PRC Licensure Renewal Corrupt Practice

The reason I’m writing this soliloquy is to primarily seek an audience and perhaps open a forum to all interested wisdoms that could provide me enlightenment as to how and why the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) became a “sub-agency” of our supposedly “National Organization”, Institute of Integrated Electrical Engineers, and otherwise known as IIEE.

Why I branded the PRC as sub-agency of IIEE is because of the Board Resolution No. 36 Series of 2002, signed by its Chairman Rodolfo R. Penalosa, and members Antonio Coronel and Edward Mendoza, attested by Carlos Almelor and approved by Antonieta Fortuna-Ibe, Alfonso Abad and Avelina De la Rea Tan.

According to RA No. 7920, Section 25, Article III, it provides that all engineers and electricians registered with the Board as such, ipso facto, become a member of the integrated national organization.

However, the Board Resolution No. 36 instructs the PRC otherwise, very much contradictory to what the Act say. In the resolution, for the renewal of our licenses, we should present an official receipt of payment of membership to IIEE. This means that we can not renew our license until we pay the hefty membership fee of PHP1,500.00. I personally experienced to be told, “if you don’t like to be a member of IIEE, then do not renew your license” by the lady whom they called chief officer at window 18.

We are paying for PRC License Card renewal, what’s the purpose of IIEE membership fee of PHP1,500.00? Where will it go? I don’t like to think that this is going to the pockets of one of those scum bugs.

I am an overseas worker and i went home to Manila from November 27, 2008 to December 13, 2008. On December 8, i personally went to PRC to renew my license as REE only to be told that i can not renew it unless i become a member of the IIEE. My license card expired on April 26, 2008.

So i went to 3rd Floor and raised my case. Atty. Almelor was not around and so i went to the board of electrical engineers just next door. I met the secretary, certain Myrna Taruc. I explained my case but couldn’t give a logical reason why I am being prohibited from renewing my license on the basis that I refuse to be a member of an organization. My question was, since when did my rights to renew my license card became obliterated by the mere refusal to become a member of an organization? is it not an elective option to be a member of whatever organization you like to be a member of? So i was finally told to submit a letter addressed to the board so that they can answer my queries in writing. I did submitted the letter on the same day and was received in behalf of Myrna Taruc by the lady sitting on the left side when you first enter the door.

With all due respect to the officers of IIEE, to pay PHP1,500.00 without gaining anything is like giving money to a scum bug. To make it worst, the board of electrical made it a pre-requisite to renewal of our license cards. This makes it even worst, in my lay man’s understanding, and i would call this a usurpation of law and as such in my opinion, a corrupt practice to use the engineers as their milking cows. This is noted in the Supreme Court’s opinion signed by Raul Gonzales received by the PRC on August 7, 2008, paragraph 3 of page 1. To wit: “… the respective boards might have usurped the law making power of congress…” In my entire career as electrical engineer, i have never seen a single benefit of being a member of IIEE.

RA 7920 was very clear to my understanding. However the way the board of electrical engineers interpreted the law in their board resolution in effect “would modify or are inconsistent with the provision of the law they seek to enforce”.

I would take an example. Ms. Gloria Arroyo promised the retrenched OFW in Taiwan that they will be entitled to a loan. Before i left manila to go back to Botswana, the promised loan has never been released pending the procedure or mechanism as to how the loan release will be made. You see, it is very difficult to get money from the Government. But the Board resolution no. 36 series of 2002 depicted how easy it is to get money from an ordinary citizen by making it as pre-requisite to our license card.

Why would the board of electrical engineers force us to become of a member of an organization we don’t know if it’s beneficial to us? I believe it is our natural rights to choose whatever group we like to belong without putting prejudice to our legal right to have our license card renewed and practice our profession in the philippines without legal barrier.

We are not milking cows. Every penny that we earn is made out of our sweat and blood and with sole purpose of helping our families and the families back home for those working overseas.

The board resolution no. 36 should be scrapped and revisited to comply with the provision of the Act.