There is a word most, if not all, Filipinos know, especially our politicians. The word is delicadeza.

I’m not an etymologist, so I don’t know where the word came from or its exact meaning. I surmise it comes from the word, delicate, which in turn conveys sensitivity to the sense and sensibility of others you interact with.

Thus, when a politician is said to have no delicadeza, it can mean he/she is holding on to his/her office (kapit tuko) without the trust and confidence of the people who elected him/her. Another case is when a public official is surrounded by controversy and should step down or take a leave of absence, out of delicadeza, so as to first clear his/her name.

Take the case of President Arroyo. A majority of Filipinos no longer see her as a credible leader. Yet, she’s holding on to the Presidency for dear life. Delicadeza apparently is not in her vocabulary.

Then there’s Pasig Mayor Vicente Eusebio. After a raid was conducted by drug enforcement agents on the Mapayapa Compound, which was discovered to be a shabu "tiangge" or market, a spitting distance from city hall, Eusebio and his men descended on the compound and destroyed the shanties there, including the evidence that lawmen could use to prosecute the arrested pushers.

Did Eusebio wittingly or unwittingly destroy evidence? To show that he wasn’t trying to obstruct justice, Eusebio should take a leave of absence so investigations can be made without his mayoralty influence. But will he do it? Only if knows the word, delicadeza.

Wanna bet he doesn’t?