Selflessness/ Love for Others

Selflessness otherwise known as love for others means giving preference to another’s interest
than that of one’s self. It is simply sacrificing for and in behalf of another.

The prevailing poverty and the exploitation of the poor particularly, the working sector is due to
lack of selflessness or the being selfish of the Filipino people, the very reason why there is concentration
of wealth to the few affluent sector of the Filipino society. Indeed, not only the wealth are being
concentrated, it includes also the concentration of opportunities for a better life. Thus, it says “the rich
getting richer and the poor getting poorer”.

Concentration of Wealth and Opportunities to the Affluent Sector

The rich sector with the wealth they have, able to do business and hence, create more wealth.
As they are rich, they only can run for public office in the country or get elected for public office by their
own money. As they control the government through themselves or their own people, so policies or
laws are enacted favorable to them with the creation of an economic environment conducive to their
economic interest which in most cases adverse to the poor that make them even poorer.

Some of the Filipino poor who happened to become the managers of the business enterprises of
the rich, due to their selfishness even perpetuate poverty among the poor since these poor managers
allows themselves to be used by the rich in order to exploit the poor.

The Need for Selflessness

Thus, the need for every Filipino to acquire this virtue of selflessness for, without this virtue of
selflessness, no progress and development can ever be expected to be achieved. On the contrary, the
majority of the Filipino poor can be uplifted from their economic slavery if the Filipino people in general
are not selfish since they will be treating everyone as a human being with dignity in terms of providing
them with basic needs of their lives especially with respect to material needs. It is not that we become
materialistic but it is in recognition of that fact that human beings as we are, we need to satisfy our basic
material needs.

Selflessness among the Affluent Sectors

The urgency for the acquisition of this kind of values is even more necessary among the affluent
sector with whom the wealth to be shared with the poor are concentrated. Since should this affluent
sector voluntarily share with the poor their wealth, then it can be more easy and systematic to transfer
the same. Whereas should the rich refuse or worse resist to share with the poor their wealth because of
their selfishness, the process maybe hard and tedious or worse may even be bloody via an armed
revolution.

Hence, the need to inculcate these values especially among the rich sector so that there can be
no resistance for this sharing of wealth with the poor.

Patriotism

Patriotism is love of one’s country. This is a virtue whereby an individual citizen of a given state
sacrifices his life for the sake of the latter. This is manifested in one’s heroism by giving his life in the
interest of his country.
 The common manifestations of heroism is enlistment in the Armed Forces of his state,
reverence to his country’s flag, and rendering government service to his state. But most of all, this
constitutes honesty in public service in whatever capacity.

Patriotism in Real Sense

Patriotism in the real sense means service to the people, the same being the abstract
personality that constitutes the state. There is no specific service that can be ascribed being patriotic. So
long as it can help advancing the cause of the people in general maybe considered a patriotic act.
However, this must be expressed more in the government service when government employee must be
faithful to his duty as civil servants.

Symbol of Patriotism

It is also advisable that the Filipino people must have common symbol for patriotism or
nationalism, for instance, the Filipino flag as symbol of unity or perhaps the name of Jose Rizal being the
national hero. It is advantageous for the Filipino people to have someone with whom they can be
identified with. The problem however, is that there are some religious sectors which consider it an
idolatry. Hence, against their doctrinal teaching which was upheld by the Supreme Court. Even then, we
need something that every Filipino identifies with. It must be that goodness in every Filipino such as
being loyal, honest and kind, his being hospitable and helpful as well as his being incorruptible.

Honesty

Honesty is the best policy. It is the character of the person to be true to anyone with respect to
anything. Every Filipino must be honest towards his work, to his dealings with another person.

However, there is such thing as “white lies”. This is an intentional telling of something false
because telling the truth has a negative effect. This is acceptable because this is telling a lie in good faith.
Remember however, that “the truth will set us free”.

Honesty in one’s dealing with everyone

This means developing one’s attitude of being honest with any one unless telling the truth will
have a negative effect. But in general, honesty must be practiced in all aspects of our lives. This must be
so because dishonesty will make us not worth dealing with and therefore no one will do business with
us as a partner. Thereby we shall remain forever as slaves as nobody will trust us as business partners
since we are dishonest persons.

Industriousness

Every Filipino must be industrious. This is the opposite of idleness or indolence. Poverty can be
attributed to this negative trait of indolence on the part of the Filipino poor since it caused under or
non-production of economic goods and services that explains why the Philippines remains an
underdeveloped country.

Therefore, if we want to attain progress and development, we need to develop in our people
the habit of being industrious in practically everything that we do.
The Indolence of the Filipino People

Dr. Jose Rizal justified the indolence of the Filipino people by saying that his people are
industrious but they are motivated not to work hard knowing so well that they were not benefited with
the fruits of their labor since the government and the friars were so insatiable that they take big portion
thereof in the form of taxes. This may be true even now. But we have to overcome the system of we
have to achieve progress and development.

Honesty towards work

The need for honesty towards labor is also imperative as it appears that the majority of the
Filipino workers are dishonest with their works. Usually, Filipino workers are not honest with respect to
their working time in the sense that he is paid to work for eight (8) hours, yet the actual productive time
may be five or six hours only. The rest is spent for idleness as he works only in the presence of the
immediate supervisors or exert less effort as they ought to or as he is required to do so.

Moreover, dishonesty with work is also done with respect to the under quality by using
substandard quality of the materials used.

Increases Productivity

Honesty towards works will definitely increase productivity which may yield more profits and
therefore will become an incentive for the capitalists to share with the workers said profits by honest
compliance with the Labor Code as regards to the availment by the workers of all benefits due them. In
other words, the workers’ honesty to their works may beget honesty on the part of the employers.

Love for Leisure

Likewise, the Filipino poor instead of working, they are even addicted to gambling. As estimated,
60-80% of their time is spent on gambling rather than for any productive activities. For those who do not
gamble, their habit is drinking liquor. This is very common among the young or adult. Thus, the need to
eradicate the same by developing the habit of industriousness among the Filipino people. Indeed, gossip
is a common business of the day.

Endurance

Endurance is the characteristic to endure or the capability to last longer with physical or
emotional sufferings. It is a character of not easily giving up to whatever pressures that are confronted
with and instead stick with what was originally planned. This is a positive trait in the sense that despite
of whatever obstacle the Filipino people may have, they still go on with their match for progress and
development should they have endurance.

Perseverance

Perseverance is similar to endurance. It is the capacity to stick longer with one’s determination
despite all odds in terms of an emotional distress. We need to have this virtue because given the
condition we are in, without this virtue we could hardly overcome the environmental obstacles socially,
politically and economically.
 Perseverance refers to one’s persistence to pursue something. This is an important habit to be
acquired by every Filipino so that especially the poor must persist to liberate themselves from poverty.
Indeed, this appears to be the lacking virtues of the poor, the reason why they remain poor.

Hence, the need to have perseverance in order to be able to attain what is good and beneficial
to the people in general.

Bravery

Bravery in the real sense is the courage to face the truth and to uphold what is righteous to the
risk of his life. Bravery does not exclude fear. For being human, man is susceptible to fear, the same
being an emotion which he cannot do away with.

However, despite of the accrued danger or fear for something negative one still does what he
ought to do the same being the right thing to do.

Loyalty

Loyalty as a virtue is an attitude of the person to be faithful towards a person or one’s country. It
is the act of patronage for a product or adherence to a person or to one’s country at all cost.

It is distinguished from fanaticism since the latter is adherence without rational basis. It is a blind
obedience plain and simple. While loyalty is adherence based on knowledge and conviction.

Hospitality

Hospitality is the virtue of being friendly and accommodating towards stranger with the offer of
everything he has for the accommodation purposes. In its negative aspect the host even forego some
material comfort in favor of the strangers. We consider it negative when over hospitality becomes
unnecessary sacrifice on the part of the host in terms of deprivation of the comfort which is duem him
but rather enjoyed by the strangers.

Humility

Humility is the virtue of being humble always with respect to anything or towards anyone. This is
positive in the sense that it shows the truth about any subject and the person concerned remains
humble despite of whatever achievement he has attained. Hence, remains friendly also even to the
lowly or towards the poor. Moreover, it shows respect to authority all the time.

Self-Reliance

Self-Reliance as a virtue means that the person concerned is independent-minded and not a
parasite. Every Filipino must have this kind of virtue considering the culture of the Filipino people with
close family ties which often is subject of abuse in terms of relative’s dependence particularly in the
economic aspect.

Hence, it contributes to massive poverty as it even pushes down some relatives who have
improved their economic condition but because of the economic burden caused upon him by
dependent relatives all of them ultimately had been dragged to poverty.
 Self-reliance is a characteristic of a person whereby he wants to be independent by himself
especially in the economic aspect on one’s life. This must be taught as a virtue considering that the
Filipinos are so emotional that they do not want their children living away with them even said children
are already married and have their own families. Thus, aggravated and even perpetuates poverty among
the poor sector.

Self-reliance means a Filipino upon reaching 18 year old must be independent by himself or
herself from his/her parents financially, economically, socially, and emotionally.

Resiliency

This virtue of being resilient is important in that anyone who possessed the same may easily
recuperate from whatever misfortune he had experienced in life. Anyway, one cannot avoid once in his
life to become a victim of life’s atrocities. What is important is the will to stand, remain composed and
determined to live a new life, a life that is far better than the previous one.

Friendliness

Friendliness as a virtue is the attitude of being brotherly to anyone. This is the genuine concern
for someone’s sake, usually with the sense of sacrifice since a friend is willing to sacrifice for the sake of
his friend.

This is positive because it motivates one to help another and the latter to help others and so
forth. The negative aspect, however, is too much friendship to the extent of forgetting one’s self or his
families for so much friendship (pakikisama). This is negative because one’s welfare or of his family are
being prejudiced.

Courtesy

Courtesy as a virtue is the attitude of being respectful especially to a superior. This is the way to
recognize the presence of a superior. This is a positive trait because it manifests respect for authority
which is the foundation of orderliness without which there can be hardly be peace and order.

Timeliness

Timeliness is the arrival on time at whatever appointment whether regular or occasional. Every
Filipino must work hard to acquire this attitude as a matter of habit. This is so because it has been the
common practice of the Filipino people to be always late with the appointed time in practically whatever
they are doing. And what is worse is that the higher the position a person is the more he becomes late
and it appears that their being late is deliberate. We have lost great volume of economic goods and
services and even opportunities due to tardiness or untimeliness.

Obedience

Obedience is the characteristic on the part of any subordinate to obey his superior without any
reservation. However, such obedience must be qualified as to limit the same to only what is a lawful
order. Since as regards the order that is patiently illegal, the same cannot be followed, and the
subordinate has no obligation to follow the same.
 Take note, however, that a subordinate is expressly prohibited to obey a patent illegal order.
But when there is doubt as to whether the order is legal or illegal. The same must be presumed legal in
consonance with the presumption of regularity of function. Hence, the order must be followed.

Cleanliness

Cleanliness is the best virtue. It is cleanliness physically, morally and psychologically. Indeed,
cleanliness is said to be the next to Godliness. Thus, every Filipino must be clean with his words,
thoughts and in his deeds. To be such is to speak, think and do without malice or bad faith.

It may sound idealistic. But just the same we must if we want to live and walk with God in the
thorny path of life.

Politeness

Being polite is to be nice with one’s behavior or attitude towards another. It means also that he
is courteous, respectful and honest especially with his words and deeds. Thus, it is good for every
Filipino to acquire the said virtue. The opposite of this is being hypocrite, disrespectful, discourteous and
dishonest which are negative traits that every Filipino people should avoid.

Helpfulness

Being helpful is readiness at all times to render help or assistance to anyone physically,
economically or emotionally. It is a positive trait that every Filipino must possess especially at this time
when there’s a lot of people suffering from whatever deprivation brought about by poverty. This
includes assistance for the provisions of basic services such as legal, medical, educational, or even moral,
psychological and emotional.

The opposite of helpfulness is insensitivity to others, selfishness, individualistic. These are

negative traits which hinder the economic, political and social development of every developing country.
The reason is that they are not united and cooperative to one another. Since, the rule of the day is the
survival of the fittest, otherwise also known as the “law of the jungle”.

Under this situation, the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer. The opportunities are
confined to the rich. While the affluent are enjoying the lavish of bounty, the poor are dying of hunger
without the benefits of medical services, the basic comfort of life with human dignity.

Love for Environment

The love for the environment as a virtue must be developed among the Filipino people,
considering the continuing and indiscriminate destruction of our environment. This is brought about by
the fact that the Filipino people are not conscious of the destruction they are making with our
environment. Hence, we need to instill these values of environmental care with the sense of urgency.

This includes the improper disposal of garbage which has become a major problem on the
subject. The irresponsible mining likewise contributes so much to the environmental destructions.

Continuous destruction of our environment is killing us softly. Just for small calamity, thousands
of lives and millions of properties are destroyed because the nature is no longer protective of the people
since the environment instead of being the haven for protection had been turned to destruction
elements brought about by its destruction.

Agro-Industrial

In this regards, the observation of the Consultative Forum on Moral Recovery Program,
Workshops on Sectors and Values is worth quoting as follows:

“It was our consensus that as a general principle, the thrust of national economic development
should be agro-industrial in nature since the Filipino has no individual buying power, which is the basis
of pure industrialization. The Philippines is rich in natural resources but its agricultural sector is heavily
dependent on foreign concepts, technologies, and inputs.”

The basic conflict on the use of foreign technologies involves the need to supply the
requirements of a growing population (high yield rates) as against sustainability and damages to the
environment.

We identified the following factors as the bases for a policy on sustainable agro-industrial
development:

 Increasing populations;
 Use of scientifically and culturally appropriate technology;
 Principle of self-reliance;
 Ecological soundness and equality of distributions; and,
 Principle of stewardship over environmental resources for the benefit of the community and
country.” (p.42 Ethics and Politics: A Call for the National Renewal)

Answer the following questions clearly. ( 5- content, 5-organization, 5-mechanics)

1. How can we love our country?

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2. What do you think are the most important virtues and why?
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