Cardinal Tagle's analysis of present political realities: What Hiya Really means and why it does not exist anymore in Phil society

Manila archbishop Cardinal Tagle hit it in the nail when he says that our leaders have lost all forms of hiya.We lost this valuable pamana of our ancestors, because for us, everything legal is moral.

This concept is definitely alien to our leaders schooled mostly in the West. Hiya does not exist in the Western lexicon. Even its English transliteration does not come near the Pinoy concept of hiya.

For Westerners, hiya means two things--being "shy" and losing face. Being shy has nothing to do with "hiya" for hiya for us means acting in an appropriate manner.

What is appropriate for the Pinoy is linked with our concept of what is just and Right. Our concept of Right is inevitably tied with our moral code.

Let's get some nugget of illumination in this scholarly take on hiya:

Hiya and Other Misinterpreted Filipino Values
Hiya is another concept indigenous to the Filipinos, and it is literally translated as “shame.”
This interpretation of hiya is inadequate because it does not consider the other meanings of the word in different circumstances and form.
Armando Bonifacio said that nakakahiya (embarrassing) is different from napahiya (placed in an awkward position) and ikinahihiya (be embarrassed with someone).
Zeus Salazar also said that there are internal and external aspects of hiya. Foreign scholars have captured only the external aspect. The more appropriate translation of hiya is not “shame,” but “sense of propriety.”
Reference:  Enriquez, Virgilio G. (Ed.). Indigenous Psychology:  A Book of Readings. Quezon City: Akademya ng Sikolohiyang Pilipino, 1990.

Why is it that our present crop of leaders do not know the meaning of hiya? Simple. Hiya does not exist as a concept in a capitalist system.

In capitalism, it's okey to do whatever you please for as long as it is within the allowed space by the State. That space is reflected in law. When you do an act, and it is legal, then, it's okey.

In appropriation, when you expropriate the property of your ailing parents, and you declare it as your own, and you have the title, then, it is legal. It is "nakakahiya" if you follow Pinoy standards, but for Westerners exercising capitalist values, it is not. You are just enforcing a right.

A right exercised under the Western concept of a democracy is not the Right as interpreted under the Pinoy philosophical world-view. The Pinoy concept is always tied with "Right" as something appropriate. Meaning, you can do whatever you think is within your rights, but consider doing something Right.

In Capitalism, it is right for Meralco to charge us exorbitant rates because they can justify it by saying that they need to recover their investments. What they will not tell us is that, along with jacking up the rates is their desire to jack up their profits.

Meralco is not violating any law, in fact, it is enforcing a right--the right to get a return of their investment, something sacred in capitalism, Western style.

If we interpret it ala Pinoy, we think Meralco is on the wrong side of things because they do not even consider the collective sigh---people hardly ever live nowadays because of high prices of everything. Yes, Meralco has the right, but it should consider the people's condition right now. For many, Meralco has no "hiya" at all.

What the good Cardinal of Manila is describing now is the very conduct of our political leaders. These leaders have lost all sense of "hiya" or "appropriateness" because their acts, although legal, does not necessarily follow our indigenous code of moral conduct.

Yes, political leaders have the legal right to use public funds the way they want--yet, it does not mean that they will just use it to benefit their own political interests or use them to fatten their bank accounts.

Yes, these political leaders can do whatever they want within the limits of their constitutionally guaranteed powers, but it does not necessarily mean that they will do so at the expense of the very people they vowed to serve.

These present crop of leaders should be taught a hard lesson and they should be injected with the hiya serum. Without it, they do not have the Right to govern us.