Don’t go to Fixers. Fix it yourselves!

My recent visit to the Philippines was both official and unofficial vacation. It is official upon the agreement we had in the community. It is unofficial because I have to obtain one document (NBI clearance) which requires a lot of different processing and definitely did consume most of my time. Seemingly it’s my loss but I am glad however to have noticed the improvement in our country’s system. But hey, obtaining an NBI clearance nowadays requires one to queue as early as 1am in order to avoid the 2,000 cut-off of applicants per day. It also means a 10 working-day period before you can finally have the document in your hand. So where’s the improvement? This scenario is due to the change in the system at the NBI – from manual finger printing to biometric system. The agency with this new system just operated a month ago and literally, everybody is adjusting to it. Hopefully, in the not so distant future it will become less tiring and irritating especially to thousands of applicants. With the world’s unstoppable digitalization, it’s good to see we’re in to adapt.

After having obtained my NBI clearance, I proceeded to DFA to have the document authenticated. Since my time in the Philippines is limited, I opted to go through ‘a third party’ who can help quick process the said document. With all honesty I sternly condemned the use of ‘bribe’, the reason I did not give in to pay PHP1,000 to have my NBI authenticated by the DFA. Instead, I did it ‘my way’ and found out to have done the right action. It took me only an hour to have my document authenticated, a big improvement from two hours or more way back then. Moreover, the place was pleasant and spacious to the convenience of the applicants. I did affirm this good sign that change for our ‘everything poor’ nation is really possible.

Although the use of bribe still exists, the new system is more ‘service friendly’, allowing us to regain trust in our government in general and oneself in particular. Change is on the way and will definitely succeed if we will all work for the common good of everybody. Of course, the challenge remains the same: the change of attitude (heart). Patience is a key factor because it allows us to hope; hope on the other hand encourages us to see the positive side of the situation. Oftentimes the problem lies in the narrow mindedness and erratic behavior of many of us, who think change and improvement are the sole responsibility of our government leaders. It is not the question of the degree of responsibility, it is the internalization of the truth that everyone is responsible for the betterment of one’s and other people’s lives.

So before even thinking of going through a ‘third party’, think of what you can contribute to yourself and to your nation if you go through the right and legal way. You will be elated to find out it is more efficient and will do you a great favor. Never allow fixers to do it for you, rather fix it yourselves.