Changing the meaning of 'Filipino time'
ANGARA: CREATE RP STANDARD TIME, START CULTURE OF PROMPT

Lamenting the decreased productivity at work and in school due to time inconsistency, Sen. Edgardo J. Angara is calling on the Senate to enact the Philippine Standard Time Bill (SB3479), which will enforce a national official time - the Philippine Standard Time (PST) - in all of the country's official sources.

Angara explains, "This is a good way to start changing the meaning of 'Filipino time' and shifting to a culture of punctuality. Filipinos have often been accused of tardiness, that anything we do is always delayed and we never follow schedules on time. We should start dispelling that by making the change ourselves and breeding a new culture of promptness."

The bill also aims to institutionalize the "National Time Consciousness Week," which centers on promptness on all activities and obligations.

"Time is a vital component of our social, legal, political and economic activities. By synchronizing the official watches and clocks in the country, Filipinos can all sing the national anthem at the same time, welcome the new year in unison, synchronize security locks and other devices; open government services at the appropriate hours; and run air, land and sea transportation lines on time. Developing a culture of punctuality and practicing wise time management will allow us to be exponentially more productive at home, school and the workplace," clarifies Angara, Chair of the Congressional Commission on Science and Technology and Engineering (COMSTE).

In most European cities, for example, transportation schedules, business hours, cultural events, hospital operations, and government office hours all adopt a single standard time. The same goes for plazas, public monuments and museums, shops, railway and bus stations, schools, offices and transportation terminals, thus assuring citizens of proper scheduling of their activities' and accuracy in their travel times.