EDITORIAL - A lesson for government employees

An immigration employee was relieved of his duties after no less than presidential daughter Luli Arroyo complained that the employee did not follow immigration procedures. News reports have it that the immigration employee allowed a foreigner to cut through the line and even allowed the foreigner into his cubicle. The incident should be a lesson for government employees who are so used to making palusot.

Palusot or making shortcuts is a common practice. Whether in falling in line or the processing of documents, there is almost always palusot that is done. This is why most government offices that issue documents have fixers or people who make arrangements so those who want to secure documents no longer have to fall in line or that their requests will be processed ahead of the others.

The government frowns on this practice and has even implemented measures to stop it. However, we cannot deny that this still goes on in almost all government offices. One who has friends in a certain government agency or one who has the money to pay for palusot, will always be served ahead than the others.

What happened at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport should serve as a lesson for those who are still practicing palusot. One can never guess if there is someone in the crowd who will complain about a government employee allowing some of its clients to make shortcuts. For sure, the immigration employee who got relieved of his duties got the shock of his life when he, upon checking the passport of that lady who complained, found out that the complainant was no less than the presidential daughter.

Of course, the Bureau of Immigration was quick to sanction the employee because it was the president's daughter who complained about his actions. The common tao will never get an action to a complaint as fast as that. But nevertheless, the public should also learn to complain to authorities about infractions such as these so that the government can improve its services. The process of improving government services may be slow but complaints like these jolt some officials into action.