As the presiding officer of our sangguniang bayan, I have tried to follow and impose punctuality when it comes to our regular session. For me, it is the first and probably one of the most important rules that parliaments or any constituted body should follow, especially those in government service. Lost time is loss of valuable resources. Since our first regular session, except for some unavoidable circumstances, we have always started on time. It is a discipline which is difficult to maintain in a country known for its tardiness. We have even ascribed upon ourselves the term “Filipino time”. Our culture likes to linger or take time which might be good on one aspect but rather annoying or unproductive on most. In our present world where time is paid, its about time to be on time.
Legal Time
Article 13 of The Civil Code states: “When the laws speak of years, months, days or nights, it shall be understood that years are of three hundred sixty-five days each; months, of thirty days; days, of twenty-four hours; and nights from sunset to sunrise. If months are designated by their name, they shall be computed by the number of days which they respectively have.In computing a period, the first day shall be excluded, and the last day included.” In many of our laws and other legal issuances time is usually an essential element specially with respect to the date of effectivity. The effectivity clause usually states: “this law shall take effect after Fifteen (15) days of its publication in a newspaper of general circulation”. It is very important to know when the law takes effect and as the above article states, the day of publication shall be excluded and the law will then take effect the day following the last day. In contracts such as indebtedness, the computation of penalties or interests depend upon the period agreed upon. If the contract says that penalties and interests shall be imposed if the money is not returned after one month from the execution of the contract, it means that interest and penalties will be imposed if the money is not returned after thirty days. If, however, it says “after the month of December 2015” then interest and penalties will accrue after the 31st day of December and not necessarily after 30 days.
Being on Time
Under our laws, rules and jurisprudence, time is very essential. If the court grants a party a period of time within which to submit a pleading, submission of the ordered pleading after the stated period may no longer be considered by the court since it was filed out of time. In counting days non-working holidays, Saturdays, and Sundays will be included but if the last day falls on such days the next working day which follows will be considered as the last day. Obviously no one will be in court to receive the pleading to be filled during non-working holidays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Reconsiderations, appeals, and other remedies have often been denied because they were not filed on time. A litigant may even be barred from filing a case even if a clear right exists, because the time within which it should have been instituted has expired. This technicality can make a person victorious or a criminal free from any liability even without filing a single case.
