Friday, December 19, 2008 Capitol goers assail ‘assistance desk’ By Jovi T. De Leon
SAN FERNANDO CITY -- People who went to the Capitol on Thursday for various transactions were surprised by the sudden “appearance” of a public assistance desk, cordoned entrance and exit points in the main entrance and closure of a door near the Assessor’s Office.
People who transact business at the Capitol on a regular basis found themselves asking for a visitor’s ID at a desk manned by Capitol personnel as a long queue began building up at early working hours.
A contractor, who transacts business at one of the Capitol’s departments, said he was taken aback by the sudden appearance of the assistance desk where he was asked to log in and submit an ID to get a visitor’s pass.
Irked by the apparent inconvenience and delay, as he was rushing documents for approval and documentation, the contractor asked, “When did the Capitol become a private company where you are asked for appointments or the purpose of your business. Isn’t the Capitol a public place where everyone is free to get in and out especially people who wish to seek assistance from provincial officials?”
The public assistance desk that “suddenly appeared” in the Capitol’s main lobby Thursday was created from Memorandum Order 78 issued by Provincial Administrator Vivian Dabu on December 15, informing all department heads, chiefs of hospital and section and unit chiefs of the Provincial Government regarding the temporary closure of the door near the Assessor’s Office starting December 16.
Dabu’s memo states that the move was designed “to properly secure and maintain the flow of visitors coming in and out of our offices.”
It further reminded all Capitol employees that “all officials and employees must use the Capitol’s main entrance and they must be in proper uniform with ID or they will not be allowed to enter the building. The Civil Security Unit will be responsible for that.”
The memo said a public assistance desk will be installed at the ground floor to give assistance and a visitor’s pass shall be issued by personnel who will man the desk on a rotation basis.
Dabu said the memo should have been implemented in June but was really acted upon only after she “badgered” the concerned department.
However, people visiting the Capitol disagree. “This is the first time this happened. So many governors have come and gone and there never was a thing like this. An information desk is okay but this one screens you and you won’t even get to see the person whom you want to talk with,” said a barangay executive who did not have an appointment for the day but depended on a board member’s “open door policy.
Some Capitol employees were aghast about the memo: “It looks like they turned the Capitol into a movie house where you have to buy a ticket to get in, be wary of both the cordoned entrance and exit aisles,” a supervisor said.
“Besides,” a Capitol official said, “shouldn’t she (Dabu) and the governor use the same entrance we do? She comes in and out of the Capitol’s backdoors. Maybe she should lead by example.”
