EFFICIENCY
By: Iris P. Concepcion

The reader could, at this time, ask vehemently, where is the cob again?

You might wonder: Am I inside a mall? A church? An entertainment theme park?

No. I was inside a city hall. This is a working arrangement, a kind of infusing great things to structures otherwise flat, dull and uninteresting.

I actually wanted right there and then to find work and have my salary deducted for taxes so that the government can build edifices like these.

Venus de Milo in a processing area for Marriage Licenses (beautiful---beside it was a statue of David). Its lobby is massive with chandeliers. You feel light, so welcomed, going in.

Their area for payment of taxes looks like a first class bank. The area for Senior Citizens has this altar-like lobby with a small angel. Watch the people inside.

They look like they are very happy doing government work. I want to have more and more of these faces building our country for the future. This is Star Wars Episode 4 and it is working miracles. Could be prototype but what the heck---this is the first time I want to bunk inside an institution I have long lambast as staid and drab.

A poetic wall said it (also within the premises) :

"It is a useless life that is not consecrated to a great ideal. It is like a stone wasted on the field without becoming a part of any edifice."

Incredible. That was a quote from Dr. Jose Rizal, put up near the police station.

If you are a businessman also, you will not be harangued by unnecessary hangers-on waiting for short fixes inside. Their procedures were written boldly, wider, easier to read. In fact, in the tax collection section, this tablet of wisdom was etched. Very inspiring, like you need not hire people to implore folks to invest, share and help in our country's improvements. Read this:

"The taxpayer is the most important visitor in our premises. (Manny Pacquiao and Kris Aquino should visit this, to know where their money went; they wouldn't feel shortchanged---this is this writer's entry, an annotation). He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him.He is not an interruption in our work. He is the purpose for it. He is not an outsider to our business. He is a part of it. We are not doing him a favor by serving him.He is doing us a favor by giving us the opportunity to do so."

I felt empowered, as someone who had paid my dues then, to be accorded this credence by way of homage to those who do their share without gloating; those who do and not dub it as faux service; those who truly inspire inside, not just handing out dole-outs.

I want to see this replicated all over the Philippines. By God; tie my shoes because I am going in.