‘Pinoys should develop positive traits’

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino opened up to students on Tuesday and told them about the positive traits that Filipinos should develop.

One student of The Learning Tree Child Growth Center in Quezon City said Filipinos were known to be jolly, but “what character trait would you want our country to develop more? In what way can we practice this at a young age?”

Aquino replied: “Our ability to say ‘thank you’ should really be nurtured again.”

Aquino said showing appreciation and gratefulness to something that was done to Filipinos, no matter how small, had been a good trait of the Filipino.

“For instance, you have a traffic policeman who inhales all of the pollution, who stands under the heat, whose presence ensures that the traffic flows correctly, how many times do you think in a year will somebody come up to him and say: ‘Sir, thank you for what you are doing’,” he said.

“How about your teachers? When was the last time you said: ‘Thank you, Ma’am for teaching us?” How about your parents who, besides your birthday and Christmas, give you a gift? When was the last time you said: ‘Thank you, Mom. Thank you, Dad’? Or even to your classmates who did you a good turn?”

Aquino said a lot of times, “especially for those of us in public service,” they were not expecting much thanks in return, but it would be good to be appreciated for what they had been doing.

“When people are getting into public service I tell them: ‘If you’re looking for a lot of thank you’s that doesn’t happen.’ A lot of times they’ll focus on the things that have yet to be done rather than the things that have already been done,” he said.

“So it really helps to feel that the work, the sacrifices that you’re doing is appreciated by somebody. So the next time we have an opportunity to say ‘thank you,’ perhaps we should nurture that trait that we used to have. And sometimes our society becomes a bit impersonal. Let’s bring back the humanity in it and (saying) ‘thank you’ goes a long way doing that.”

Before going to the Learning Tree, Aquino read to students at the Teodora Alonzo Elementary School, also in Quezon City, the Filipino short story “Halu-halo Espesyal” by Yvette Ferriol that was about the healing power of love and care.

It was about a child who had been sick but who became well after being taken cared of by her mother and grandmother, who served different kinds of food, including halu-halo.– Aurea Calica, Paolo Romero