What do you think?

In the Philippines, it will be very easy for anybody to have an instant friend. I quick glimpse and a charming smile will be enough to start a conversation… that’s all it takes to start a lasting friendship. From the earliest writings found about the archipelago the Filipino hospitality has been a testament of how the early settlers were and it had been passed on to the present. We have not only been welcoming to other raises but also to our own countrymen.
But have you ever wondered how that trait served our people and our culture?
Have you been in any government establishment to seek service that the government pledged to provide to its people? I have… I wanted to get my birth certificate from NSO. I was amazed by how long the line was when I got there. It was 7:00 am and I think there were already 24 people who got there before me. I didn’t know if I would go on or just try to be there earlier tomorrow. I had a 10:00 am Physics class and a 45 minute travel time. I decided to stay and try my luck hoping it will just take me an hour or two get my task done.
And there I was… waiting until all 50 people ahead of me get to the window and out the door. Waiting was not a fun thing to do. Since I was so bored… I thought of seeing how long each person spends at the window only to be told to be back after 2 hours or by the end of the day to pick up their requested document. It was 10 to 14 minutes a person.
At that rate I knew I was bound to be late.
Twenty two persons after a hefty lady I guess on her early forty’s come in. She had this big fancy leather bag, dark sunglasses with golden frame and a 3 inch red stiletto matching her top and oversized belt. She headed straight to the clerk’s window from the narrow front door, flashed a smile to the attending employee and said “Hi, I’m Mrs. Dimagulangan wife of Mr. Honorio Dimagulangan from the Governor’s office he’s a dear friend of your Director. I want to get my youngest daughter’s birth certificate.”
The lady on the window smiled and invited her to come inside. 10 minutes after, she went rushing to the door with a yellow piece of paper on her left hand. I was able to catch what was on the header. It read Certificate of Birth for Nicole Racelis Dimagulangan.
It made me think why it took me 4 hours to file for my request and be told to get it at 3:00 pm and only 10 minutes paired with a charming smile for that lady?
As I head to school it all sank in to me… it was friendship.
It’s so hard for me not to ponder how much more can these kinds of friendship affect our society if it existed between people with greater power and significance. The people that we trusted to employ equality and progress; the people that we expect to protect the democracy and freedom our forefathers died for. I think it’s time for us to make the difference.
In two months time… we will be given the right to choose who to trust. Let’s not forget about friendship. Let’s not forget about how people use it… who use it… what they use it for.