TO LIVE THE VIRTUE OF HONESTY AS A FILIPINO AND STUDENTAn Oratorical Speech by Samuel B. Batara

Be it decreed:that the word ‘honesty’ be given simpler definitions in the dictionary. Honesty has been described as being sincere, truthful, trustworthy, honorable, fair, straight-forward and genuine. We are made to understand honesty through the use of equally vague concepts. Our search for meaning will remain ambiguous until the word honesty is defined specifically as putting an end to lying, cheating or stealing.

Be it decreed:that honesty be retained a desirable virtue inculcated through the academic community, churches and other religious centers. Academicians and theologians commit the mistake of relegating honesty into that realm of philosophy called ethics. Virtue affirms what is good and what is bad. Ethics considers what is right and what is wrong. Lacking a clear-cut boundary between right and wrong doings, ethics gives room to degrees of dishonesty. But the Lord of religion has been very clear. You cannot be lukewarm. You are either for or against Him.

Be it decreed: that the culture of dishonesty be objectively dissected and mercilessly exposed. Many Filipinos are swayed and carried away by an overwhelming attitude that it is alright to lie, cheat or steal as long as the doer doesn’t get caught. People accustomed to being dishonest have taken it as a way of life, a norm, as they observe everybody else involved in dishonest acts run away safely. Electorates will be organized into clusters that investigate the allegation made by media organizations that their country, the Philippines, is one of the most corrupt among nations. They will examine how the culture of dishonesty leads to corruption and poverty.

Be it decreed: that mothers will, by heart, learn the song ‘Honesty’ by Billy Joel. It will be the only lullaby to be sung at the cradle whenever a baby is put to sleep. ‘Honesty’ will be the first three-syllable-word infants will learn to pronounce. Mothers will stress “honesty as a lonely word, hardly ever heard, because everyone is so untrue. Honesty is mostly what is needed.”

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Be it decreed: that schools and colleges will only have reasons to exist if they seek to implant to young minds the beauty of honesty. Pupils will have the right to be in school because they learn to do their homework, to keep their eyes on their own paper, and to admit whatever mistakes they have committed, and learn from them. Students will remain students because they exert their own efforts; voice their opinions in thoughtful ways, and express themselves critically by being original, or citing sources for borrowed ideas, deeply aware that it is stealing to plagiarize.

Be it decreed: that young people all over the land be charged with the duty of being watchdogs to ensure that only straight deals be transacted in every nook of society. They will lead every resident to see how dishonesty results in misunderstandings, confusions and conflicts. Falsehood breaks relationships, marriages and families. Truthfulness, on the other hand, protects innocent people from being blamed or punished. An honest person is trusted. He feels secure and peaceful.

Be it decreed: that any applicant for employment will undergo rigid testing for honesty before he can be employed. It will be impressed upon the employee that it is treason to escape responsibility. It is a crime to go home at the end of a workday without doing enough commensurate to a day’s pay. Carelessness in the use of tools and facilities in the work place and extravagance in the disposal of work supplies and resources will be enough reason for termination.

Be it decreed: that it will be a major crime to keep quiet because the cruelest lies are told in silence. People are afraid to talk simply because they don’t like to get involved or they feel vulnerable to reprisals. Eyewitnesses to misdeeds will now be required to speak out the truth and fearlessly let authorities know of atrocities committed on persons, animals, properties and the environment.

Honorable judges:scholars, young people of the land, ladies and gentlemen in this chamber, you have been right all along. Nobody wants the enactment of these proposed decrees into rigid laws. You believe with me that honesty is the best policy, if not the only policy, a statute that is written in every heart, and can be put to action by

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everyone. Our experiences tell us that dishonesty, large or tiny, has always brought untold consequences that deprived human beings of the qualities intended by our Lord, who came that we may have life in its fullness.

Therefore: to help arrest the rapid deterioration of the moral fibers of this nation, I hereby impose upon my person to ever persist as fervent model and advocate of honesty. Whenever opportunity knocks, I undertake to influence and lead others to be men and women of integrity who live in truth and love. By the same token, I appeal to the deepest sensibilities of fellow students and young people throughout the archipelago, that hand in hand we stand guard to ensure that, from the womb to the tomb, “to be honest” will become the motto of every person, and the value of honesty be imbued and observed at home and in thoroughfares, at study and work, in rest and relaxation.

I summon citizens, young and old: Let us save the Filipino integrity from collapse. Let us be honest even if others are not; even if others will not; even if others cannot.

Copyright © 2008 Samuel B. Batara, All rights reserved.

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