Of Walking the Talk and No Pain, No Gain

by General Sam Tucay
Founder Subic International Marathon
Founder PNP Values and Leadership School

Posted on 09/09/09

Walking the Talk: A Chat with Secretary Konie de Guzman, Chairperson of the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission

The Presidential Anti-Graft Commission has joined the Subic International Marathon! They have decided not just to run with us but to support the event as well. You will see their logo and their challenge to the citizenry at the back of the singlet, which you will be bringing home if and when you decide to run with us too.

I got a chance to have a long chat over breakfast with its Chairperson, Secretary Konie de Guzman. It was inspiration from start to finish. Sec. Konie is a living example of simplicity and sacrifice. Ang kotse niya ay Innova, she goes to the market herself (and those are in places where you don’t see cabinet secretaries). She does the household chores after a long tiring day of work at the office. She sees to it that she walks the talk and anyone can validate her integrity by simply checking on her lifestyle. She decided to support the Subic International Marathon when she saw and felt our passion in pushing for the advocacies behind SIM. Ma’m, may your tribe increase.

No Pain, No Gain: The Transformative Effect of Running in the Philippine National Police Values and Leadership School Sparta, the best 300 fighters of the king (from the movie 300), no pain no gain. This is the story of the transformative effect of running in the Philippine National Police Values and Leadership School, where Subic International Marathon saw its roots. Once branded as errant cops and scalawags, they decided to start transforming themselves not just into ordinary police officers but into persons their children and their country can be proud of.

For example, PO3 Sonny Mateo of the Quezon City Police was allegedly using drugs and pushing drugs as well. This is the reason why he was sent to the reformatory school. After he went through the one month course at the PNP Values and Leadership School in Subic, he did not just become an example of a transformed cop. He went out of his way to show his heroism in the fight against illegal drugs and he died shooting it out with the drug lords.

Pastoral Accompaniment: Pushing Above One’s Own Perceived Limits

Pastoral accompaniment means understanding and listening to the woes and sufferings of a person raring to recover his dignity as a human being. This includes waking up with him early in the morning, eating the same food that he eats, running the same distances that he is required to run everyday (in which the distance increases everyday), and praying so as not to lose your patience. Most of all, it means desiring to empathize and relate with him honestly and sincerely and joining him all the way as you push him near and soon beyond his perceived limits.

Regardless of the difference in ranks, (I was a full Colonel then, my staff members were Majors and Lieutenant Colonels, and our students were mostly from the non-officer ranks), the direction was to journey alongside them, which to our minds was pastoral accompaniment.

When they asked to be introduced to contemplative moments, we gave them the space. When they discovered that they needed prayer to commune with a GOD whom we declared as our GOD too, we likewise prayed with them.

Soon, in the long runs they were happily chanting songs of praise that helped them happily and proudly finish their long runs. At night and after each tiring day, they would boast to each other of reduced waist lines, maluwag at masarap na pakiramdam, nawawalang rayuma, good skin color and just everything that you get to gain... gains that you have worked so hard for.

Grabe talaga, we told ourselves (my staff and I). Samahan lang nating tumakbo ang mga Pilipino, magkakaroon ng PAG-ASA ang bansa...

Run the SMART SIM

Run for your own fitness, discipline and health, run to feel the pain and the gain, run to be a part of an advocacy for heroic Christian Citizenship, run a race in your life, soon the race of your life... Run the SMART SIM!