Customs n' Culture

I got a claim card from the post office. Cheerfully, i went, satisfied that the package wasnt lost at all (oh yes,that happens most of the time!). The customs officer almost handed the package to me, yeah, Almost. Yet something caught his attention, the decleared cost in US$. I was asked to wait...the paranoid side of me thought "hmm...something fishy's goin on, looks like they are conspiring to get something out of this".

True enough, i got the ff questions...
"Ma'am,where do you live? binondo? you live in binondo? binondo?"
"Ma'am, malaki ang declared cost nito, baka ma-tax kayo! papa-compute ko kay sir magkano."
"Ma'am, antay lang kayo ha..."

They opened the package. Among the contents, the 6 books, labeled kaplan caught their attention. "Ma'am, mahal dyan sa kaplan ah,may kakilala ako andyan,mahal yan ah. nag-re-review ka ba dyan?" (hello?? its second hand stuff,and please,mind your own business! Legally speaking,these are not taxable items!)

And slowly,as if waiting for something, they went thru my stuff! Now im getting real annoyed. All this hassle...its hot down there in the basement,and im hungry! The pragmatic (and hungry) side of me just wanna settle and ask How much do they want ba?!

I called up adrin hya (after my bro, he's the next person who keeps me out of trouble...especially when my tire's busted, happens all the time! thanks ads hya,sa susunog na flat tire uli ah) and asked if there's a way out, cz he once had an encounter there. He gave me options, then finally he texted me "joy,you know what? let them compute, pay the whole amount, get the receipt, God will bless you for doing that. Forget about the cost,the hassle,and the money."

I was about to get my money when this old customs lady inside "psssttt" me to one corner and said, "madam,bakit ayaw mo makipag-settle? mabilis naman kausap si boss ah, sige na, mapapamahal ka lang". To make matters more obvious, she even threatened me and said, a lot of medical books are up there in the stockroom because the claimants cant pay for the due tax imposed. Naku, ASA ka pa,i thought. You wont get any merienda from me. (i just saw a bilao of sotanghon few minutes ago inside their office). Realizing that i wasnt about to settle, she then slipped a piece of paper,with her name and cell#. She said "next time po, pag may package kayo,just text me, tayo nalang mag-settle.

Grabe,i can't believe it. Corrupt, selfish, inconsiderate officers were all down there in the hot n' humid basement.

Proudly, i told myself. Haha, gotcha! You thought your gonna get something from this lady from binondo. BUT at the end of the day, i felt guilty cause i forgot to do something beyond what im expected to do.

Yes, I fullfilled my DUTY (Id rather that the money goes to the gov't than to a bilao of sotanghon), but i wasnt pleased. I knew God wasnt completely DELIGHTED. Because I was too annoyed to do something more. I failed to make them realize why I didnt give. I should've told the old lady, "madam,i'm a Christian, and i cannot disobey my God". I should have made her realize WHY i valued honesty, and HOW and WHO's strength it is that I rely on to resist such temptations.

Im sorry, next time nalang Lord...but please, never in that govt office again :-)