When it comes to punctuality, Filipinos are recognized to arrive later than the set time. This was coined as it became habitual to some, thus, making it look like a lack of professionalism.
Conversely, the “Filipino time” attitude will soon be lifted through the Department of Science and Technology’s campaign to synchronize all our watches to the official Philippine Standard Time (PhST).
For example, in the DOST website (https://www.dost.gov.ph/) the Philippine Standard Time as of this writing is:
With that, the time on your watch, mobile phones, laptops, should be synched with the DOST or Philippine Standard Time.
Manila Bulletin reported also, that the said campaign is to observe the National Time Consciousness Week (NTCW) starting yesterday, January 4 to 8, 2016. According to the DOST statement reported by the Manila Bulletin, the NTCW aims to promote time-consciousness among Filipinos.
The quote in the MB article further states that NTCW “aims to create a culture of discipline among Filipinos by allowing a shift from the so-called ‘Filipino Time’ attitude to one characterized by punctuality to show respect to the value of time and to other people.”
Significantly, this isn’t the first time for DOST. In September 2011, they also launched another campaign and called it “Juan Time.” It was also for the same cause – to promote punctuality amongst Filipinos.
In my opinion, this is a great campaign, only if we change our attitude. You can drop this like a bad habit, by reading my article, how to drop the notorious Filipino time habit.
Tell us your thoughts about this time-consciousness campaign in the comment section below!
