Bitter lessons in public service: Restoring values at home and school

Too late in the day for the Discaya family, in their late 40s, to rue their misadventure in corruption with the flood control mess. Now, out of fear of the national hatred and shame befalling their family, they’d rather face the threat to their safety by naming members of Congress, who, in collusion with Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) officials, allegedly forced them to give payouts for flood control projects.

What stands out to me in this sordid affair is the need for us to reexamine what we teach our children in basic education in the formative grade levels: preschool and primary grades. Do we prioritize rote materials and subjects and relegate to the background lessons on nationhood and integrity, the GMRC subjects in particular? To me, there are at least two values we must teach our children and teach them well: love of country and self-respect.

Let me elucidate why these are the important values to be learned well in the face of the worst scandal of organized dishonesty and shameless thievery perpetuated in government in recent Philippine history, in this DPWH project mess:

LOVE OF COUNTRY—A heroic example of the love of country displayed not by a politician but by a well-respected Filipino—a Supreme Court Chief Justice—far removed from political influence or considerations. Then Chief Justice Jose Abad Santos’ death by firing squad on May 2, 1942, suffered at the hands of the Japanese Kempeitai for his adamant refusal to collaborate or renounce his loyalty to the country is heroism that deserves a special place in Philippine history to be read in grade school. He truly was a rare find of a nonpolitical leader and comparable to the heroism of Rizal and Bonifacio. It is a rare privilege for one to die for one’s country; he was quoted as comforting his grieving young son on the day of his execution. He was born in Pampanga, died at 56.

SELF-RESPECT—Following the bruising and humiliating interrogation at the Senate on the anomalies inferred during his tenure as secretary of the Department of National Defense in 2011, and as former Armed Forces of the Philippines chief facing accusations of corruption in the AFP under his watch, Angelo Reyes took his life one morning at the gravesite of his mother. His parents were both humble public school teachers. Reyes was not cited for personal dishonesty in his public life, but what was important to him was the integrity he wanted to leave as a legacy to his family. He told his children to wait as he wanted to be alone at the gravesite of his mother that early morning; unbeknownst to his children, a shot rang out—he ended his life with a fatal bullet to the chest. He had just retired at 65.

We wish no personal ill of the perpetrators, but our bitter lesson here should be the restoration of values that should lead to a core solution for a new generation of public servants. We should start where it counts, the family upbringing on the right values and the priority given to cementing the same values in the formative level of education, in the preparatory and primary grades, where we teach selfless love of country and upholding personal integrity in public service.