

Seaman Earl Jose Fredeluces got his money back at the station because the Salo’s are honest people knowing it was not theirs to keep was intent from the very start to return the money and so they did.

Meanwhile in Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Iluminado Boc a motorcycle driver who needed money for his sick wife and his rents overdue found $17,000 left behind by a passenger returned the same.

Just like the Salo’s Iluminado Boc says it was not his even though he took his wife to the hospital on that same day went to the police precinct immediately and without hesitation return the money to the owner.

In Singapore OFW Marites Perez-Galam 33, a mother of four, found a wallet in a public toilet near the restaurant where she work as the head waitress found a wallet containing 16,000 Singaporean dollars ($11,000).

Maritess Perez-Galam immediately handed the wallet to the restaurant manager of Imperial Herbal restaurant where she worked located in Vivo City Mall. The manager in turn reported the lost money to the mall’s management.

It took the Indonesian woman less than two hours to claim her lost wallet intended for her son’s ear surgery that she and her husband saved for the medical treatment.

Maritess Perez-Galam refused the reward offered by the gratefull owner and said it was the right thing to do and does not expect anything in return for a good deed.

In Malacanang Ed Panlilio the priest turned governor elect of Pampanga found himself with a wad of cash, P500,000 handed to him on his way to his vehicle. Just like the Salos’, Boc’s and Galam’s wanted to find out what was the cash for and deposited the cash in the provincial treasury for safekeeping. Instead of being praised for his honesty and diligence in asking where the money came from and for what purpose he was lambasted by the ATM Journalist together with Pampanga Jueteng League oh, my mistake I meant Pampanga Mayors League headed by presidential godson Dennis Pineda allege anak ng jueteng (son of illegal numbers game jueteng) Bong Pineda wife of former Buko (coconut) vendor turned millionaire (don’t ask where the moolah came from or you will violate his “privacy” and slap you with libel) “king maker.” Now why may I ask are these morons denigrating and questioning of all people a priest on his motivation and honesty?

How come when you see an ordinary Pedro, Juan & Maria do the same honest deed they get all the praises and hailed as a hero? So why do the Pampanga politicians connived like a mafisosi mob family in sabotaging an honest man doing an honest job? Why even the President’s son Mikey (vice-governor during the quarry plunder era) was rumored to have bragged about releasing P10Million to discredit Among Ed instead of being given an award with all the pomp and gory errr glory plus of course the usual “kodakan” (photo) opportunities for that extra “PR mileage”? Is it because honesty is bad for their bottom line of recouping their recent sky is the limit electoral expenditures?

Boy Montelibano has an article titled ‘Among Ed’, about honesty and heroism, to quote:

When Father Ed began his term as governor, he immediately exposed what smells like a scam and looks like a classic case of plunder. By simply doing his job and protecting the interests of his constituents, Father Ed saw to it that the province would collect quarry fees correctly and then submit the same in full to the provincial treasury. Collecting quarry fees is not a heroic act; it is a simple duty of officials who are elected to perform normal duties in accordance with their position. What is heroic and patriotic is to resist pocketing quarry fees and enriching oneself by depriving the constituents of one's province of their just benefits.

An honest act in a dishonest environment reverberates like a strong wind to push away foul smell, like a flood that cleanses an “estero” [creek]. Father Ed, in becoming Governor Ed, simply continued to live out his set of values, social, cultural and religious. He did not have to stop being honest and sincere and dedicated in the shift from active priesthood to active provincial governance. He is showing that an honest and sincere and dedicated Filipino citizen can remain so even in public service, proving that a man can stay clean even if others are not. Father Ed the governor serves as an example to other Filipinos who may be interested in public service but afraid of surrendering to corruption.

Now how pathetic is that……… and truly with Among Ed’s success in Pampanga and the transformation that comes with it in the form of moral renewal will surely reverberate and shake the very foundation of the traditional politicians stranglehold of the nations social, political and economic power. For once, actually an opportunity of a lifetime is in our midst and should we shrug our shoulders in apathy is like throwing Among Ed and his flock of honest crusaders for good governance in a feeding frenzy of hungry crocodile infested murky swamp. Let us end this with a quote from Boy Montelibano’s article:

Ordinary acts become heroic when these acts are honest, sincere and dutiful in a public context of corruption. Among Ed is delivering a message to ordinary Filipinos: Be heroes by simply being good people.

Incidentally the Certified Honest Blogger came from Hye.... as I was writing this a certain "Ruffy Balboa" using an email address of storiesmaniladailieshatetoreport@yahoo.com, uh huh..... I am so "impressed" with the garbage errr "news" purportedly to show the "other side" of Among Ed Panlilio. Hmmmmnnnn, I wonder if the P10 million rumored to have been released by Mikey the son of lady cheating errr seating by the murky river has anything to do with those trashy articles. I will come out with another article regarding those trash as this is getting to be a long article...... until next time.

Subscribe in a reader

Click on the images to receive your free email updates

Philippine Politics