‘You can’t touch it!’

There were approximately 120 people ahead of us in the queue, we were about 30 minutes early for our appointment and every time the applicants at the counter were cleared, everybody “moved sideways and forward” until they reached the seats in front of the counter and from there began the actual process of applying for, or renewing a passport.

We recently applied for a Philippine passport for my daughter and just getting an appointment took three days. My wife had to stay up at 2 o-clock in the morning when the rest of the would-be applicants were dead to the world. By the time we got to DFA Mega Mall, we were physically and psychologically prepared to waste precious time in the cue and maybe even face some technical issues or hassles as is the case in other government agencies. Surprisingly, the guard let us in before our schedule. (But why we let security guards process clients is so wrong). We joined the queue and started doing the musical chairs without the music. Every time three people left all the people sitting in 10 rows would stand up and change seats. It was a good knee exercise except for those who banged their knees on the steel chairs.

In the meantime, I sat luxuriously in the same freezing cold steel chairs on the other side of the room reserved for senior citizens, PWDs and pregnant women with infants. The DFA deserves points for that. I entertained myself admiring the skills of a staff member who excelled in entertaining infants and toddlers to sit still and look at the camera by clicking away with a staple gun like a Spanish dancer clicking castanets. One after the other this dude got the job done and left the kids bewildered and amused not to mention getting their mugshots done!

From start to finish it took us all of 55 minutes! Congratulations DFA!

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Nobody believes a threat until it happens. Well, it has happened!

When Malacañang came up with the idea of cutting down on overtime payments, one of the agencies that expressed alarm was the Bureau of Immigration because overtime pay was the only way they could attract young professionals such as lawyers to join the force. The overtime pay was a tool used to balance or compensate the unattractive salaries that BI officers receive. When word got out that the bureau’s OT payments would be cut if not totally removed, many of the new hires expressed concern and said that they might opt to “move on” to greener pastures in the private sector. Even the long-time employees of the BI were also worried that it would sink morale as well as performance. Of course the budget experts assumed these were SOP reactions.

Wrong. There is now a perceptible slowdown in the agency’s output particularly at tae Airports where absences of BI personnel have reportedly led to long lines of tourists and local residents taking forever to be processed. Not many are aware of the silent protest or are willing to recognize it, but what’s undeniable is that the slowdown has become increasingly embarrassing especially when BI officers call in to say they can’t or couldn’t report for work because they did not have bus fare or pamasahe. Remember many of the young pretty or handsome people at the front lines are newbies! I guess when politicians generalize against the agency and label people at the BI as “corrupt,” then Malacañang decides to take away overtime pay, sooner or later people just get fed up and fight back or decide to take everyone down with them.

As I pointed out in a previous column, no one has talked much or studied the volume of tourist and travellers that have doubled if not tripled in the last 10 years. Nothing has really been done to beef up the number of BI personnel and facilities. So the overtime pay was in effect “consuelo de bobo” or incentive for people to carry on working at three times the volume and still the same old equipment.

Malacañang or the DOJ or even the Senate can threaten all they want but in a time of great discontent and disturbance, the gatekeepers must have an acceptable reason and motivation to show up for work and do their job. It’s bad enough to be treated like houseboys at the gate, but if you want to deny them decent wages, we get what we pay for!

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The unceremonious removal of the Liberal party from various Senate committees caught many by surprise and a number of people surmised that it all had to do with their involvement in the last EDSA anniversary celebration. No less than Senator Manny Pacquiao came out with a statement saying it was not so. My question is, were the Liberals dethroned in the hopes that it would lead to a cancellation of the Senate hearing where retired police officer Arturo Lascañas was suppose to do a return bout to nail President Rodrigo Duterte as the head of the Davao death squad?

Last I heard, the Liberals were not going to back down or agree to canceling the hearing. There is no doubt that if Lascañas gives a halfway decent testimony or declaration, it could lead to a new set of attempts to try and impeach President Duterte. I don’t think any one or any group is in a position to “dethrone” Digong at the moment but that won’t stop them from chewing at his throne like termites especially since there is already a flicker of disillusion with PRRD and his Cabinet for failing to act decisively and quickly on their many campaign promises.

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