Fixer and Faster

I went to Riverbanks to finally apply for my NBI Clearance. My father and I were expecting that the queue will be shorter since not so many people visit that place. We were wrong. So, we tried checking out the QC City Hall office.

When we were looking for parking, someone helped us look for one. malamang. When we got out of the car, that person offered to "help" us apply for the clearance - "RUSH" version. So okay, at this point, he must be a FIXER.

I suppose everyone knows what a fixer is and what he/she does. He/she makes applicants' lives easier... and FASTER. but of course, there is a trade off. You have to pay a certain amount. In my case, I paid 450 for Police Clearance (instead of 520 for NBI) because the process is much faster. This amount already includes the processing and of course, the TIP.

After 15 minutes of waiting (compared to others who would wait for at least 2 hours), I got the clearance. He even delivered the clearance in the parking lot! HAHA

Obviously, this made people who avail of their services easier. but, have we ever thought that this certain act is unfair to others who woke up at 5am just to be first in line? Or in a much deeper analysis, this just shows that those who have the "money" are really more powerful and can avail of easier and faster things in life.

But wait. Why do these people (FIXERS) exist anyway? Most of them have connections to the people inside the office. Even some of them are those who are working inside the office!! is this another evidence that government employees are not compensated enough??? Or is it just that not these services/offices are provided enough investments to provide us with better services? Should we blame those corrupt officials? Or should we blame ourselves for patronizing these services?

Let's think. Let's ponder. Fixer and Faster? or Bigger and better? Bigger honest and clean investment to making the services faster, thus providing a better service to the people.

DR