Start the new year right, be on time. Science Secretary Mario G. Montejo thus urges everyone to be on time for all celebrations, events, and appointments this new year.

“Being on time should be one of the habits we develop starting 2014,” Sec. Montejo said. “And being on time means we sync all our watches and clocks with the Philippine Standard Time.”

A country with 7,107 islands and various ethnic backgrounds, the Philippines has constantly grappled with problems in time synchronization. Offices, media establishments, and people follow different times such as “office time”, “church time”, among others, that are based on various sources.

To address time conflicts, the Philippine Standard Time (PhST) was enforced through RA 10535 that was signed into law in May this year by Pres. Benigno S. Aquino III. Its implementing rules and regulations were likewise ratified in December.

“With the implementation of the PhST, all people in the country’s 7,107 islands should now follow one common time,” Montejo said. All media offices, especially those in the broadcast industry, are obliged to issue only the PhST or else they face huge penalties. People commonly use TV or radio time-checks to set their time pieces.

Moreover, Montejo also aspires that following the correct time thru the PhST will change the so-called “Filipino time” practices of Pinoys. “Filipino time” means starting events or activities and arriving at them later than schedule, often a 15-minute to one-hour delay.

“’Filipino time’ should now mean ‘on time’,” Montejo urged.

“The PhST should unite Filipinos not only in technical terms but also in our cultural sense of time,” he added. “Being on time shows respect to the value of time and that of other people’s time.”

The PhST shall be observed especially during the countdown for the coming year of 2014. Filipinos and netizens who want to join the DOST PhST One Time advocacy can use #PinoyAkoOnTimeAko
in their posts, blogs, and other social media activities.