ONE of the legacies that the late Governor Joseph Marañón has bequeathed to Negros Occidental was NOOT (Negros Occidental On Time). He was frustrated that many Provincial Government employees are so in love with Filipiniana habits – especially with Filipino time.
Now generally, I have no problem with government time. At least most transactions start on time. Or if late, tardiness is utmost 15 minutes behind schedule. Most of the time, I come a few minutes early, on the dot, or certainly not more than a quarter of an hour for my court-annexed mediation.
As a renewed Catholic, it taxes my patience if my parties come late. I give the late parties, including lawyers, a piece of my mind that I refuse to waste my time on the laties, the word coined by American comedian Mike Birbiglia.
Or as my late father joshed my late Uncle B not because he passed away, but because he was always late. Filipino time. Be late. Be a latie. Give me Swiss, Japanese or North American time any time.
Time is what rich and poor, men and women, Filipinos and foreigners have in common as a resource. But as the founder of the then Province of Pennsylvania William Penn said, “Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.”
We know that managing time is the process of planning and exercising conscious control over the amount of time spent on specific activities – especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency or productivity.
And it is the waste of time that led Sis Del, or the on-time RTC Judge Philadelfa Agriavador, to post in her social media account, “Walked to HOJ from Gatuslao St. due to traffic caused by the rain, road repair and Masskara #firsttimeever!”
I knew Sis Del who was my classmate in my second Prayer and Life Workshop. She has never arrived on the dot because she came a few minutes ahead of the appointed time. Good discipline, a role model for denizens of the Hall of Justice. No wonder she is exasperated.
Which is by the way located on Gatuslao Street. The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) promised Superintendent Luisito Acebuche, chief of the Bacolod Traffic Authority Office, that they can finish the drainage construction before the MassKara Festival by October 1.
Masskara has ended yesterday. But has DPWH finished its job in Gatuslao? What now, DPWH District Engineer Abraham Villareal?
Recently, President Rodrigo Duterte dismissed two unnamed government officials because of “undue delays,” a violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, which prohibits government officials’ negligence to act on relevant matters within a reasonable time without sufficient justification.
(bqsanc@yahoo.com)
