A barber’s lesson

“Kwentong Barbero” is a Tagalog phrase. It has no equivalent in Bisaya that I know. I cannot find its Visayan literal translation because even Cebuanos just say kwentong barbero in our daily conversation. When I tried searching in the internet for its etymology, I came across Barber’s Tale. But while it can be a perfect English literal translation, the literature it carried did not match with my understanding of the real kwentong barbero.

A barbero is believed to be a man with lesser academic credentials compared to an accountant, a doctor, an engineer, a lawyer to name few professionals. In the pursuit of his daily trade, however, he comes in contact with many other professionals than the accountant, doctor, engineer or lawyer I have earlier identified. The barber and his customer usually talk for about an hour each visit and whatever ideas, thoughts or experiences the professional shares with his barber somehow help develop the mind of the latter. Most of the time a barber expresses a concept with fellow human beings, he resonates the wisdom he has acquired from his customers.

Jessie Bragat, my barber of more than two decades, visited me yesterday for my usual haircut. Every time he would come, I play for his listening pleasure some of my chosen vinyls. Yesterday, while I played Vic Damone LPs, our accompanying conversation strayed to governance. Jessie gave me an insight of barber’s talk. He discussed some principles of government after introducing his thoughts with the alert that we soon shall have elections. My barber/friend proceeded with his exposition with a degree of reality that perhaps only a sociologist and political scientist can explain. Somewhere in his kuwentong barbero, Jessie said “ang atong mga leaders dunay capacidad apan walay integredad.”

It was not quite easy for me to reconcile “somebody with capacity yet without integrity” which was how I` translated his words. I thought capacity and integrity were not unlike. Jessie, who has no academic diploma to show, stated an observably valid position. The barber in him showed humility rather than arrogance. He went on to say that many of our leaders succeed in election contests because they can mount a strong election campaign. Jessie observed that these politicians hire hundreds of campaigners to gather crowds for them, employ large number of people tasked cover almost every vacant space with their election materials and designate leaders to distribute funds. I realized that my barber referred to a specific kind of capacity in saying “dunay capacidad.”

In concluding that the moneyed candidates enjoy a tremendous advantage over their poor rivals, his face registered a frown. I could see it on the mirror. But, he was not reluctant to reveal what he felt. According to Jessie, many of his neighbors are on the lookout for candidates with ostensibly abundant largesse each time there is an election. His neighbors would say that only during election can they make money from candidates. In other words, they sell their ballots and the candidates who can pay will get their votes. Jessie frowned because there is no integrity in vote buying. His social life may be modest but his grasp of governance reflects the teachings he learned from his professional customers. How he wished that voters in the coming 2025 elections would choose their candidates on the basis qualifications and programs and not on the amount of money they give away.