W _ _ , is this retroactive wage increases we had seen and been pulled off right under our noses?!
For those (I would imagine just a few Guamanians are not aware of this) who have no idea on what I am talking about, where have you guys been? I have been very vocal in numerous social media on my objection to that selective retroactive wage increases that principally benefited the Governor, Lt. Governor, Senators, members of the governors cabinet and other some selected few. Sure, they are citing certain studies and justification on the why’s it has to be retroactive.
My dear readers, do not get me wrong, I am not against wage increases per se. I have been a public servant for the most part of my life and I would certainly welcome wage increases, but this wage increases need to go through a transparent process. What is then the essential and basic process for a retroactive wage increase? To my simple mind it is the exhaustive public consultation and public hearings coupled with the legality of the retroactive increase itself, which apparently there was no such public consultation/hearing. In fact even the attorney general is not in favor of this for certain positions in her particular office. Sure the legislature approved it, sure it appears that it may have the covering of a legal mantle, but assuming it is legal, the question now is, is it proper, is it moral, is it ethical? Does the word delicadeza no longer have any relevance or meaning in this day and age?
By the way what is delicadeza? If you’re a Filipino holding a position of trust, power or responsibility, you should already know the answer. But otherwise, let me remind my fellow Guamanians in political power – the term delicadeza is one of those Spanish loan words that has entered the Filipino vocabulary with a very specialized sense of meaning. In its original Spanish definition, it literally means gentleness, softness, delicacy (as in being delicate, not exotic food), and tactfulness. But in the Filipino culture, the term delicadeza means something else very specific and has no direct English translation; the closest would probably be “sense of propriety”. Essentially, it is the virtue of knowing and acting on what is proper when you are in a position of authority and trust, such as in public service.
There are two general situations where delicadeza is often invoked. The first situation is having the grace to give up one’s position of authority when becoming involved in a matter of impropriety. This is often phrased as “resigning out of delicadeza.” (An example is Nixon’s resignation in the wake of the Watergate scandal.) The second situation is inhibiting oneself from positions, roles, or situations involving conflict of interest.
As I said, just to make myself clear, I am not against a wage increase, but RETROACTIVE – MY ASS!!!
In fairness, let me acknowledge the Honorable Senators who objected to this retroactive BS, they are the following: Nerissa Underwood, BJ Cruz, Mike San Nicolas, Tom Ada, Frank Aguon, as we say in Pilipino- MABUHAY KAYO!!!
