The ALC Group has sought the revival of a unique Filipino tradition, "Pagmamano," to instill in the young the love for the parents and elderly as a way forward to push peace within the homes and thereby leave no room for the culture of impunity such as road rages in the metropolis.
Edgard Cabangon, chairman of ALC Group which is in various businesses that range from hotels to banks and media, sounded the call for the restart of a campaign on "pagmamano" where the young put the hand of their parents and elders to their forehead as a sign of love and respect.
Cabangon made the pitch for the Pagmamano advocacy during a plenary session held by the Global Peace Foundation last week. He said this unique Filipino tradition had been ingrained in the past but is now unfortunately going by the wayside.
The advocacy is seen to resonate with other business groups due to its far-reaching potential for teaching the young to respect their elders. One of the attendees at the conference, Ambassador Rey Catapang even went so far as having the Pagmamano advocacy transformed into a party-list for its potential.
Cabangon said that "when peace is no longer equated with the absence of war but with the love for harmony, all nations will have the so-called peace dividends where war materiel becomes agriculture implements, tanks become pipes for irrigation, and nuclear armaments are converted into energy plants."
The message of Cabangon, which was well received by the students and professionals that attended the symposium at Manila Prince Hotel last week, is expected to reverberate in the boards of corporations and student bodies as the revival of this very Filipino tradition could lead to soul-searching on why there are now road rages and why there is now a culture of impunity that transcends the nation.
Indeed, this tradition is being uprooted from our culture, a sad reality together with the preoccupation with gadgets that lead to family members hunched over their gadgets instead of conversing and connecting during dinner time.