A Symptomatic glitch that affects hundreds if not thousands
From: Jenny Castillo Aquino
Maybe some of you have been wondering what my current beef with the NBI is all about. Here’s the story behind it.
When we apply for an NBI clearance and we get cleared – we normally get our passports, or get employed overseas and it indicates we have no “hits” on the system. We are asked to fill out a form – complete names from your maiden name to the name of your parents as well. Then you line up, for hours, for each and every step it takes to get that clearance.
Eventually, you get it.. after hours and hours of standing in line. That used to be the case. Now they have “renewal” kiosks abound – in the malls all over the city. Convenient, right?
Now here’s the real deal with hundreds of people who want to RENEW their NBI clearance. Logically, when you say ‘RENEW”, it means you’re not stupid enough to renew something you know that could get you into trouble or arrested. Show me a criminal who gets their NBI Clearances .. with the exception of politicians of course.
I’ve had the misfortune of having a “namesake” in CDO or somewhere down south. The first time I got my clearance, it was the issue. Years after that, I had to renew it again – and its STILL THE SAME issue. Okay now – I’m trying to get my clearance renewed and its still the same fucking issue. That fucking “namesake” in CDO.
My beef with the NBI is this – why can’t they change their database after all these years? Hundreds of people, if not thousands – have the same problem with the NBI. Over and over and over and over and over again!!!
People have limited time and financial resources when attending to things such as clearances and certificates. I paid the usual P115 fee and got rejected because of that damn name sake. And I was told to go to Monumento where the “new” NBI office for clearance was located.
I live in Paranaque. It isn’t easy to go there even with MRT/LRT. This is the THIRD TIME my clearance was held up because of the same damn reason and the NBI can’t even clean up their freaking database?
How hard could it be? My complete name is written all over their forms – Jenifer [single N] Castillo Aquino Xavier – how many freaking people have the EXACT name combination in this freaking country anyway? Plus, WHY ASK FOR THE NAMES OF PARENTS if its NOT GOING TO MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE AT ALL????
So now ask me again – what is my beef with the NBI….
They are the national bureau of INVESTIGATION and for the love of all that’s unholy – they can’t even upgrade, clean up and update their database!!!! What is it this time? Money again?
Money isn’t going to clean up their database – fingers and a working brain will.
Am I pissed? What do you think? Who wouldn’t be?
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reynz is one Uragon and a Filipino-American, has many years of public accounting & auditing, broadcast investments, housing tax credits and equity investments as his background. Based in the US, he maintains his personal and humor blog at reyna elena dot com. A graduate of Aquinas U, he went to GWU and Temple U in the United States.
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My boss had the same issue with them. He has a namesake too and a wanted murderer at that. He’s been renewing his NBI clearance three times and had the same negative result due to his criminal namesake but with a different middle name ha. I don’t know if in his fourth time, he’ll still encounter the same issue.
Good luck na lang.
am sure, sa tono lang talagang nakaka-kulo nang dugo to. i’m sure also, technologically advance na ang agency na to kung hindi pinag-nanakaw ang mga pondong dapat sa agency na to.
Hi Teng, musta?!
Are you saying manual pa rin ang application at verification ng NBI clearance? Magbenta kaya ako ng ERP system dun? *isip*
I had a problem with them ten bziilion years ago! I anticipated that they are going to have the hit in my name but I was ready and armed with proof, hehehe. Still, I was placed in a “quality control” room with the estapadoras, homicidals, and ex cons. Kasi naman itong NSTA pinaglilista ang mga pinag aral nila sa kolehiyo nung araw at wiz pwedeng lumabas ng bansa hangga’t hindi nag serve sa inang bayan (read: nagturo sa pablik iskul nga at least apat na taon, grrrr).
Buti na lang may mga nauna ng umalis at pinakalat yung balita na kumuha muna ng clearance sa DepEd sa Intramuros (dun pa ang EdpEd nung araw, hehehehe). Pag sinuwerte ka, isang araw na antayan yan… if not wanwik! Kasi naman importante sa DepEd personnels di mo maistorbo ang coffee break, lunch break, chika break… Tapos after makuha mo yan, sumakay ng bus diyan sa Lawton at kumuha ulit ng clearance sa NSTA sa TAGUIG! Mga another 2-3 days din yan basta’t andyan lang yung pipirma at walang seminar somewhere else.
Pagpunta ko sa NBI, ganun pa rin, huhuhuhu, ni quality control pa rin ako. Dun ko na raw antayin yung titingin sa authenticity ng clearance ko, kaasar! As if ang tingin nila sa eh comfy waiting room ang quality control, with a very relaxing ang aura.
Jen, all quite true. I’ve been wondering why, after all those years of automation and centralization and databasing, they still couldn’t develop a system whereby identities are firmly established and the only remaining question is which of those identities actually had been established as the one with the original hit that put the other identity in question in the first place. Quite simple, if they really think about it. Bottom line is that they have a body of other details to establish the unique identity as against another person’s, e.g., parentage, birthplace, birthdate, etc. It simply doesn’t make sense to give dominant weight to a “hit”-namesake in complete disregard to the other distinguishing details. This is carrying the “investigation” mandate too idiotically far. I guess “intelligence” is not part of NBI’s mandate; it belongs to the Intelligence services. I didn’t realize that even common sense can be compartmentalized in the bureaucracy.
The other practical question to ask is, why, of all places they chose Caloocan. To be sure, that “pretension of a mall” has the floor space to accommodate the “normal” number of daily clients. But why chose one at the edge of the metropolis and not one more central. Mandaluyong, Pasig or QC would have made more sense than Caloocan.
I wonder who, other than the NBI, is deriving revenue from all these.
Ako naman ganito. LAgi ako kumukuha ng NBI sa main para kuha agad. Sa province kasi hintay ka pa ng ilang araw o linggo. Tapos hindi ako nagpapalit ang surname kahit married na para “renew” lang – pakita lang yong old pwede na. Saka baka hingan ako ng authenticated MC eh. Anyways, ang surname ko eh Cruz na bawat street ata sa pilipinas may ganong surname.
Last year, nagpa renew ulit ako. Punta ako sa Clark mabilis din daw kasi. Saka para di na ako punta manila, tutal sandali lang biyahe sa SCTEX from Bataan. Pagdating ko doon, pila bayad chuchu, waited forever…tapos noong finally natawag ako, bumalik na law ako after ilang weeks pa. Kasi daw common ang surname ko at wala daw sila database checking sa Clark. Sabi ko hindi ako makakapaghintay ng matagal kasi kailangan ko na dahil aalis na ako. Kung pwede ibalik na lang nila yong old NBI ko para makakuha ako sa Manila. OMG. Nagwala muna ako bago ko nakuha yong copy ng old NBI. Ang pinagtataka ko bakit kapag unique surname release on same day at kapag common surname, kailangan i-check sa database. Anong logic?
Isa pa, hindi naman naka link yong mga finger-print sa database. Pangalan lang nasa database pero yong finger print, manual record pa rin. So yong hits ay name basis lang. You can’t really check. Kung nakalink sana kahit thumb mark lang eh di mas madali ang cross-checking lalo kung renew na lang.
Hays…..
Whether you apply for domestic clearance (getting a job within the country) or for outside– passport, travels, the same thing will bog you. I was hit because of a scholarship I enjoyed and have paid for (by staying in the Phils for 5 years) and yet I got hit even after the 5-year return service.
I cannot understand (as well) how two or three government agencies cannot coordinate in order to clear the names of citizens who supposed to have rendered the service.
And here’s the thing, when I go out of the country I need to show them a letter from the DOST secretary (addressed to Immigration) that I am cleared. geesh!
Hello, DOST, DFA/BI and NBI!
Naku po! sandamakmak na bobong abogago ang nan-dito sa departamentong ito ng Pinas. Ang daming reference na pwedeng gamitin bago sila mag-issue ng resulta na may namesake ang isang applikante.
-Una BIR number
-Previous application
-Firstname
-Middlename
-Lastname
-Birthday
-Mother’s maiden name
-Fingerprints
Eh kung yun ngang mga credit card company tanungin kalang ng mga personal info mo nasasatisfy na yung OVP – Owners Verification Process – yan pang sa kanila na harapan ang pag-aapply.
At kung may namesake ka punta ka pa dun sa napaka-layong branch nila para i-clear ang name mo at mauulit na naman yan sa susunod na apply mo.
Ang yayabang ng mga hinayupak na abogago na yan pero simpleng proseso di pa maayos.
Wala bang website si Pres. Noy para ma-ilabas itong issue nato ng bongang-bonga. Baka naman may kilala kayo na angas sa media paki-tulungan naman po ang mga kababayan nyo.
Di na uso ang kabobohan sa Pinas ngayon lalo na yung mga nagbo-BOBOHAN. Lakas nang batugan sa gobyerno dapat alisan ng trabaho.
I had the same experience. Kinailangan ko pang kumuha ng court clearance and mag affidavit. After nun, each time mag renew kelangan ko ng pumunta sa Recto ba yun para magpipila,coz i cant get it sa city hall for that reason. Yung kapangalan ko tiga pampanga, stafa case dahil sa worth 2k na avon products. Susmaryopes!
Hindi pwedeng ayusin ang sistema sa NBI o sa kahit ano pa mang ahensiya ng gobyerno. Maraming gulo ang idudulot nito.
Pag ayos ang sistema:
1. Bibilis ang trabaho
2. Pag bumilis ang trabaho, magbabawas ng tao.
Got the logic?
Kaya yang computerization sa Customs, sa PEZA, malabo yan. Aside sa bibilis at mababawasan ang trabaho, madaling makikita ang ibinubulsa.
Alam naman nila yan, ilang taon na bang inaangal hindi lang nating mga Pinoys ang red tape na nagbibigay kunsumisyon sa mga nagtatransact sa mga government offices.
E hanggang ngayon nga hindi pa rin maipaliwanag bakit kelangan ng TIN number sa pagkuha ng lisensiya. O kaya bakit ang hirap kumuha ng TIN, o bakit kelangang ang SSS sa Caloocan e tiga Caloocan lang ang pwedeng silbihan. Linsyak, at a time when the private sector is doing everything they can to make life easier for their clients, eto si gobyerno ni Juan, nilagay information sa computer for press release pursposes lang ata.