Last Friday, April 4, 2008, I was tasked to proceed to the RTC-Makati City to procure copies of a document important for one of my office's clients. I was expecting that the task would only take a few minutes of my time and then I would be able to return to the office to finish other important tasks. But lo and behold, my plans for the whole day were destroyed in a heartbeat as I discovered that the RTC Branch where I was supposed to go was CLOSED. Mind you, it was a Friday, supposedly still an office day.
To my chagrin and annoyance, I found this note posted on the door of the RTC. Res Ipsa Loquitor. Apparently, every single one of the personnel of the branch went to the wake of the mother of a co-employee. As the note indicated that the branch would be open by afternoon, I went back to the office and planned to go back in the afternoon.
After getting my lunch and returning some calls in the office, I then decided to return to the RTC branch. I said to myself that it would probably be better if I got there before 2 pm so that I won't have to wait long. Again, I was surprised. There was still no one present in the branch. I was informed that these personnel were coming from Montalban, Rizal where the wake was being held.
I was not even alone in my misery in waiting for the return of the entire personnel of the branch. Another lawyer was likewise waiting since, as he informed me, he had a hearing scheduled in this branch that afternoon or at 1:30 pm. It was already 2:30 pm but no personnel of the branch was even in sight. We both decided to go back to our own offices since it was clear that we were waiting in vain.
Such an occurrence really irked me. But I also laughed as a result of this predicament. ONLY IN THE PHILLIPINES, man. It was a Friday, to repeat, still an office day. But the branch was not open for business. Outside the door of the branch, I could hear the phone ringing furiously. Apparently, I was not the only one who had business with the branch. I just couldn't help but take the picture above. I was disappointed and disillusioned enough already with the workings of government offices in this country; and then this happens. Despite the fact that I have learned not to expect anything spectacular from government offices, I still get surprised when I face this kind of b-lls---t. Well, that's life in the Philippines, I guess.
Some of my cousins have already left the Philippines to live and work abroad. These cousins were likewise the products of the premier state university. But they opted to pursue their careers in foreign lands. Is this because they realized that they can get no advancement here in this country? Is this because they got fed up with the tediousness of the government system here? It would have been better if this tediousness was brought about by the demands of efficiency. Obviously, this is not the case. It is the product of red tape, corruption, and inefficiency. CRAP.
