My PRC License Registration Experience

A couple of weeks ago I thought it was a good idea to go to the PRC main office after doing a five-hour rest day overtime.  I thought I might as well satisfy my curiosity about whether or not I can register for my professional teacher's license here in Manila even though I took the exam in Legazpi city, since I've been researching the web for the longest time, anxious about not being able to register last December and take the oath.  I was really afraid that there was a deadline and that they might make me take the board exam again if I missed it (some crazy person told me this, I can't remember who).  On one of the forums I participated in the moderator told me I should not worry about it because I already passed the exam, the only thing I should do is register and I should probably inquire at the nearest PRC office.

{Okay, so I admit I procrastinated.  Last December I had a lot of opportunities to go to PRC to at least inquire about the registration but I didn't, and opted instead to take note of the phone numbers posted on their website thinking I could probably just call and inquire about all the requirements and stuff.  Much to my disappointment, my phone calls were left unanswered.  I didn't have the luxury of time to gallivant around the city, so I guess I just listed the task off on my "to-do-list" and forgot about it.}

But that day I was determined to have the task done.

So I rode the bus to LRT Buendia station, took the train to Carriedo and got off...I knew I was lost the moment I set foot off that LRT station.  I am not very street smart, especially not in Manila.  I don't think I've ever set foot in Quiapo alone (I don't even remember the last time I was in Quiapo - or if ever I had been there before...)  I was walking around, looking for a jeep I could ride but all the jeeps were bound for Divisoria or Blumentritt (I don't know where that is either).

I found myself right smack on Plaza Miranda.  I remember thinking how small the place seemed, not very much like how imagined it would be.  And for the first time I found myself inside Quiapo church.  I know I should've taken the time to at least kneel down and say a coupleof prayers, especially about not being completely lost, but my one-track mind just wanted to look for a way out of there, off to Morayta where I should be heading.

I went out on the other side on this wide avenue (which I now know to be Quezon Boulevard) and I didn't realize till later that I had to cross that wide avenue to ride a jeep to my destination. Tired and hot, but still in good disposition (I was determined to enjoy the experience and learn from it; besides old Manila has its charm despite the chaos and the grime), I decided to have lunch at McDonald's and thanks to a phone call to my sister in Sta Rosa, I learned that I should take the underpass to Quezon Boulevard and ride a jeep at least to Recto where I should find a jeep going to Morayta.  Well, actually she told me I could walk all the way to Recto because it's not quite far. And I did.  I was just amazed that there really were so many shops there selling fake IDs and transcripts, I remember thinking I should just have a fake license done, might be faster, hehe.  Erase, erase.

Finally I got my jeep.  I sat really close to the driver and asked him if he can drop me off to PRC and he did (bless him), at the corner of Morayta.  And I was ecstatic.  I was finally there!!! After two hours!!!

So I went to the Office of Professional Teachers, got my Oath Form and application for certificate of registration, filled it up, paid for documentary stamp, went out to the sidewalk to buy the most expensive grade school cornstarch paste I've ever bought (5 pesos, and I think really costs only 1.50) to paste my photos on the forms, withdrew some money from the ATM machine inside the PRC premises...my thoughts were: "Wow, this is really going smoothly!"

Well, I was way ahead of myself apparently.

This girl at the window (who was, in fairness, really nice) took my form, tinkered with the computer and then slightly frowned and said, "Legazpi?"  Uh-oh.   

Lady at window waving a card she took from the counter: "Napa-transfer mo na ba 'yung ganito mo?" (Have you had this transferred?)

Prooky: (puzzled look)

Lady at window: "Yung PERRC* card mo." (Your PERRC card.)
*It's the card we filled up during our board exam application bearing our permanent registration number.

Prooky: "Uh, kailangan pa pala yun?" (Is that necessary?)

Lady at window: "Oo, kasi sa Legazpi ka pala nag-exam." (Yes, because you took the exam in Legazpi.)

Prooky: "Hindi eh..." (No.)

Lady at window: (calls somebody and tells me to wait)

Prooky: "Miss, eh di kailangan ko pa pumunta sa Legazpi?" (So miss, I need to go to Legazpi?)

Lady at window: "Hindi naman, kailangan lang ma-transfer yung PERRC card mo dito...sandali lang ha..." (Not really, just have your PERRC card transferred here...just a moment...) and she goes to the back of the room.

My thoughts at this point: Damn!

When the lady came back she handed me back my forms and gave me a piece of paper with the name of the PRC Region V Director and the address and telephone number in Legazpi and told me to write a letter of request for the Region V office to send PRC main office my PERRC card. Sigh.

Prooky: "Miss, may deadline ba ang registration?" (Is there a deadline for the registration?)

Lady at window: "Wala, pag na-receive na namin yung card mo, anytime pwede ka mag-register." (No, once we receive your card you can register anytime.)

At least one of my mind-boggling questions were answered: there was no deadline for registration.  Meaning I won't have to retake the exam after all, just in case.

Ah well.  A futile attempt, but it did bear some fruits.  At least now I know how to get to the PRC main office, and at least now I know that I shouldn't have to lose sleep over the deadline.

But I still wonder why they can't just have me register and sign the book of registry or whatever the hell it's called, since my name as one of the board passers IS in their database anyway, and the permanent registration number is right there I'm sure...why the fuss about the actual card, which I'll have to send a letter to Legazpi for and God only knows how long it will take them to reply and send it here?  Sigh.  Bureaucracy at its best.  This sure beats the essence of "computerization" and "technology".

When it comes to government agencies I don't understand why simple procedures that could take only a few measly minutes can take a looooooooonnnnggg time to process.  Maybe they get a kick out of making people miserable, making people wait, making people go back and forth, spending money on transportation, wasting precious time queueing only to be told to come back the next day or the next week because so and so is not there to sign or so and so forms are not available.

I'm planning on applying for my digitized SSS ID too...I've heard a lot of horror stories.  I'm bracing myself.

It's been four months since I started a life here in the city.  It's been interesting and different, for sure.  It wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be, but there were some challenging moments.  My schedule has been everything but normal, with weekend starts and midweek weekends.  For the last four months it went from 7am-3pm, to 5am-1pm, which changed again to 12:45am-9:45am; until finally my present 3am-12pm schedule.  I learned to ride cabs alone, in the wee hours of the morning, which really made me nervous the first few times. (You hear horror stories about cab drivers ripping passengers off or robbing them, you get paranoid, especially when you've never really lived in the city.)  The worst part was being sick with laryngitis and mild bronchitis (which left me literally breathless) and having to take care of myself.  It came to a point one time that I have been in tears - silent though it was - taking calls while my throat hurt like hell.  Despite it all, not once did I ever miss work, or ever been even a second late clocking in.

And somehow it has been paying off.  For one, I am earning more than I've ever had in my life (which is not really much, just enough to keep me afloat, pay my bills, you know).  I just got regularized too, which means I will now be  entitled to benefits like certain allowances, insurance, vacation leaves and all.

The best part about being here in Manila is that it gave me and my significant other a chance to be together a couple of times, after three years of being apart.  However, we are still living apart, which gets tougher each day.

This is my dilemma right now... My present life, my job, is here; but my heart is out there, miles away in the heart of Cebu.

I can't help but feel like everything that I'm doing here is just transitional.  It doesn't mean anything...it's not making any difference.  I feel like there is something out there waiting for me to make it happen, and I am torn and helpless about it.  Part of me is grateful that I even have a job which pays better than most, which in its own little way allows me to help out my family when they need it.  But part of me incessantly keeps asking that question: is this what I really want.  And I know that it's not.

Lately I've been contemplating on giving all this up to once again uproot myself and finally keep my end of a promise made a long time ago. Despite what I have going on right now I am miserable because deep in my heart I know that I should be somewhere else, doing something better than what I am currently doing, being with someone who has been patiently waiting for me to finally make that leap.  It's been four years too long.