by Marv Sumaylo
Filipinos do not lack Discipline; they lack incentive!
When you are asked if Filipinos have discipline, the majority of Filipinos would agree that they do not have. It’s an agreeable scapegoat especially in these times of COVID-19, and in the fact that we are second to Indonesia in South East Asia with the most cases according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, it’s easy to agree with.
Multiple articles from local sources would say that Filipinos are undisciplined when they are in the Philippines even before this pandemic. However, if asked if Filipinos are disciplined when they are in other countries, it’s also an agreement that yes, Filipinos tend to follow the laws and rules of the countries they are in. It is strange, right?
One can argue that Filipinos are disciplined and there is data.
In a 29-country survey made by the New York Times and conducted by YouGov and the Imperial College of London last June 22 to 28, 92% of Filipinos say they wear a mask when they go outside. The same survey also said that 83% of Filipinos wash their hands with soap and water, 77% use hand sanitizer, and 61% avoid going outside altogether. In this survey, we’re second in the list of disciplined populations following only Singapore.
Crescencio Doma Jr., a sociologist from the University of Santo Tomas, explained that lack of discipline can be attributed to certain social factors and environmental stimuli. In a Manila Bulletin article written by Alfredo Mendoza V regarding this, Doma said impatience is basically a reaction to a dysfunction in a given social system and people can become impatient when their needs are not satisfied at a given time. Also, it can be traced to the absence of clear policies and implementing rules that would ensure a positive response from people towards the law.
One other possible reason of indiscipline is environmental psychology, or how the environment affects people’s behavior. When one sees a pile of trash in the streets and one is holding a plastic container of something one just ate, he/she automatically contributes to the pile by throwing his plastic container to it. When one is in a clean place such as malls, people are compelled to not trash the place most of the time.
Doma added, “Philippine society lacks a strong sense of role modeling.” That’s not surprising. It seemed every week that a Filipino leader is in the news these days for partying, swimming with dolphins, or going to risky areas like hospitals when they’re not supposed to be doing these and to be in these places. According to Social Learning Theory by Stanford University’s Albert Bandura, individuals learn not by various direct methods but primarily through observation of models.
Do we need to replace the leaders that do not follow basic rules? It’s a really basic question with an equally basic answer. Who, then, are the leaders that we want to have them replace? The elections are relatively far in 2022, so it’s on the Filipino to start yesterday. The Filipino must become the example that they want to be. We can always start at home leading by example.