“Honesty store, launched by a cook in Rosario Cavite” reads one headline of an online news website that I saw just last month. As I read on, I found out that there’s this mini grocery store that has no one on hand inside the premises to receive payments for goods bought. It’s all run by the honor system. At the end of the article was the dangling question: “Will buyers be honest?”
“Honesty Bus” was another experimental project that was launched sometime before the pandemic. The said social project consisted of buses without conductors plying the metro that lets the passenger pay for his fare himself. It was anchored on the “honesty is the best policy” motto.
I actually rode one of those honesty buses, curious as to how the system worked. During my trip, I observed the system was not well thought out and did not anticipate all the nuances of how people behave in such situation.
I wasn’t surprised that later, after a month or so, a news item announced the end of the project.
The reason was the bus company did not make money. Many took advantage of the absence of the conductor. Three out of 10 passengers did not pay the fare. Some passengers paid only the minimum fare even for long distances and they should have paid more.
I have a strong feeling the “Honesty Store” is bound to meet the same fate as the Honesty Bus.
To be honest about it, honesty does not seem to be the best policy in the way we live and work now.
We are willing to forego issuing official receipts to avoid paying taxes just to be able to pay less for goods or services. We hear about “ghost employees” who only appear during paydays. Husbands lying about their infidelity are common and now even a badge of macho pride for some. Even in companies, employees fake their accomplishment reports or tamper records to register complete working hours in spite of absences or tardiness. Many domestic maids, too, are dishonest. Students will not hesitate to cheat just to get a passing grade. Never mind politicians.
What could be the reason for the Filipino’s rampant dishonesty? One is probably his skewed moral viewpoint. He lives by the “don’t get caught” code of morality. Hindi bawal kung hindi ka nahuhuli (As long as he is not caught, it is OK to do it). As one law student puts it: “What’s wrong with cheating in the bar examinations as long as you do not get caught?”
In his essay The Structure of Filipino Morality, Professor F. P. A. Demeterio III writes: “This norm of moral behavior also gives rise to a conflict in the individual between the ‘don’ts’ of the authority figure and ‘what every else does’ in the latter’s absence. As long as a policemen is on duty, Filipino drivers will obey traffic rules; but if there is no policeman, then everyone else tries to make puslit or get ahead of the others, often causing a traffic jam.” He relates a story about a prison official who addressed his new prisoners thus: “Here there are no Ten Commandments. You can obey or break the rules as you please. But God help you if you get caught.”
Another reason is rationalization. The Filipino will justify his dishonest ways by pointing at his poverty—“Hirap na hirap ako sa buhay” (life is getting harder and harder). Or he will blame it on the system: “Lahat naman gumagawa” (everybody is doing it), which is an excuse for shirking personal responsibility.
This is why there’s no compunction felt by people who use a fixer to facilitate government paper registrations even if it is against the law. We get away with it like those in power. What we have is a culture of impunity.
Then again the Filipino will justify dishonesty—he is doing it for his family. In other words, he will lie, cheat and even steal as long as it benefits his or her family. I know of a relative who worked as a secretary in a big company. She used to bring home reams of bond paper, several punchers, staplers, all pilfered from company stocks. She generously gave them away to members of her family.
I’ve heard of cases involving Filipino women who have been lying to their foreign husbands and sending money secretly to their families in the Philippines. They don’t feel guilty about it and even consider their dishonest ways as an achievement for their families.
But then again, how can we blame Filipinos for not being honest? Without a decent job to feed a family, “honesty is the best policy” becomes meaningless. To be pushed to the limit of human existence and suffering can lead one to compromise his integrity as a human being. “Kapit sa patalim,” as the saying goes. The average Pinoy will only be as honest as his situation permits.
On the other hand, there are cultural values the Filipinos cherished in the past that are still valued today. We read about janitors and taxi drivers returning bags or envelopes containing money, documents and valuables to the rightful owners. These are simple folks who need the money but choose to be honest.
However, it has been pointed out that the fact that they are hyped as news means these incidents are rare. More often than not, the average Filipino keeps what he finds.
But I refuse to give up totally on his honesty. My gut feel is that the Filipino is basically a kind and honest person and respects the dignity of hard work, which I see in people who hawk cigarettes, candies, bottled water, and fruits in the streets under the hot sun or even on a rainy day. I feel it in the tireless middle-aged woman carrying her basket of puto and kutsinta, loudly calling out to customers with her strong voice. I sense it in the aged man and his son who quietly scavenge the garbage bins in our neighborhood day after day to earn a living.
I still believe that no matter how poor or needy, deep within, he values dangal—his self-respect, knowledge of one’s true worth. As one government employee puts it: Kung sino pa ang mahirap, siya pa ang mas honest (The poor man is sometimes more honest). She mentions as an example a lowly parking attendant who refused to leave before 5 p.m. in contrast to the department head, who often would go home early, leaving his subordinates to while the hours playing games on the computers or chitchatting during office hours.
Even in the midst of opportunities that tempt us to be dishonest, many of us still choose to give our family the fruits of honest work. It gives us a clear conscience and peace of mind.
Perhaps the day will come when honesty will pay in the Philippines, a code to live by. That day will probably come only when our people will able to break out of the poverty cycle and no longer face on a daily basis the challenges of lack of money, lack of job, scarcity, and lack of social protection.
When will that be? I honestly don’t know.