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Padrino and Talangka
- Fr. Deo Camon, LPT, PhD
- Mar 9, 2021
- 2 min read
As they say, “it is about WHO you know rather than WHAT you know (or can do).”
This saying came to mind when I read the news about Wesley So, considered a chess genius, becoming a US citizen.
He gently stated that the reason for his changing of citizenship was that “I did not have the connections I needed in that culture. I was from the province, not a city boy. Had no money, etc…” (Manolo Pedralvez ABS CBN News, March 05, 2021).
I think this was a gentlemanly way of saying that when he was here in the Philippines, he got no support from people who are supposed to nurture his talents because he has no padrinos or, as we say here in Negros “maninoy.”
This patronage system is one sad part of our Filipino culture, which permeates all society’s strata.
I wonder how many talented persons were not able to achieve more because people in authority promote their “pets,” friends, mistah, “classmates,” and “cousins.”
Well, this system is cyclical.
Those who came to positions of power through patronage perpetuate this system.
Without too much generalization, many reach the heights of authority, not because they have something to show, except having excellent PR with others.
In this patronage culture, people of talents and skills who are not the “pet” or “prodigy” of those in authority are neglected.
At the same time, those who know how to warm up with the powerful are given opportunities to excel.
Thus, arise the “balimbing” those who change their loyalty not according to principles but promotion.
The only sweet irony is when these favored ones go back home, bringing not the bacon but a can of sardines!
But, another more pernicious aspect of this culture is the “talangka” mentality.
Those insecure people who commit this irrational behavior are “Ruthless Scheming Quacks.”
With the padrino system and talangka mentality, it is undoubtedly not about meritocracy but politics.
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