𝘃𝗶𝗮 𝗥𝗲𝘂𝗯𝗲𝗻 𝗜𝗻𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼, 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀
“Ang hindi mapagkakatiwalaan sa maliit na bagay, ay lalo’t higit na hindi mapagkakatiwalaan sa malaking bagay.”
That’s what my teacher said
and it stayed with me—longer than most lessons ever do.
At first, I didn’t understand, fully.
How could something so small—
a coin, a pen, a harmless lie—
mean anything big?
But then I saw it.
The boy who stole candy became the man who stole votes,
the girl who lied about homework
learned to lie about reports, numbers, and people.
It always starts like that.
A pocketed peso,
a signed paper not meant for you.
A missing stapler,
a duplicated answer.
And no one bats an eye,
no one says, “Hey, that’s wrong”
because it’s just small, anything.
And they said, people can make a mistake.
But small things rot when left alone,
and what rots, infects.
A lie becomes habit.
Habit becomes nature.
And nature doesn't stop at boundaries.
The hands that stole a coin,
will not tremble when stealing a million.
The mouth that lied in whispers,
will shout falsehoods in front of cameras.
And the heart that excused the little wrongs,
will one day justify betrayal on a national scale.
That’s how corruption is born—
not in grand scandals,
but in the quiet moments,
where we let dishonesty win.
When no one was watching
when it “didn’t matter.”
When it was “just once.”
So now, when I see leaders with perfect smiles,
I look at their eyes,
because the truth is...
You can’t trust someone with power
if they couldn’t be trusted
when no one was looking.
"Ang hindi mapagkakatiwalaan sa maliit na bagay... ay lalo’t higit na hindi mapagkakatiwalaan sa malaking bagay."
I don‘t know the deep meaning,
but, for me I understand. Why?
It’s not just a lesson.
It’s a warning.
And we’ve ignored it long enough.
