IN my opinion, Jose Rizal’s essay which he wrote in 1890, still applies today. He wrote this as a response to the accusation that Filipinos are lazy and would rather gamble their money than work on the farm.

Rizal acknowledged that this laziness did exist but was caused by society; he delves into the social ills that have led to how many of our countrymen think and behave, and in my opinion, prevails to this day.

Googling Rizal’s famous essay, I came across these notes that got my attention:

“During the Spanish era, the Filipino community was disrupted by the frequent wars, insurrections and invasions. Made to fight wars for Spain and work in shipyards, the natives moved to the mountains because of the abuses by the Spaniards.

“The population lessened; farms were neglected. Trade declined due to attacks by pirates. Government restrictions had no aid for agriculture and farming. This caused many farmers to abandon the fields. Natives were discriminated upon. Gambling, red tape and bribery were tolerated.

“Church doctrine did not help at that time: the rich will not go to heaven. The poorer one has better chances of reaching heaven.

“This resulted in less work, ignorance and laziness. The attitude was that the Filipino were an inferior race and they should submit to foreign culture and imitate it. Rizal said that education and freedom is necessary for progress. Filipinos are lazy although once a progressive race.”

What I glean from this is that unity is of the essence, if we are to progress and survive. Education is the foundation; unity is the push we need to be globally competitive.

Domestic workers

From my personal experience, many domestic job applicants, even before presenting their credentials, insist on knowing first what the job pays, before agreeing to meet for interviews. In short, it’s just work for them, and they give the impression that they do not love their chosen vocation. For me, this automatically disqualifies them from further consideration for the job, and it calls for a polite turning down of the applicant.

And when the applicant manages to go through the interview/pay discussions, it turns out that the biodata does not reflect the actual capabilities of the applicant during the actual practicum. So, before the probationary period even ends, you are back to entertaining applications all over again.

Couriers

Last week, I needed to have some documents picked up from point A and delivered to point B. So, I contacted one of the big courier companies. After confirmation and acceptance of the job by the rider, I informed the point A person and the point B recipient, of the approximate pick-up and delivery times.

After about 15 minutes, the rider texted me, asking me to cancel the booking because the starter of his motorcycle was not working. I canceled it and got another rider who again accepted the booking.

After about 10 minutes, the new rider sent me a text message informing me that the starter of his motorcycle was not working and asked me to cancel the booking!

I canceled again and tried the other big courier company and made the same arrangements with the pick-up and the recipients.

Guess what? I got another phone message from the new rider with the same problem.

Three riders from two big courier companies all with the same problem and canceling! Obviously, they found it inconvenient (heavy traffic or they don’t like entering subdivisions — this is common knowledge tolerated by customers). I call it laziness to the third degree. The third rider even had the gall to reply to my message thus: “Gugustuhin ko bang masira yung starter ng motor ko?” (Did I want my motor starter to break down?)

I called up the company and reported his unprofessional attitude. I hope DTI and LTFRB makes available a complaint hotline for such behavior. employees do not deserve jobs.

Farming

As a farmer using organic methods for at least five years, I noticed the children of farmers opt to do other jobs (especially to be an OFW) than farming. In the process, they absorb the culture of the foreign land, getting used to gadgets and modern appliances which make work easier, forgetting to think and not appreciating the value of industriousness. While the government has a lot of shortcomings regarding this issue (lack of inputs, agrarian reform concept, no mechanization, etc.), it is the creeping mindset that alarms me.

There seems to be an increasing number of workers who do not love what they are doing.

Let’s stop being lazy in mind, spirit and action. When one applies for a job, one should love that job. Besides, life is short so let’s all be as productive as we all can be.

Happy New Year to all!!!