Licenses, Authorizations, etc....Part 2

last week, i had a blog entry about my experience in having my driver's license renewed at the LTO. today, i'll talk about my experience in having my professional license renewed.....

i first had my professional license to practice veterinary medicine in 1984 after having passed the licensure exams (4th place!) conducted in July of 1980. actually, i was supposed to take the exams in July 1979....three months after graduation....i did study intensively those three months mostly in the evenings and on weekends, while i go to work as a new faculty member at our College during the day. but whatdya know?....on the night before the first day of examinations, as i closed my book to signify the end of my review, i felt a terrible stomachache. i was rushed to the hospital and was diagnosed as experiencing acute appendicitis. at 6:30 am the following day, as my friends and classmates were preparing to go to the examination venue, i was being prepared for my appendectomy!!! at 4:30 pm, as i was being wheeled to my hospital room, they had finished the exams for that day and some of them were on the way to the hospital to visit me!!! because of this, i had to review again and i finally took the exams the following year!!!

unlike these days, when it took only overnight to get the results of licensure examinations because of computerization...., it took at least six months for the results to be released during our time! we got the results of our exams on January 1981. by that time, i was already in Minnesota for my Master's studies..... hence, i was able to obtain my license only in 1984!

with my impending birthday in a few week's time, i decided to work on my license renewal today. i woke up very early and left the house at 6:24 am .....to be sure that'll i'll be there before 8:00 am and to make sure that i'll get a parking slot in front of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) building in Manila. I was at Quezon Avenue ....about 2 kilometers from PRC.... at 6:45 am....and i arrived at PRC at 7:54!!! the bumper to bumper traffic was terrible.... because it is a Friday....Quiapo day!!!

the application for renewal of the license wasn't that long.... if only i had brought the right passport-sized photos (with white background and name tag) and had i photocopied my old license!!! good thing there were a lot of passport id photo and photocopying shops outside the PRC building. i finished all my requirements for renewal at 8:57 am. however, i have to come back on Dec 28 to get my new license.... all i got today was a claim stub.... which means i have to go back to PRC again next month!!! aughhhh...

i wonder why they can't process renewal applications the same way the LTO processes driver's licenses??? well, actually they can!!! ....because the PRC has this "express lane" where they process applications within the morning at double the fee. i asked about it but i was told that i have to present a plane ticket to avail of the service..... that means they only offer it to professionals who are leaving for abroad in the next few days!

as i said.... i wonder why they can't speed up the process the way the LTO did!!! oh well..... maybe computerization hasn't really coped up with the PRC!!!