Okay. What to do when you’re a fresh grad like me? You have to have valid IDs. At least 2 of them. Unfortunately I cannot drive because of my disability which’ll make it very dangerous so I can’t get a driver’s license. Valid IDs for employment and a host of other requirements before I can work.
So what did I do? 2 days ago I went to Quezon City Hall to pay for the community tax, a prerequisite for barangay clearance. The same day I went back to Project 6 Barangay Hall to get my clearance which fortunately didn’t take long. But it did take an hour to wait for the person who’s supposed to sign my clearance to come back to the hall. Talk about quality service.
NEXT. Earlier today, I went back to the city hall to get my police clearance (and hopefully if I finished early and I wasn’t too tired, my NBI clearance as well). Went to the police clearance area, got an application form and went to the Treasurer’s Office (the same place where I paid my community tax, just on a different window).
That was where I started seeing things. Visions. Ghosts. Kidding. But I did see things there that could be improved. Fortunately, the office was air conditioned because 2 years ago I had to pay for community tax and that office was a hot mess. Well it still is, technically.
What were the ghosts, I mean things that I saw:
Long queues – The community tax line was very short. You could pay for your cedula in less than ten minutes. But the lines for miscellaneous fees were crazy! I know in UP we are used to long queues, but at least the queues were logical if you know what I mean. You’ll see later.
SYSTEM: When I got there a little before 11 am, there was only one window serving. I don’t get why there should only be one when some of the staff were just sitting there, or standing, or talking on the phone. WHY? Okay, perhaps they’re underpaid and all that but, what the heck, that ain’t no excuse because it’s unfair to the people in falling in (the long) line. They probably earn more than what the Jollibee crew do but Jollibee serves fast even with heavy traffic of customers. And you wouldn’t see crew members resting and seen by the customers. ANYWAY.
So here’s what they do. The line was so long, you had to line up OUTSIDE the treasurer’s office. Thank you, no air con. They put up gazebos outside and very few (ten?) seats. The line was crazily long with only one window serving. If you could see the line top view, it would be like seeing your small intestines. That was how the line looked like. Then the security guard lets about 10 people at a time in to the big air conditioned office (why don’t they more people in? dunno.).
PROBLEM: Do you know the literacy rate of Filipinos aged 10 years older? According to the 2003 FLEMMS, it was 93%. Functional Literacy was 84.1%. So why do people enter through doors marked “EXIT”? Really, doesn’t that count in the simple literacy rate? 93% of Filipinos should understand that.
Why is that such a problem at the treasurer’s office? I talked about the system earlier right? If somebody would enter through the exit doors, that person ultimately skips lining up the long queue outside. Problem again: the security guard is at the entrance. Fact: some of the staff would call out those who entered through the exit so that they’d line up. But another fact: Not all people who enter through the exit and lines up INSIDE gets called out. When I was still outside, there were probably 5 who got in without being caught. I saw them line up but I was to far from the door to tell them. I could’ve screamed but hey, I’m not like that. Lol.
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Now I understand why people would rather vote for Estrada than Gordon or Gibo. Now I understand why now, we can have Star Awards and FAMAS at the Senate or alternately at the House of Representatives. *tears*
Aside from these problems, here’s another one:
PROBLEM 2: They’ve air conditioned the office. They have Lenovo computers in all windows (there were more than 10 windows, if I’m not mistaken). BUT: Receipts were done manually. Yes, there were receipt books, and when you pay, the person at the window writes down all the info by hand.
Do you know how much budget UP gets? Back in 2oo8, we got PhP 6 Billion for the entire UP System. Hence, that was the budget for the Diliman, Manila, Baguio, Pampanga, Los Baños, Visayas, Mindanao and Open University campuses. That had to pay for teachers, staff, and facilities. UP had to spend PhP 7.2 Billion that year. (Okay, that was Wikipedia info, but usually Wiki gets these things correctly. The DilimanDiary also reports the same thing, 6 billion but for 2010.) Fine, when 2007-***** students came in there was TOFI. Still, that was probably still short for the budget. Anyway, when TOFI came, there was free internet for the TOFI batch (I was in the last batch that wasn’t affected by TOFI), somehow better facilities, and computerized Form 5. In short, there was at least some progress. Little, but it’s there. How does this figure in?
I’ve been in UP for more than half my life. I studied in UPIS. Back then, even in 2002 and way before the tuition increase, receipts in UP were already printed out. The cashier’s office isn’t fully air conditioned until now but receipts are computerized. And you can’t argue that they have some database shit. They do, but they don’t type in your name and then they automatically know what you’re paying for. You get a payment request somewhere else (say, for a True Copy of Grades), at your college, go to the cashier’s office, they type out your name and input what you paid for to a certain “fund”. Then they have a blank receipt where they print just the necessary details. AND they have 2 windows serving at Diliman for the sari-saring fees. That’s just for Diliman. Imagine 2 windows serving the needs of QUEZON CITY.
Talking about underpaid staff? UP has an underpaid staff but they serve well. And they do take lunches, but not closing their window, while there were still 10 people lined up. They’d say, “stop lining up at this window”, but they’ll finish the payments that were already lined up. That’s decent service, I’d say. See, I’ve seen a City Hall staff close a window (eventually they opened another window to let in 20 people at a time because people were starting to stir) when there were only 6 more people to serve. He had lunch. At 11:56am. I was 5th in that line. We had to transfer lines. When we transfered, I was 10th in the next line. I waited 20-30 minutes at the first line only to be told that I had to transfer lines. How about sparing 4 minutes of your time to finish 6 more receipts? 
So this is what I don’t get: Like I said, there were possibly more than 10 Lenovo computers (or more, and they look new!) at the windows of the treasurer’s office. What is the point of having that many computers when there are only at most 4 windows serving at one time and all of them manually writing down the receipts? I don’t get it! Why don’t you just sell some of the computers, buy printers for the others so that they could print the receipts? After all, those 10 windows never functioned simultaneously at all. Funny that CD-R King has the same problem, a store that cheapskates like me shop in for gadgets. Product? Long frustrating queues. If QC could pay for air conditioning, why can’t it pay for printers? After all, according to http://www.quezoncity.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=181&Itemid=114, we’re the most competitive city in Metro Manila. Not only that, QC is 3rd most cost effective city in Asia. Oh, well, that figures. 
I know, 90% of the people who started to read this post possibly stopped 10% through. But I do have solutions. Well, not solutions to the long lines, that can’t be helped. I do have suggestions that could at least alleviate the pain… or well, make the long queues at least, logical.
In UP Office of the University Registrar, especially during registration period, you could end up in queues that could take an hour or so on the busiest days. Okay, an hour is dramatically long. But why don’t UP students scream, stomp, and react like the people who line up at the City Hall treasurer’s office? Well, part of that is we are so used to long lines. BUT we are used to long logical lines. People don’t cut lines. People line up properly. And the staff serving at the windows are efficient.
People don’t cut lines in UP because they CAN’T. People are watching, not just the people in the line, but staff and the UP Police sometimes haha. In OUR, you’d see a system where you cannot give an excuse. Obviously, if there were senior citizens they’d still have an express lane like everywhere else should. I’m totally okay with that. But UP OUR doesn’t usually serve senior citizens, lol, because normally people who line up are college students. ANYWAY the system’s simple and everybody’s familiar with it. But let me remind you:
When you enter the building, there are cards of different colors with different numbers printed on them. The moment you enter, the guard asks you what your “purpose” is. Then he/she gives you a card of a certain color and a certain number. The colors tell you which window to go (depending on your purpose). The numbers tell you your position in the queue. Technically, there’s no queue because you can stay anywhere in the vicinity (and there are seats!) and just come by your window when your number is called. And you don’t have to worry if your number was 241. The possibility that 1 to 100 are done is large. Haha. Those cards were probably back at the security guard’s table. Or not. Lol.
Something like this, only, I suggest use reusable ones. ;D
You CAN’T cut lines because the people serving at the window know the number of the last card they served. If you weren’t there when your card got called, if there were only 2 of you, the staff are kind enough to serve you. But all the people who have been waiting at the vicinity would STARE at you. I know, because I GLARE. Hahaha. People do. It’s the worst feeling you could get out of “falling in line”. Just for that, people don’t normally let their turn be missed. Sometimes, if the staff at the windows are strict, they don’t serve your number if you get skipped. You have to get another number. So for those instances, people don’t take chances, they just wait patiently.
EASY to do right? Easier than the printers I suggested. But in fact, the printers are easy to get and operate for Quezon City, I swear. Like I said, sell the idle assets and use the money to buy assets you could use. Those Lenovo computers would depreciate fast, so if I were the new Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte or Mayor Herbert Bautista, I’d sell them and buy usable capital assets. And the system I was suggesting isn’t new. Banks do that. Even Sun, Globe, and Smart offices do that. They even have that LED monitor saying “Now Serving Number: ***”. It prevents people from cutting lines. If the line was long, it would enable people to not waste their time (wishing they knew how to estimate the time they could spend out of line).
IN FACT I think when that treasurer’s office got renovated, they intended to use that system. BECAUSE I saw the similar LED monitors (2 of them) inside the office. See, they know that would have been an effective system, why the heck aren’t they using it? I know, the air conditioned office was a major improvement from the former but efficiency first. Are they afraid of the bills? UP’s OUR doesn’t have those LED screens. It only has a megaphone. Haha. Sometimes, when the megaphone isn’t there, they have screaming registration assistants (love you guys! haha). In fact, I could donate the number cards if they won’t budge. Not printed and laminated like OUR’s though, I don’t have that much money. HAHA. 
It CAN be done. I know it can be done. QC’s my favorite city because I’ve lived here since I was a tiny kid. I’m still tiny, but not a kid anymore. I still love QC because I see how it has progressed. Just look at this (from the Quezon City Government website):
An impressive resume for the city. Props to Hon. Sonny Belmonte, currently my favorite public official in the executive. Now he goes back to the congress, hopefully his daughter and his former vice mayor, now Mayor Herbert Bautista, will execute changes in their own backyard. As the cliché goes, they have to set an example for good public service. We’ve seen roads transform, we’ve seen communities cleaned up (well, also, thanks to former MMDA chairman Bayani Fernando). You could say this problem I’m talking about is a minute issue, something in the least of their worries. But consider this.
You know how long it takes to set up a business in Singapore? It takes 4 DAYS. That’s because they have a very efficient permits system, clearances, payments, whatnot. In the World Bank “Doing Business” rankings of the ease of doing business in a country, Singapore is number 1. Philippines is… TA-DAH! ONE HUNDRED FORTY FOUR! Out of 183. Not something to be proud of. Businesses, and other important transactions are also dependent on how efficient your government is. Citizens spend resources when they line up (more if they line up for long hours!). It’s a waste of resources. The government is also, in this case, wasting money on idle assets that just depreciate and never get utilized.
See, it all fits in! So if you think I’m such a biatch complaining about this when just a jeepney ride away, there are beggars on the street, please be my guest. Call me a biatch. But it doesn’t lessen the sense of my suggestions, and neither does it mean that I totally ignore the beggars on the streets.
I still love QC because I see potential. I pray that the officials see that too. And well, act on it. 
PS. I’m gonna try to write a letter to newly elected Mayor Bautista and Vice Mayor Belmonte. Hopefully it’ll get heard.
==============================================================================
OTHER SOURCES not mentioned in the post:
http://www.free-press-release.com/news-singapore-tops-world-banks-ease-of-doing-business-survey-4th-year-running-1253765285.html
http://www.doingbusiness.org/economyrankings/
FOR IMAGES:
When you copy the image URL, you will see where they came from. THANKS!
Like this:
Be the first to like this post.
This entry was posted on May 14, 2010 at 3:44 pm and is filed under Another Day, Passers-by Wisdom, Ranting, Social Commentary . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
City Hall Moments
Okay. What to do when you’re a fresh grad like me? You have to have valid IDs. At least 2 of them. Unfortunately I cannot drive because of my disability which’ll make it very dangerous so I can’t get a driver’s license. Valid IDs for employment and a host of other requirements before I can work.
So what did I do? 2 days ago I went to Quezon City Hall to pay for the community tax, a prerequisite for barangay clearance. The same day I went back to Project 6 Barangay Hall to get my clearance which fortunately didn’t take long. But it did take an hour to wait for the person who’s supposed to sign my clearance to come back to the hall. Talk about quality service.
NEXT. Earlier today, I went back to the city hall to get my police clearance (and hopefully if I finished early and I wasn’t too tired, my NBI clearance as well). Went to the police clearance area, got an application form and went to the Treasurer’s Office (the same place where I paid my community tax, just on a different window).
That was where I started seeing things. Visions. Ghosts. Kidding. But I did see things there that could be improved. Fortunately, the office was air conditioned because 2 years ago I had to pay for community tax and that office was a hot mess. Well it still is, technically.
What were the ghosts, I mean things that I saw:
Long queues – The community tax line was very short. You could pay for your cedula in less than ten minutes. But the lines for miscellaneous fees were crazy! I know in UP we are used to long queues, but at least the queues were logical if you know what I mean. You’ll see later.
SYSTEM: When I got there a little before 11 am, there was only one window serving. I don’t get why there should only be one when some of the staff were just sitting there, or standing, or talking on the phone. WHY? Okay, perhaps they’re underpaid and all that but, what the heck, that ain’t no excuse because it’s unfair to the people in falling in (the long) line. They probably earn more than what the Jollibee crew do but Jollibee serves fast even with heavy traffic of customers. And you wouldn’t see crew members resting and seen by the customers. ANYWAY.
So here’s what they do. The line was so long, you had to line up OUTSIDE the treasurer’s office. Thank you, no air con. They put up gazebos outside and very few (ten?) seats. The line was crazily long with only one window serving. If you could see the line top view, it would be like seeing your small intestines. That was how the line looked like. Then the security guard lets about 10 people at a time in to the big air conditioned office (why don’t they more people in? dunno.).
PROBLEM: Do you know the literacy rate of Filipinos aged 10 years older? According to the 2003 FLEMMS, it was 93%. Functional Literacy was 84.1%. So why do people enter through doors marked “EXIT”? Really, doesn’t that count in the simple literacy rate? 93% of Filipinos should understand that.
Why is that such a problem at the treasurer’s office? I talked about the system earlier right? If somebody would enter through the exit doors, that person ultimately skips lining up the long queue outside. Problem again: the security guard is at the entrance. Fact: some of the staff would call out those who entered through the exit so that they’d line up. But another fact: Not all people who enter through the exit and lines up INSIDE gets called out. When I was still outside, there were probably 5 who got in without being caught. I saw them line up but I was to far from the door to tell them. I could’ve screamed but hey, I’m not like that. Lol.
Now I understand why people would rather vote for Estrada than Gordon or Gibo. Now I understand why now, we can have Star Awards and FAMAS at the Senate or alternately at the House of Representatives. *tears*
Aside from these problems, here’s another one:
PROBLEM 2: They’ve air conditioned the office. They have Lenovo computers in all windows (there were more than 10 windows, if I’m not mistaken). BUT: Receipts were done manually. Yes, there were receipt books, and when you pay, the person at the window writes down all the info by hand.
Do you know how much budget UP gets? Back in 2oo8, we got PhP 6 Billion for the entire UP System. Hence, that was the budget for the Diliman, Manila, Baguio, Pampanga, Los Baños, Visayas, Mindanao and Open University campuses. That had to pay for teachers, staff, and facilities. UP had to spend PhP 7.2 Billion that year. (Okay, that was Wikipedia info, but usually Wiki gets these things correctly. The DilimanDiary also reports the same thing, 6 billion but for 2010.) Fine, when 2007-***** students came in there was TOFI. Still, that was probably still short for the budget. Anyway, when TOFI came, there was free internet for the TOFI batch (I was in the last batch that wasn’t affected by TOFI), somehow better facilities, and computerized Form 5. In short, there was at least some progress. Little, but it’s there. How does this figure in?
I’ve been in UP for more than half my life. I studied in UPIS. Back then, even in 2002 and way before the tuition increase, receipts in UP were already printed out. The cashier’s office isn’t fully air conditioned until now but receipts are computerized. And you can’t argue that they have some database shit. They do, but they don’t type in your name and then they automatically know what you’re paying for. You get a payment request somewhere else (say, for a True Copy of Grades), at your college, go to the cashier’s office, they type out your name and input what you paid for to a certain “fund”. Then they have a blank receipt where they print just the necessary details. AND they have 2 windows serving at Diliman for the sari-saring fees. That’s just for Diliman. Imagine 2 windows serving the needs of QUEZON CITY.
Talking about underpaid staff? UP has an underpaid staff but they serve well. And they do take lunches, but not closing their window, while there were still 10 people lined up. They’d say, “stop lining up at this window”, but they’ll finish the payments that were already lined up. That’s decent service, I’d say. See, I’ve seen a City Hall staff close a window (eventually they opened another window to let in 20 people at a time because people were starting to stir) when there were only 6 more people to serve. He had lunch. At 11:56am. I was 5th in that line. We had to transfer lines. When we transfered, I was 10th in the next line. I waited 20-30 minutes at the first line only to be told that I had to transfer lines. How about sparing 4 minutes of your time to finish 6 more receipts?
So this is what I don’t get: Like I said, there were possibly more than 10 Lenovo computers (or more, and they look new!) at the windows of the treasurer’s office. What is the point of having that many computers when there are only at most 4 windows serving at one time and all of them manually writing down the receipts? I don’t get it! Why don’t you just sell some of the computers, buy printers for the others so that they could print the receipts? After all, those 10 windows never functioned simultaneously at all. Funny that CD-R King has the same problem, a store that cheapskates like me shop in for gadgets. Product? Long frustrating queues. If QC could pay for air conditioning, why can’t it pay for printers? After all, according to http://www.quezoncity.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=181&Itemid=114, we’re the most competitive city in Metro Manila. Not only that, QC is 3rd most cost effective city in Asia. Oh, well, that figures.
I know, 90% of the people who started to read this post possibly stopped 10% through. But I do have solutions. Well, not solutions to the long lines, that can’t be helped. I do have suggestions that could at least alleviate the pain… or well, make the long queues at least, logical.
In UP Office of the University Registrar, especially during registration period, you could end up in queues that could take an hour or so on the busiest days. Okay, an hour is dramatically long. But why don’t UP students scream, stomp, and react like the people who line up at the City Hall treasurer’s office? Well, part of that is we are so used to long lines. BUT we are used to long logical lines. People don’t cut lines. People line up properly. And the staff serving at the windows are efficient.
People don’t cut lines in UP because they CAN’T. People are watching, not just the people in the line, but staff and the UP Police sometimes haha. In OUR, you’d see a system where you cannot give an excuse. Obviously, if there were senior citizens they’d still have an express lane like everywhere else should. I’m totally okay with that. But UP OUR doesn’t usually serve senior citizens, lol, because normally people who line up are college students. ANYWAY the system’s simple and everybody’s familiar with it. But let me remind you:
When you enter the building, there are cards of different colors with different numbers printed on them. The moment you enter, the guard asks you what your “purpose” is. Then he/she gives you a card of a certain color and a certain number. The colors tell you which window to go (depending on your purpose). The numbers tell you your position in the queue. Technically, there’s no queue because you can stay anywhere in the vicinity (and there are seats!) and just come by your window when your number is called. And you don’t have to worry if your number was 241. The possibility that 1 to 100 are done is large. Haha. Those cards were probably back at the security guard’s table. Or not. Lol.
Something like this, only, I suggest use reusable ones. ;D
You CAN’T cut lines because the people serving at the window know the number of the last card they served. If you weren’t there when your card got called, if there were only 2 of you, the staff are kind enough to serve you. But all the people who have been waiting at the vicinity would STARE at you. I know, because I GLARE. Hahaha. People do. It’s the worst feeling you could get out of “falling in line”. Just for that, people don’t normally let their turn be missed. Sometimes, if the staff at the windows are strict, they don’t serve your number if you get skipped. You have to get another number. So for those instances, people don’t take chances, they just wait patiently.
EASY to do right? Easier than the printers I suggested. But in fact, the printers are easy to get and operate for Quezon City, I swear. Like I said, sell the idle assets and use the money to buy assets you could use. Those Lenovo computers would depreciate fast, so if I were the new Vice Mayor Joy Belmonte or Mayor Herbert Bautista, I’d sell them and buy usable capital assets. And the system I was suggesting isn’t new. Banks do that. Even Sun, Globe, and Smart offices do that. They even have that LED monitor saying “Now Serving Number: ***”. It prevents people from cutting lines. If the line was long, it would enable people to not waste their time (wishing they knew how to estimate the time they could spend out of line).
IN FACT I think when that treasurer’s office got renovated, they intended to use that system. BECAUSE I saw the similar LED monitors (2 of them) inside the office. See, they know that would have been an effective system, why the heck aren’t they using it? I know, the air conditioned office was a major improvement from the former but efficiency first. Are they afraid of the bills? UP’s OUR doesn’t have those LED screens. It only has a megaphone. Haha. Sometimes, when the megaphone isn’t there, they have screaming registration assistants (love you guys! haha). In fact, I could donate the number cards if they won’t budge. Not printed and laminated like OUR’s though, I don’t have that much money. HAHA.
It CAN be done. I know it can be done. QC’s my favorite city because I’ve lived here since I was a tiny kid. I’m still tiny, but not a kid anymore. I still love QC because I see how it has progressed. Just look at this (from the Quezon City Government website):
An impressive resume for the city. Props to Hon. Sonny Belmonte, currently my favorite public official in the executive. Now he goes back to the congress, hopefully his daughter and his former vice mayor, now Mayor Herbert Bautista, will execute changes in their own backyard. As the cliché goes, they have to set an example for good public service. We’ve seen roads transform, we’ve seen communities cleaned up (well, also, thanks to former MMDA chairman Bayani Fernando). You could say this problem I’m talking about is a minute issue, something in the least of their worries. But consider this.
You know how long it takes to set up a business in Singapore? It takes 4 DAYS. That’s because they have a very efficient permits system, clearances, payments, whatnot. In the World Bank “Doing Business” rankings of the ease of doing business in a country, Singapore is number 1. Philippines is… TA-DAH! ONE HUNDRED FORTY FOUR! Out of 183. Not something to be proud of. Businesses, and other important transactions are also dependent on how efficient your government is. Citizens spend resources when they line up (more if they line up for long hours!). It’s a waste of resources. The government is also, in this case, wasting money on idle assets that just depreciate and never get utilized.
See, it all fits in! So if you think I’m such a biatch complaining about this when just a jeepney ride away, there are beggars on the street, please be my guest. Call me a biatch. But it doesn’t lessen the sense of my suggestions, and neither does it mean that I totally ignore the beggars on the streets.
I still love QC because I see potential. I pray that the officials see that too. And well, act on it.
PS. I’m gonna try to write a letter to newly elected Mayor Bautista and Vice Mayor Belmonte. Hopefully it’ll get heard.
==============================================================================
OTHER SOURCES not mentioned in the post:
http://www.free-press-release.com/news-singapore-tops-world-banks-ease-of-doing-business-survey-4th-year-running-1253765285.html
http://www.doingbusiness.org/economyrankings/
FOR IMAGES:
When you copy the image URL, you will see where they came from.
THANKS!
Like this:
This entry was posted on May 14, 2010 at 3:44 pm and is filed under Another Day, Passers-by Wisdom, Ranting, Social Commentary . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.