Manners maketh man
This phrase was made popular in the film Kingsman: The Secret Service. Bookbrowse.com said, “today this expression broadly means that your mannerisms and characteristics make you who you are, that is to say people are judged by their manners and conduct. But in its earliest use, as manners maketh man, it likely had a broader meaning--that manners make us human - that politeness and etiquette are what prevent us from falling into savagery.”
Sadly, “manners maketh man” may not be applicable to some of our lawmakers.
You know who we are talking about. Over the weekend, Acts OFW Representative Aniceto Bertiz III drew flak over social media after a CCTV footage of him went viral.
In the footage we see the congressman forcibly shoving his ID to one of the security personnel after going through the security check at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). We then see in the video how he tried to get the identity of the personnel. We see him snatching the personnel’s ID. The personnel tried to get his ID back but the congressman prevented him from taking it. Throughout the incident the personnel had this calm look on his face while the congressman had this impatient and irritated look.
However, this was not the first time he drew flak over social media. Last year, a video of him also went viral. In the video posted by HKPinoyTVNews, he was seen accusing an OFW leader identified as Eman Villanueva of UNIFIL-Migrante of being “’undocumented’ and not marching on the street to fight for OFWs’ rights.” According to the post, Villanueva had been fighting for the rights of migrants for the last 25 years. The video has resurfaced following the NAIA incident.
Though the congressman immediately issued a statement on Sunday regarding what happened in NAIA, this will less likely save his face. Once you go viral on social media for being a rude person, no matter how much you explain your side, you have already been branded for your bad attitude. The attitude he showed has already affected his credibility.
This incident serves as a lesson to our lawmakers, goverment officials, or even to us regular Filipinos. No matter who you are, your character and manners will still matter. Having a bad character and lacking of manners will not only give you a bad image but will also affect your credibility.
The government might want to consider holding good manners and right conduct to our lawmakers, politicians, and other government officials. We have heard countless stories of people in power being jerks.
Good manners and right conduct is something being taught in school (sadly, not in all homes) but as some grow older and advance in their career, they seem to forget what those good manners and right conduct are.