SunStar Malilong
Published on: Apr 23, 2026, 10:16 am
The other day, a friend went to the Sambag 1 barangay hall to report that our neighborhood had been wrapped in darkness for more than a month because the street lamp died and nobody came to replace it. That same day, a team from the barangay came to install a new lamp. They returned in the evening, at the behest of the barangay captain, to check if the replacement lamp was working. It was. Thank you, Kap Aileen Guardo.
Yesterday, I went to the Bureau of Immigration to assist a client secure an extension of his visa. I was referred to Counter 3, which was manned by a likeable young man, Joy Laran, who turned out to be a friend of Immigration lawyer Brandon Enad. The entire process took less than 30 minutes.
Last December, I went to the Cebu Consular Office of the Department of Foreign Affairs on behalf of a friend. I did not know anyone, but after listening to my story, one of the employees ushered me to her chief. I did not get what I wanted but went home impressed by the professionalism of Cebu DFA head, Dr. Angel H. Espiritu Jr.
It warms the heart to know that there are people in government who have remained true to their calling. My experience in dealing with government offices has generally not been very happy, an understatement. I had experienced being ignored, snapped at, and disrespected.
Many years ago, a co-employee and I went to City Hall to discuss the possibility of buying a government-owned property in the pier area. The land was occupied by informal settlers, and we wanted to assure the city government that the occupants would be provided with a relocation site and a generous disturbance fee. We secured a 9 a.m. appointment with the City Hall official, not Mike Rama, through the help of the city administrator, Lucille Mercado. At 8:30, we were already in Lucille’s office, and the official was informed accordingly. We were asked to wait for his call. No call came until 11:30 when we were informed that he could not meet with us as he was very busy. Typical government boss behavior.
Sometime in August or September last year, I asked an old friend in City Hall to help us secure the repair of a road in our neighborhood. It took more than two months before our request was acted upon. When we found out that a leak in the drainage pipe was causing the damage to the road, I informed my friend. His reply: that’s another job order. I shrugged and told myself, good answer.
