Finding treasures in time TAs
IME is gold. Everyone gets it in equal share.
the martial arts Bruce Lee said, “If you love life, don’t waste time, for time is what life is made up of.” The only thing in this world that we cannot get back (aside from life itself) is time.
When we’ve spent 30 minutes (or wasted) of our time, we cannot get it back, however we desperately want it. But not everyone spends our share of time wisely. On Sunday, the Central Negros Cooperative posted in its website that there will be a brownout along Bacolod-Alijis from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. True enough. We lost power at 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. The power came back at 7:45 a.m. – 45 minutes late than promised. I lecture my parties in mediation when they come in late.
But that might be a bit hypocritical. Sometimes I report to the Philippine Mediation Center five minutes late.
Last September 28, Bacolod Councilor Ricardo Tan told the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to finish soon the construction and rehabilitation of the drainage system in the city.
And DPWH promised that the Gatuslao drainage system will be done before the MassKara starts in October. Well, hello, November is soon over. It’s highly doubtful the Gatuslao drainage project can meet its very-much delayed timeline.
How much time has DPWH wasted? It would be interesting to compute how much the government has lost in monetary terms. The agency has redefined the malaise of Filipino time. It’s like the old cartoons featuring a filthy rich guy who literally has money to burn by using hundred dollar bills to light up his cigarette. The Philippine Constitution emphasizes the importance of accountability in the government.
Article XI simply and bluntly begins: “Public office is a public trust,” before it adds that officials and employees should serve the people with “responsibility, integrity, loyalty and EFFICIENCY.” DPWH is showing its inefficiency in its public work projects.
Their ability to accomplish something with the least waste of time and effort leaves something much to be desired. It should learn from the Japanese Tsukuba Express from Minami Nagareyama station, just north of Tokyo.
Its train arrived on time, but pulled away from the platform at 9.44.20 a.m., or 20 seconds late. The train’s operator, though, believed the foul-up was serious enough to warrant an apology. “We deeply apologize for the severe inconvenience imposed upon our customers,” the Metropolitan Intercity Railway Company said in a statement. Delays – even of just a minute – prompt profuse apologies by Japanese train operators.
Here, the DPWH – and other government agencies don’t even bother to apologize. It’s not surprising that these agencies don’t even put up billboards on project details: name, date of construction and target date of completion, budget, etc. SSBacolod
Be patient and persistent with people. Be patient and persistent with results. Add perseverance to patience and persistence. The art of communication is the language of leadership.
"Verbal communication is essential in order to understand what is going on inside other people. If they do not tell us their thoughts, their feelings, and their experiences, we are left to guess." ~ Dr. Gary Chapman, Now You're Speaking My Language.