Aquino Inauguration highlights P-noy Time

It is a common pretext for late comers. When one is late with his appointment or meeting, it is so easy to excuse oneself by saying, Filipino time. Filipino Time is never on-time, never on-the-dot, never on target. That is how many Filipinos consider it.

For me, however, Filipino Time is on-time. You are not a true Filipino if you can’t deliver your promise on-time, if you can’t be present at your meeting at an agreed time. You are not a true Filipino, if you waste other people’s time. Ang bawat segundo ay mahalaga kaya huwag nating sasayangin ang oras ng ibang tao sa kakahintay sa atin.

I don’t really know but it has been instilled in my system not to be late. I better be absent than late. Nagsimula akong magtrabaho in 2001 and I can’t hardly remember when and how many times I got late for work. Malamang pinakamataas na yong limang beses. Nahihiya ako na mahuli sa pasukan o opisina. Mas OK pa makita sa Daily Time Record (DTR) ko that I was absent kaysa makita ko doon ang red markings. I usually file a half-day leave kung magkaganoon man.

When I was beginning, my daily work starts at 7 o’clock in the morning. I reside nine kilometers from work and have to commute daily to work utilizing tricycle, a common ride in our town in the province of Surigao del Sur. I don’t own a motorcycle which is a convenience for Tagon-ons who works in Tandag City. But I was never late and it is my tyros usually get late for that schedule knowing that many of them stayed at boarding houses blocks away from the school.

On the other hand, politicians who believe they are VIPs come oftentimes late to their meetings. They justify using wang-wang (blaring sirens) to escape traffic to catch their meetings, signs that they were too lazy to get up early for the appointment.

Gratefully, P-Noy (President Noynoy) wanted wang-wang out. P-Noy also showed the world and the Filipino people the true meaning of Filipino Time by setting an example. He did that during his inauguration at the Quirino Grandstand. P-Noy arrived earlier than the expected time prompting the organizer to insert fillers (musical numbers) so as to follow the 12 noon traditional oath-taking of the president.

How to be on-time? Rev. Fr. Florio R. Falcon, the former school president of Saint Theresa College, had this to say. Be present at the meeting place 10 minutes before the agreed time. Going there earlier than 10 minutes, you will be wasting your time. But don’t let the person wait for you more than 10 minutes from your agreed time, you will be wasting his time. With a 10-minute margin, you can always be on-time. That’s a Filipino Time.