Puno's moral movement

A group of conscience-driven Filipinos are working quietly on what they call a moral regeneration program. Spearheaded by no less than Chief Justice Reynato Puno, the movement aims at awakening the country to an awareness of the depth it has fallen into in its moral standing. "Our moral fiber is in tatters"… "we have become insensitive to immorality," Puno says.

Any observer to what is going on in the national scene can easily agree with Puno's observation. With scandal after scandal surfacing in the media regularly involving all branches in the government - yes, we mean all - the perception is that this country is going to the dogs.

This perception focuses particularly on the big guys in the government, especially those within arms length of the president. For some reasons, closeness to the highest official of the land has been seen as a shield against prosecution. And names can be cited to support this claim. Down the line, key bureaucrats are also making hay while the Pasig sun is shining.

That's for high-level anomalies. And what about the rank and file? It's follow the leader, of course. Knowing their bosses are less than straight encourages them to digress here and there in their functions. Tardiness is a common weakness. Absenteeism too along with going on sudden leave sans permission. They do influence peddling too for relatives and friends from whom they get paid later in terms of "pasalamat" goodies.

Among the middle-level groups such as field supervisors (in DepEd, for one) there are some deviants too. Do a surprise visit and chances are you won't find them in their offices nor in their supervisory schools. He is in the division office following some papers, I was told at one time. But when I checked later the fellow had not been there. One supervisor however, was always in his office but his weakness was a more serious one. Whenever a teacher got several paychecks (for delayed salaries usually), this guy would ask for one of these - "for a new curtain," he would say. The poor teacher could not say no, otherwise… So the new curtain must be bought and a check would be left behind. When, however, another windful of checks for other teachers comes around the same plea for a new curtain would be repeated and repeated. But the irony was no new curtain materialized.

Outside the government circles in the so-called private sector corrupt practices are also not uncommon. One can take the practice of pricing fossil fuel. Taking advantage of ERG's ineptitude, oil players rake in millions through delayed roll backs or piece meal reduction. They manipulate supply too like that of LPG lately thereby creating an artificial shortage for higher profit. Last year's rice shortage was too a man-made one. Despite the NFA, hoarders made millions when the price of this commodity shot up supposedly for lack of supply.

Malpractices, misdemeanor, immorality, however you call it, are everywhere. They are in the home, in school, in the church, in the entire community, in fact. This is extremely alarming because these institutions are supposed to be values transmitting ones. In the home one gets his concepts of right and wrong. Character building happens here and habits and attitudes get their early shapes. In the school one's personhood gets a further reshaping. Outlooks are broadened, beliefs are sharpened and what once was myopic now acquires a wider range. While these are happening the church keeps itself full gear in reinforcing wholesome ideas and behavior with religious dimension, thereby anchoring these on something eternal and enduring.

Working as such these institutions could have no other output but an exemplar of an individual fully charged with desirable socio-spiritual values. But alas, the inroads of modern influences have turn apart their synchrony. Each is in fact disintegrating into an inept mechanism for character formation, thus leaving the individual confused and without a solid grasp of the concept of right and wrong. He is thus vulnerable to negative influences and when temptation comes he collapses.

What is a corrupt bureaucrat? He is the fellow who grew up in a godless home, who went through a godless school system and therefore finds no use for faith and prayer. He might have had regular parents who taught him rudiments of propriety, might have had fairly good teachers who inspired him to outshine others. But because they failed to touch his mind and heart his idea of goodness is goodness only for himself.

Puno's movement is the crying need of the time. Will he succeed? Well meaning Filipinos hope he will.