Despicableness now seen in kids

Batas Mauricio . 

ALRIGHT, so Rep. Richard Garin, the spouse of former Health Secretary Janet Garin, already admitted having mauled a police official from the Guimbal, Iloilo Philippine National Police who had been identified as one PO3 Federico Macaya.

But even with that admission, there is still a need for the Department of Justice, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and the House of Representatives to investigate, so the truth can be disclosed. So far, there are only two things that have been made known to the public about the mauling of Macaya.

The first is that, the congressman already admitted having done it. Second, the entire PNP contingent in the town sought their transfer to other PNP units in the province. It is still gravely unclear, however, why the mauling even took place in the first place.

That being the case, there is no basis for anyone to be making judgments at this point. We must not finger-point as of yet, and instead allow Garin and Macaya to present their sides of this

controversy first.

Pursuant to relevant laws in the Philippines, including the 1987 Constitution, the right of someone who is embroiled in a controversy or dispute to be given an opportunity to expound on his version of what happened first is called the “right to due process”. Due process means the procedure by which explanations must have to be elicited first from the parties to a dispute to determine who between them is telling the truth and who is lying.

Favoritism has no place in that kind of a system. For example, not because one of the combatants or parties to the dispute is our relative, friend, or associate that our judgment would already be tilted in his or her favor, that we would already be presuming that he or she is the one who is in the right. Also, not because a party is not related to us in any way, or is not our political ally, would already make us prejudiced against him or her right from the start.

That would not be in accord with the principles of truth and fairness. This is not going to be beneficial to all. It would even cause more dissension and deeper disputes and misunderstanding, which would inevitably give rise to more dissension and wars that could only lead our people to death and destruction. Our people and nation as a whole would be suffering to a greater degree if this is allowed to happen.

This is the same teaching that comes from Jesus, our God and Savior who is our God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus imparted this to His believers or to those who profess to be Christians. In Matthew 7:1, there is a direct command from Him against judging others. Jesus said we should not judge, so that we too would not be judged.

Jesus also instructed us that before we even dare to remove the speck of sawdust from the eyes of others, we should first wash the mud in our faces. And there is a very noble intention here.

Because all of us have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, we have no right to judge or even criticize the imperfections of others. Only God has that right and prerogative.

It would be greatly beneficial to all of us then to simply try to understand what our fellow human beings are undergoing, instead of attempting to pass judgment on their actions. Behind their day-to-day behavioral patterns are considerations which we are not privy to, and which could explain their way of doing things. This is the same consideration we must give the Garins at this point! This is not only legal, but also highly spiritual and biblical!

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As I see it, the bullying cum manhandling which one very young student of the Ateneo De Manila University publicly perpetrated against another minor pupil of the same school cannot really be blamed only on the bully or his family, or on the bullied child or his family, nor even against Ateneo itself.

The one that should be properly get the blame in this awful incident is the society we all live in and move about, the Philippine society no less. My reason for this is simple: our society as a whole has long ago already lost its moorings on good manners and right conduct, its belief in God, its love of country and respect for others, especially for the poor, the marginalized, and the underprivileged, Filipinos.

We of course all know who composes Philippine society: it is all of us, whether rich or poor, whether young or old, male or female, whether near or far. Fact is, the Filipinos of today have become the single biggest proof about the accuracy of all the prophecies about the world becoming selfish, immoral, rude, godless, criminal-minded, sinful, and lacking in love and respect for God and other human beings, at some point in time.

Because almost all Filipinos are now in the grip of despicableness, we have become capable, as a nation, of shamelessly behaving according to the control and direction of the devil. Even our youth, whether from the rich and privileged families or from the destitute and poor elements of society, now behave devilishly. Even if they are still of very young age, they already seem like the personification of evil.

I have been writing about this disturbing scenario for quite some time now here. I have been saying that even very young Filipino kids who have literally been just weaned away from their mothers’ breasts, can already hurl invectives, curses, and other foul words, while behaving very rudely, and without any fear and love of their parents, of their siblings, and of their nannies (for the rich ones). But, unfortunately, nobody is paying any attention.

It is, of course, some kind of a consolation somehow that this overall despicableness of many children is being displayed now not only by the Filipino youth but even by many kids in other countries, but this should not be a justification for its acceptance here in our country where, once upon a time, the youth was glorified by our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, as the “hope of the fatherland.”

This scenario or development is indeed a very, very, worrisome thought. Think: children who are now rude, disrespectful, selfish, and lacking in fear and love of God, would soon, not later, take our places as the elders and leaders in our society. What this means, undeniably, is that children who are sinful and criminally-inclined would become the citizens and leaders of this country, in just a few years’ time.

What kind of citizens and leaders would these children turn out to be when their time shall have come? What can we expect from them as this country’s citizens and leaders? Surely, they would simply proceed with the kind and style of leadership espoused or displayed by many leaders and officials in the Philippines today–similarly rude, without any fear and love of God, and without any concern at all for the interest of the whole nation, but merely over their own interests. These kinds of Filipinos will surely lead this country to its ultimate destruction!

How can we change this dire future that surely awaits the Philippines? With men, this looks impossible, as we realize that our national descent to evil continues unabated, despite the promises of all the presidents this country every installed in Malacanang. What we need now is for Filipinos to go back to God whose Name is Jesus–we should accept, receive, believe and have faith in Him, knowing and obeying His commands!