While the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and National Statistics Office (NSO) are keeping up with the times and upgrading their technology, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) have taken me and the rest of Philippine society back to the days when computers and internet were obsolete.

I went to the NBI satellite office in Taytay at 9am last week, only to be told by one of the staff, “bumalik ho kayo ng lunes ng madaling araw kasi mahaba ho ang pila”. Umm, duh, what time would that be? 5 am or 4 am? Just last year, I got my NBI clearance from the same office without any hassles (So you’re asking why I’m getting another one. I kind of lost it, but that’s another story). Anyway, so I ask around and find out that there’s a daily “quota”. I don’t know the number, but to get a form you would have to fall in line as early as 4am, or pay the guy at the front desk. My Aunt paid 200, one of my friends paid 150, another paid 115 JUST SO THEY CAN GET A NUMBER AND FORM!!! Which is FREE by the way.

My sweet grandfather volunteered to fall in line early me, and come Monday he sent me a message to come at 8 am. He paid the guy at the front desk to get a number and a form, but I didn’t ask how much. So I filled out the form and got fingerprinted. Fell in line when I was called and paid 115 to the cashier. Got my picture taken and was asked to come back at 1pm to get the clearance. My brother went back only to find out that I had a namesake and I would need to come back on March 29th to get the clearance.

There was really nothing hard about getting the NBI clearance IF you paid the front desk. But if you didn’t, you would have to wait in line for hours and you get scolded by the “staff” for being makulit when you ask questions about the whole procedure. I saw a couple of men who were totally pissed off because it was all a huge mess.

The place was small, compared to the number of people who were getting their clearances. There were at least 60 people in line; some of the ones who came late were asked to come back another day; and there were only around 5 to 7 people in the office that I could see. The Taytay satellite office serves a lot of municipalities in Rizal, and you can just imagine how many people get their clearances everyday. The procedures indicated in the windows are not followed, which caused a lot of confusion amongst the applicants.

I understand why the NBI office staffs are doing this – BUSINESS IS BOOMING! Take advantage of the people who need the clearance for their livelihoods while the same pay for their salaries. It’s just not right, but apparently it’s big business.

If there are a lot of people applying for a new NBI clearance, they could at least create a structure that’s similar to DFA’s appointment system. Provide appointment dates for people who call in or fill out forms via their website with a promise that the clearances will be released on a certain date; or sent to their homes via a courier.

I can just imagine how they investigate crimes. If they do, at all!