Faith in the Filipino

by Alan S. Cajes, PhD

I nurture a deep and consuming faith in our people.

This faith is not blind. It is not naïve. It does not deny the wrongs we see around us. It does not pretend that everything is well. Rather, it is a faith that grows from what our people have long known, spoken, and lived. It is founded on the moral and communal ideas carried by our own words: bayan, kapwa, loob, bait, kabutihan, ginhawa, bayanihan, and pag-asa. In other parts of the Philippines, it is also carried by bu-ut, kaginhawaan, katilingban, kalóoy, maayo, padayon, and pag-uswag.

To be Filipino is not only to belong to a country. It is to belong to a moral community. The word bayan reminds us that the country is also the people. The community is not an abstract idea. It is the farmer, the teacher, the public servant, the worker, the student, the parent, the vendor, the neighbor, the child, the elder, and the stranger who becomes part of our shared life. The Bisaya word katilingban points to the same truth: we live in society, and our lives are tied to one another.

This is why I believe our people have every reason to hope that we can change for the better. We already have the moral language for change. We know what kabutihan means. We know that a good act must benefit others, not only oneself. We know what ginhawa and kaginhawaan mean. These words point to relief, well-being, comfort, prosperity, and the chance to live with dignity. A good society is one where people can breathe, work, learn, serve, and hope.

We also know the meaning of kapwa. The other person is not merely “another.” The other is connected to me. The good of the other is not separate from my own good. When a young professional serves with honesty, works with care, refuses corruption, respects the weak, and chooses fairness, that person is already living out kapwa. That person is already helping rebuild the moral life of the nation.

I also believe that heroes still exist.

They may not always wear uniforms. They may not always be famous. They may not be seen on television or celebrated online. Some are quiet. Some work in offices, schools, hospitals, farms, communities, agencies, churches, cooperatives, local governments, companies, and civil society groups. Some are young professionals who simply decide, every day, to choose the truth and do the right thing.

A bayani is not only someone who dies for the country. A bayani is also someone who serves the community. A hero is the person who tells the truth when lying is easier. A hero is the person who protects public money when stealing is possible. A hero is the person who treats people with dignity when power gives the option to be cruel. A hero is the person who says no to what is wrong, even when others say it is politically normal.

This is where hope begins.

Hope is not passive waiting. Pag-asa is not simply wishing that things will improve. Hope becomes real when people act. In my dialect, padayon means to continue, proceed, or carry on. Pag-uswag means progress, advancement, or development. These words teach us that hope must move. Hope must work. Hope must continue even when the path is difficult.

Young professionals have a special role in this work. You are entering offices, institutions, businesses, professions, and communities at a time when the country needs both competence and conscience. Skill is important, but skill without character can harm the people. Intelligence is useful, but intelligence without bait can become manipulation. Ambition is natural, but ambition without kapwa can become selfishness.

The Filipino professional must therefore ask simple but serious questions: Is this true? Is this fair? Is this good for the people? Does this protect the dignity of others? Does this give more ginhawa to the community? Does this help the bayan become better?

Our hope is not invented from outside. It is already within our moral inheritance. It is in bayanihan, the habit of working together. It is in kalóoy, compassion for those who suffer. It is in bu-ut, the inner will that chooses what is sensible and prudent. It is in katotohanan, the truth that must be faced. It is in katwiran, the right and just reason for action. It is in kabutihan, the good that must guide every decision.

To live out our being Filipinos is to remember these words and make them visible in our choices. It is to turn values into daily practice. It is to make honesty ordinary. It is to make service natural. It is to make compassion practical. It is to make excellence useful to the people.

I nurture this faith because I have seen enough goodness to believe that our people are not finished. We are capable of renewal. We are capable of courage. We are capable of truth. We are capable of doing what is right.

There are heroes out there.

Some of them are already serving.

Some of them are still becoming.

Some of them are young professionals who will one day decide that their career is not only for personal success, but also for the bayan, for kapwa, for katilingban, and for the shared kaginhawaan of our people.

That is why we must continue.

Padayon.