Big hero

Offenders, more so the petty ones, are often heard defending themselves from the crime they committed by citing poverty as the main factor that pushed them to err.

And so when a poor 11-year old boy hands over to the authorities a bag containing P18,000 in cold cash – a loot that he found among trash while picking up discarded plastic bottles to make a few pesos for his family – our faith and hope in our society, at the basic goodness of humanity as a whole, is renewed.

The boy, Gicoven Abarquez, did not even realize he was doing something short of heroic. He said he was simply following a basic virtue that his parents taught him: Don’t take what is not yours.

That strikes at the very core of graft and corruption that is so prevalent in our government: so many people taking what is not theirs.

Another lesson we learn from Gicoven’s heroism is how important the influence is of significant adults to young, innocent minds.

Children do learn what they see and what they are told. They may be brought up poor in finances, but not necessarily in character and morals.

“We are really poor but I am proud that even if we have to eat just salt and rice, that we live in an honest way.” Words of wisdom from Gicoven’s mother who works as a factory worker.

The small criminals got poverty as their justification for their crime. But what of the big crooks who steal, particularly public funds that should be going to development projects aimed at improving the lives of the poor?

As Gicoven’s example shows, there is no excuse for dishonesty, big or small.

And honesty has got its rewards. It may not come easily and immediately – as it obviously would have been for Gicoven and his family had he decided to keep the money he found. But it could be bigger and more enduring.