“Some use objects to obscure their countenance or symbolically repair it. Some do not show their faces at all”
UPON the resumption of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on Jan. 19, the former regional director of the Department of Public Works and Highways for region IV-B Mimaropa, Gerald Pacanan, caused some stir. Pacanan is one of the public works officials charged by the Office of the Ombudsman with corruption and malversation, and was among the first to go to jail for the flood control mess.
Pacanan showed up in a white hooded jacket and a bright yellow headgear. The hood of the jacket was pulled up and the gear covered most of his face. If he was trying to be inconspicuous, then his attire achieved the complete opposite of what he wanted.
The senators articulated their unease. Committee Chair Senator Panfilo Lacson asked him why he was all covered up – “nakatalukbong.” Pacanan said he had requested to cover himself for his protection and security.
“The main reason Mr. Chair, I am begging the indulgence of the good senators for my protection since the case is still pending before the Sandiganbayan and there’s no judgment over it. I’ll be incriminated with whatever action against me,” he said.
Senator Francis Pangilinan said he saw no valid reason for the request. He said he was concerned it would set a bad precedent for future Senate hearings. Eventually the panel rejected the request and asked Pacanan to remove his mask.
If just a few people paid attention to Pacanan when he walked in, all of them – those in the Senate and those watching the livestream – were certainly looking at him now.
“Maybe he is protecting himself from shame,” Pangilinan said.
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Embarrassment, not necessarily shame, was the theme of a study conducted by researchers Ping Dong, Xun (Irene) Huang, and Robert Wyer, Jr. as they explored the idea of saving face in their study “The Illusion of Saving Face: How People Symbolically Cope with Embarrassment” published October 2013 in volume 24, Issue 10 of Psychological Science.
Ping was from the University of Toronto, Xun was from Sun Yat-Sen University, and Wyer was from The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
In the series of experiments conducted on CHUK students, some participants were asked to recall embarrassing experiences while some were not. In a seemingly unrelated move, they were asked to choose commercial products that covered their faces (sunglasses) or enhanced their appearance (facial creams). Later, they were asked whether they would prefer to mingle with others or keep to themselves.
The researchers found that those who felt embarrassed were motivated to either hide their faces (sunglasses) or restore their positive image (cosmetics). These coping strategies, however, had different consequences. Specifically, symbolically repairing one’s face “eliminates aversive feelings of embarrassment and restores one’s willingness to engage in social activities, symbolically hiding one’s face has little impact,” the study’s abstract said.
It’s a long way from embarrassment to shame, of course. The scenarios contemplated in the Ping study were what 20-year-old students deemed embarrassing for them, such as walking into the wrong public bathroom. On the other hand, the Senate (or, the other Ping’s) hearing was tackling a matter of great national importance: the abuse of taxpayers’ money for personal gain, the compromise of public safety, and the hypocrisy in claiming to be a servant of the people.
We always talk about keeping our names clean and untarnished. But names are read in letters, and people have namesakes. In contrast, our face is a large part of who we are even as it is really our behavior that defines us as a person. Many people capitalize on their faces (especially if their faces are pleasant) to gain some advantage in life: charming and conning people, or getting remembered enough to be elected, for instance.
The prevalence of cameras and the internet is a virtual guarantee that one’s face would be eternally connected to the shameful incident, whatever the outcome. Thus, the natural instinct is to protect one’s face. Of course, this is for the ordinary person who may have realized that what they did was wrong. Medyo nahiya naman sila. Some go on the run because they fear not the loss of face but the loss of privileges and liberties they have been accustomed to before. But there are those who, as part of their campaign to insist on their innocence, continue to inflict their faces upon the people, biding time until the final reckoning. Or at least a change of political climate.
There is a reason that there are many face-related idioms out there. Still, I would argue that the most compelling uses are still in Filipino. “Ang kapal ng mukha mo,” is best uttered with gusto, or in dramatic fashion. And this we say to the corrupt: “Ayaw na naming makita ang pagmumukha ninyo.”
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