Dear editor,

We Filipinos are known for our world-class hospitality and our collective love of music and singing — a testament to our heritage as one of the happiest and most resilient races in the world.

And one of the traits that we Filipinos value is honesty, which is evident wherever you look as we encounter news reports of people turning in lost wallets and money to the authorities or to the owners themselves.

Filipinos value honesty so much that aside from being hospitable, we are recognized as honest citizens.

Some very good examples are taxi drivers who return personal items their passengers leave behind; janitors in our airports who return fortunes in cash to their rightful owners.

These are people who make us Pinoys feel very proud.

However, that Pinoy trait is now being put to the test after the “fiasco” involving the reported low return rate of the LED wristbands that were distributed to the audience at the two-day Coldplay concert at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan over the weekend.

The wristband is part of the band’s “Music of the Spheres” sustainability program as they are reusable. They are designed to light up in unison with the tempo of the music being played.

Based on the Coldplay tour website, the reusable LED wristbands are made from 100 percent compostable, plant-based materials. The band said they have reduced wristband production by 80 percent by collecting, sterilizing and recharging them after every show.

Muntinlupa Mayor Ruffy Biazon was one of those who appealed for the return of all the LED wristbands, lamenting that the return rate of the wristbands in the country according to the band data only at 87 percent.

This is just a tad lower compared to the return rates in concerts held in Tokyo, Japan with 97 percent, Copenhagen, Denmark with 96 percent, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with 90 percent.

The incident has sparked debates on Filipinos’ integrity, as some imply that we Filipinos are not honest and Biazon even said that the nation seems to be lacking in integrity because of the low return rate.

Is this really what Filipinos have become? Will our integrity be thoroughly tarnished because of this incident?

I certainly hope not, because I believe that it should not be basis for calling Filipinos dishonest and lacking in integrity.

For one, we can consider it an isolated incident as this was the first time we had such a concert in the country, and, secondly, not all Filipinos watched Coldplay, so I think it will be an unfair generalization that Pinoys are not that honest.

We have a lot to offer, we are a people with values that reach deep into the roots of our ancestors.

Let’s not make honest Pinoys as an “exception to the rule,” because deep down, we are a breed capable of doing things within the realms of treasured values that have been passed down by generations.

Monciar Cabiling

cabmon2001@yahoo.com