When I was still studying at the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) back in the 2010’s, one of the humorous meanings students gave to the university's initials was "Pila ulit, pila."
That was because around one-fourth of our college lives were spent waiting in line.
We'd spend up to two hours waiting to pay for various miscellaneous fees or claiming our registration cards and other school requirements.
Remember, this was before the era of free tuition for students at state universities. And even though I paid my tuition fees through Landbank, we still spent a considerable amount of time lining up at the cashier, and woe unto us if we got caught by lunch break or a technical glitch inside the office.
In retrospect – and especially in these days when, by theory, everything should be “instant” – I can honestly say that my own experiences in college had prepared me for all the waiting in line that would become part of my life when I finally graduated.
Waiting in line just to catch a ride to work and back home.
Waiting in line inside government offices – and if there’s a technical snag or some missing document, we’ll have to endure waiting all over again.
Waiting to claim our “ayuda” or Christmas gift package.
Waiting, waiting, waiting. To quote the Broadway musical “The Band’s Visit,” we’ve become experts at waiting.
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According to political blogger Nutribun Republic, the fact that we spend much of our days just waiting in line is a symptom of how broken our system of governance has become.
There’s not much data on how much the ordinary Filipino spends just waiting in endless lines. (There - I hope through this piece, I’ve already given students a brilliant idea for their next thesis or dissertation.)
But here are some related statistics: according to Statista, the average Filipino loses an average of 100 hours annually just commuting during rush hour. These, I presume, include all the time we spend waiting in lines. Not to mention that we spend around an hour or two just waiting inside our government offices.
There are already proposed measures to reduce the average waiting time for Filipinos – digitalization of government services has often been touted among local government units.
Here in Laguna province, some LGUs have already started introducing online processing of certain services such as applying or renewing business permits. And the fact that they work has made Filipinos wish, “sana all!”
At ang pinakamasaklap? Hahayaan kong ang post na ito galing sa Nutribun Republic ang maghayag nito:
“Hindi ito simpleng inconvenience. Ito ay structural disadvantage. Sino ang pinaka-apektado? Ang mahihirap at middle class na naka-no-work-no-pay. Isang araw lang sa pila, gutom na ang pamilya. Isang balik-ulit dahil may kulang na requirement, bawas na naman ang boundary. Isang week follow-up, ubos ang lakas. Hindi ito drama. Ito ang araw-araw na realidad ng bansa.”
Waiting in line doesn’t just mean wasted time. It’s wasted money, wasted opportunity. And I can’t help but wonder if inefficiency and time-wasting actually benefits the officials who rake in millions through robbing our coffers.
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