Seeing dark clouds instead of silver lining

We as a people are gripers. Instead of looking at the silver lining in the horizon, we look for the dark clouds of storm that are not even there. Obviously, our nation is not moving forward because we lack the go-go-go spirit that can buoy our people’s morale.

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Look at the recent release of Italian priest Giuseppe Pierantoni from his terrorist captors in Mindanao. Instead of rejoicing over the happy development, we look for ways of how to downgrade the joyful event. We look for ghosts to make it appear that the release from captivity of Fr. Pierantoni is not something we should be grateful for. And our obvious motive seems to be to discredit the government for its role, whatever it may be, in getting freedom for Fr. Pierantoni from his captors.

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The Italian priest is free. He is no longer a hostage. That is a positive note that all Filipinos and all freedom-loving people should be proud of.

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Ma. Margarita L. Lat-Luna, MD, Clinical Associate Professor of the UP College of Medicine Department of Ophthalmology, Philippine General Hospital, is one lady who had an unpleasant experience with the four-day work week policy. To be able to park at the U.P. Manila campus, she and he colleagues are required to secure car stickers at the Property and Supply Office at the Padre Faura Building.

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Dr. Luna called up the Property office last Friday morning to inquire if the application form to secure the car sticker required a signature from the Personnel department, as was the procedure last year. The lady who answered the phone told me that the person in charge of the car stickers was out since it was his day off, and she did not know anything about the matter.

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Dr. Luna asked her to please refer her to her superior who would surely know about it. Their boss was apparently in a meeting and would not be available until after lunch. The lady from Personnel also said that the application form required a signature from the Personnel Office to validate that she is an official employee of U.P. Manila.

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Dr. Luna proceeded to the Personnel office at the 8th floor of the PGH to get the necessary signature for the application form. At the personnel office, she was greeted by a male employee who told her that the person who is supposed to sign her paper is not in because Friday is this person’s day off. He directed her to the Office of the Vice Chancellor to get the signature.

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A very gracious lady at the Office of the Vice Chancellor scolded the people at Personnel for redirecting me because apparently a better informed lady at Personnel was in charge of taking care of such matters. Walking back to Personnel, I was told that their signature was no longer required because they already furnished the Property Office a list of the U.P. employees who may avail of the car stickers. It was a good thing Dr. Luna had this sudden urge to check the list first before proceeding to Personnel just to make sure that her name was there, and saving her a trip under the summer heat.

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Sure enough, her name was not on the list, so they had to check her individual file. This better informed lady apologized for the delay in checking her records because it was not actually her job, but another person’s, who was on his day off!

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After making the necessary confirmations, Dr. Luna left the Personnel office armed with a certificate that she had indeed a current appointment. She got her car sticker in the afternoon, and it was the boss of the Property Office himself who attended to her. "My point, Mr. Borjal, is that, had this person in charge of issuing car stickers been there at his post Friday morning, I would have found out with just a phone call that no signatures are required from Personnel, and that my name was not on his list. I could have subsequently gotten a certification from the Personnel office much faster through the actual person in charge, and I could have procured my sticker in less than an hour from the time I made my phone call to Property," Dr. Luna rued.

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"But as what happened last Friday, it took me about five hours from the time I called the Property Office to the time I had the sticker in my hand. My attitude from now on is that I wouldn’t dare transact business at any government office on a Monday or a Friday because if the person in charge is on his day off, chances are his officemates know absolutely nothing about his job anyway. And you’ll be disrupting their work because they’ll be working their heads off trying to figure out what-the-heck this absent person’s job is all about," she added.

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In effect, Dr. Luna said, the government is only effective three days a week, which is horribly unproductive. It is a good thing this matter is quite petty, involving only a car sticker. "But can you imagine if the same thing happens in more vital government offices. One of the employees I talked to claims that the feedback in Diliman is that they might scrap this four-day work scheme. We hope this is true, and we welcome such a move, Dr. Luna said.

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Let me thank the following generous people who lent a helping hand to the Good Samaritan Foundation:

* Dr. Sharon Belen of the E. Belen Dental Clinic in Atrium, Makati City, P10,000 (Metro Bank 1264951)

* Ardeni Techno Services of Paranaque City, P2,000 (Metrobank 212496)

In the meantime, the Good Samaritan Foundation provided financial assistance pf P1,000 to Teodoro Recio, a former movie scriptwriter, who has bronchial problems.

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The residents of 3 Road District, San Roque, Bagumbayan, Quezon City, which is very near Eastwood City, have a legitimate and valid complaint against Manila Water. They had long paid for their water connection services, but up to now, not a single drop of water drips from their faucets. As a result, they have to wake up at dawn, carrying pails, to get water from a nearby faucet.

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What surprises the residents is the other homes in their area have a lot of water coming out from their faucets. Apparently, Manila Water has not checked on the water pipes that they are supposed to service. If Manila Water does not do anything to check on what seems to be a minor water service problem, its image as an efficient corporate entity will continue to skid downward.

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Thoughts For Today:

Where we walk today is just as important
as where we will be tomorrow.
Happiness not only awaits us in heaven.
There is joy in the journey.

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Many things bring us wealth,
but only friends bring us joy.
May the joy you give come back
to you a thousand fold.

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My e-mail addresses: [email protected] and [email protected]