RA 10172 and My (Mis)adventures (Part 4: The Ordeal )

April 20-21 (Saturday and Sunday)--this was the longest and the most boring weekend for me. That was also the most stressful one because I couldn't help but to think of what would possibly happen to my job. I just had filed for two days leave of absence, and now I had to be absent on Monday, the following week.

April 22nd- Monday.

I was accompanied by my two cousins to go to the Municipal Health Center to have the Municipal Health Officer's (MHO) signature on the “Special Medical Certificate”.

she promised that she would send me a text message when the MCR had arrived. For two hours, my cousins and I had waited for the doctor and since it was Monday, there were a lot of patients. I asked her secretary if I needed to ask for a queuing number, but he said that since I would only be asking for her signature, he said it was okay to go inside her office. After two hours, the MHO (doctor) arrived, and it was at that time that one of her assistants instructed me to ask for a number! Ano ba yan! Fortunately, I was the ninth patient and she was able to sign my “Special Medical Certificate” in less than an hour.

The Municipal Health Center, Villanueva, Misamis Oriental

In my previous post, I mentioned that the doctor had attended a seminar sponsored by DOH in Cagayan de Oro, thus, she was not able to report to work on Friday. We first dropped by the Municipal Civil Registrar's Office to inform the clerk ( the one who accommodated me last Thursday and Friday) that I would just be dropping by the Health Center, and again,

At long last, it was time to submit the remaining requirement. We headed back to the office of the MCR only to find out that Sir MCR hadn't reported to work yet. I asked whether he was able to attend the flag ceremony but the clerk said otherwise. I was puzzled because it was Monday, and as far as I know, all government officials should report for flag raising ceremony every Monday as per Memorandum Circular # 19, Series of 2012 of the Civil Service Commission. The clerk then received my certificate and since my relatives live only several meters away, she advised me to wait for her call when Sir MCR arrives.

(In my previous post, I mentioned that I purchased a round trip ticket from Manila to Cagayan de Oro and vice-versa and I was allowed to re-book the first trip from April 19 to April 17 . That's why I had decided to settle everything until Tuesday, so that I didn't have to purchase another ticket.)

In the afternoon, we headed back to the Office of the MCR and we found out that as of 3:00 PM, Sir MCR still hadn't shown up. She also said that he was ordered by the Mayor to go to El Salvador City which is approximately one hour away. Disappointment, anger and worry were all I had felt because if I were not able to obtain his signature, then my effort, time and money would all be wasted. So I asked the clerk if she could give me a concrete answer and an assurance that my petition would be signed in that afternoon until the following morning. She kept assuring me, yet she was not certain that the MCR would be going back. Out of desperation, I asked her whether she had informed the MCR about my petition and if she had mentioned that I needed to head back to Manila immediately because I still had to go to work. I explained that attendance is very important in a Korean Online Company where I have been working for. I also asked whether she could just give me a certification of acknowledgement since she was the one who had received all my requirements, and let me pay the fees. However, she refused because of the policy that the petitioner should personally file the petition and that he/she should undergo a one-on-one interview with the MCR. That is because he should, after seeing the petitioner's physique, be the one to witness that the person did not really undergo sex change or sex transplant.

What the heck! I've had three medical certificates already-- from Makati, from Tagoloan and from Villanueva Municipal Health Center, weren't these enough evidences that I did not undergo sex transplant? The MCR knew that anytime, there might be petitioners who would be coming from any part of the world, why did he have to go somewhere without assigning an OIC?

The clerk kept explaining my need to see the MCR himself. At that time, I needed to keep calm although my nine-tails wanted to go on a rampage. I kept telling myself that the clerk, who happened to be my mom's friend, was not at fault since she was just following orders. What had made me irritated, though, was when she calmly said “Gobyerno kasi ito. Kayo ang may kailangan kaya dapat talaga kayong maghintay” in their dialect.

From that moment, I had completely understood why most of the times, ordinary citizens needed to wait for a longer period of time if they needed to secure documents from some government agencies. Kaya pala, kasi GOBYERNO KASI ITO. KAYO ANG MAY KAILANGAN KAYA DAPAT TALAGA KAYONG MAGHINTAY”. (I apologize for some government workers who might be reading this part, but take note that I used the word SOME, not ALL.) For those who know me personally, I bet you guys might give me a round of applause for controlling my temper. As calmly as I could, I said “ATE, KAHIT NA GOBYERNO ITO, HINDI PO LIBRE ANG IPINUNTA KO RITO. REQUIREMENTS PA LANG PO, LIBO NA ANG GINASTOS KO. MAGBABAYAD PO AKO NG ALMOST 6K PARA LANG AYUSIN ANG MALI SA BIRTH CERTIFICATE KO NA KUNG TUTUUSIN, HINDI KO KASALANAN KUNG MAY MALI. AT TAXPAYER DIN PO AKO KATULAD N'YO. KAYA HINDI KATUWIRAN NA NASA GOBYERNO KAYO KAYA DAPAT KAMING MAGHINTAY.”

“Isa pa po, 'di ba ang motto ng Civil Service Commission ay 'MAMAMAYAN MUNA, HINDI MAMAYA NA', at ang sabi sa Constitution, 'THE PRIME DUTY OF THE GOVERNMENT IS TO SERVE AND PROTECT THE PEOPLE'?” 

 

She further explained that there were cases in the past when petitioners, who unfortunately came from Baguio, which is farther than Manila, had to visit their office and go back to their respective places for several times before their petition had been signed. I reiterated that since I have been working for a Korean company, it would be impossible for me to do what the others had done because of the strict attendance policy and because the employees in the company where I have been working, were only given a total of five days leave of absence for the entire year. I also asked her an assurance that my petition would be signed until next morning otherwise I would just go back in September (18, 19 and 20- Korean Holiday). Again, she promised to send me a text message right away should Sir MCR show up. In other words, "Maghintay ka lang. Kung hindi darating si Sir ngayon, bukas. 'Pag hindi pa rin, sa susunod na bukas, or sa susunod pa."

I even saw a big board (on the wall beside her desk) where the steps to be followed in filing a petition and asking for documents had been printed and I said

“Tingnan n'yo po, sa guidelines ninyo, it would only take a few minutes, pero ilang araw na ako dito.”

I was mad. If you were in my shoes, wouldn't you be mad as well? However, in my life as an adult, controlling my temper was the one I had learned the most. My anger was not for the clerk; she was my mom's friend, who happened to be under her superior . She was just doing her job and was just following orders. I was mad, not at the clerk, but at the system. If there were an Officer-in-Charge in the absence of the MCR....if only there were specific documents mentioned in the implementing rules and regulations of this law, I wouldn't be having a difficult time.

Around 4:20 PM, I received a text message and a phone call from her, informing me that Mr. MCR had finally arrived. My two cousins and I immediately rushed to the office and the same clerk led us to another office where Mr. MCR had been waiting. I told myself that if this person did not treat me nicely, first, I would keep calm; second, I would TRY to keep calm, and third, I would remind him of his responsibilities and explain that I had been looking for him since Thursday AS CALM AS I COULD. And if he, in spite my effort still did not sign my petition, I would contact the proper authorities once I arrived in Manila. There would be no reason for him not to sign the petition since my requirements were complete. Surprisingly, he talked to me professionally and even apologized for the delay. He told me that I could go back to Manila and because I had completed my requirements he signed my petition. Whew!

The next morning, I went again to the MCR Office and paid more than five thousand pesos and flew back to Manila in the afternoon, that same day. :)