The right kind of togetherness

AMONG the many traits that define us as a people, few are spoken of with as much pride as the Filipino sense of togetherness.

- JARED ECHEVARRIA

It is visible in the smallest gestures. A neighbor bringing food to a grieving family. Friends staying late into the night to accompany someone in distress. Entire communities coming together when disaster strikes.

We call this spirit bayanihan. For generations, it has been celebrated as a uniquely Filipino value, one that allowed communities to survive hardship long before formal institutions existed. In many ways, it remains one of our greatest strengths. Yet like many virtues, it carries a paradox.

The same cultural instinct that teaches us to stand with one another in times of difficulty can also, when misunderstood or misused, become one of our most serious weaknesses as a society. Our sense of closeness sometimes blurs the lines between solidarity and favoritism. The impulse to help a friend can easily turn into patronage politics. The instinct to protect a relative can become nepotism. The desire to extend a helping hand can transform into preferential treatment based not on merit but on familiarity.

Too often, we extend our hands based on who we know rather than who we are. In that sense, the culture of togetherness that we proudly claim as a national virtue can also become one of our most damaging pitfalls. When practiced the wrong way, it undermines fairness, erodes institutions, and weakens public trust. This is perhaps why the word bayanihan today sometimes feels different from how our forefathers understood it.