Delicadeza in Governance

Years back, Filipinos prided themselves for their values of honor and morality in their public lives. We have invented words and phrases to communicate these values close to our hearts and souls. Examples of these are ‘palabra de honor’ and ‘delicadeza’. It is hard to find the true meaning of ‘delicadeza’ by simply relying on dictionary. Often it is translated as ‘sensitivity’, particularly when used vis-a-vis power and use of prerogatives. What is obnoxious about the so-called midnight appointments by an expiring presidency is precisely the lack of delicadeza. Whether in secular or ‘sacred’ use of power and prerogatives, the crux of the matter is NOT power itself but the exercise of power. The issue is not whether the expiring presidency has power or not to make appointments, including the appointment of a Supreme Court Chief Justice. That issue had been resolved legally by the Court. The real issue is the exercise of said power by an expiring presidency in the twilight of its mandate. This has become a call of ‘delicadeza’ and morality in governance, especially when the new President is already publicly acknowledged; notwithstanding the lack of the official ‘fiat’ of an anachronistic and ‘jurassic’ Congress trying hard to hold to its prerogative in an age of automated electronic system. By the standard of our tradition as a nation rooted in values, the expiring presidency simply prepares for a smooth transition of powers without raising any controversy or new issues that will ‘burden’ the incoming administration. This is sensitivity and morality in governance. True, these values are neither written in any Constitution nor in the laws of any land. They are written in the heart and soul of every decent human being. To us Filipinos, they are not only written in our hearts and souls but they also form the very basis of our ‘hiya’. The imperatives of ‘delicadeza’ and ‘hiya’ are incumbent both upon the appointing power and the so-called ‘midnight appointees’. They both share the label of ‘insensitivity’ and ‘walang hiya’. Delicadeza, morality and hiya define our personality and value system. They show the persons that we are and the values we live by. Ultimately, history would judge us not by our competence or the monuments we have carved for ourselves but by the persons that we are and the values we have stood for during our lives. It is truly tragic and ‘comical’ (in the Greek sense) that the daughter of the very man who was a victim of utter lack of sensitivity and hiya has chosen the path of shame and ignominy of her father’s nemesis. Her acts and midnight appointments betray how the ‘bitter’ and ‘spiteful’ past had honed her values and personality for vengeance. This is a real tragic comedy! On the other hand, there were competent people who, at one time, thought to be honorable men and women, readily accepted their midnight appointments. What made these people set aside their own delicadeza and hiya to accept such midnight appointments? Is it the glitter of titles and offices long coveted by their hearts? I am readily reminded of the triple temptation of Jesus in the desert after the fast of 40 days. They are ‘bread for the empty stomach’, wealth, title and office, and exercise of power. Jesus said NO to all three! We do not live on bread alone. Redemption is not bought by wealth, title, office and power. And we are called to serve God and him alone do we bow and worship. It is a wonderful miracle or a wishful thinking if we, humans, defy the tragic comedy played by the gods. We had wonderful experiences in the past of delicadeza and hiya in the highest office of the land. President Sergio Osmena, Sr., Don Claro M. Recto, Ka Tanny Tanada, Ka Pepe Diokno, President Ramon Magsaysay and President Diosdado Macapagal (the very father of the highly controversial GMA), and President Cory Aquino. This is the proverbial ‘Frostian’ two roads diverging in a Wood, only this time, she is the one often travelled by, and that has made all the difference. Tsk Tsk Tsk... Oh what a tragic legacy!