Renewing My PRC I.D. Is As Easy As A-B-C!

As my CPA license was about to expire, I needed to renew it. 

I thought it would be another bureaucratic process like the one I endured years ago when I first had to go through the POEA as an OFW after I was offered a job in Seoul. 

By comparison, it took me about four months to complete the POEA process, including the sending back and forth of documents to and from Korea, while it just took 36 days for the Korean Immigration Office to process my application for a permanent resident visa (read blog here).

But I am surprised that the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) has leveled up: it has streamlined the process and provided an online portal for all of its services! This means the only time I had to leave home was to have my 2x2 photo taken, photocopy my old PRC ID and print the application form and proof of payment, and visit the PRC satellite office at Robinsons Mall in Bacolod City to get my new PRC ID!😎

These are the things I did to renew:

1. Visit the PRC portal and register to create an account (make sure you do this on a laptop and not on a smartphone, and have all your contact and professional details on hand).

Here's the official PRC website:

https://www.prc.gov.ph/

If you don't have a computer at home, there are shops with internet services that can help you create an account and process your transaction for a fee.

2. In order to create your PRC online account, you will need a digital photo that you will upload.

3. Create a transaction request for the renewal of PRC ID.

4. Pay the renewal fee of P880 online (I paid through phone banking). Print the ELECTRONIC OFFICIAL RECEIPT (eOR) and submit this together with your APPLICATION FOR PROFESSIONAL IDENTIFICATION CARD (PIC) form on the appointed date.

5. Request for an appointment through the portal at the nearest regional office and the website will give you the next available date and time at the nearest PRC office.

6. The PRC website has a step-by-step manual that you can download for detailed instructions.

7. Download and print the APPLICATION FOR PROFESSIONAL IDENTIFICATION CARD (PIC) form that includes sections for DECLARATION AND ATTESTATION and UNDERTAKING in case you do not have enough CPD points. Also sign below UNDERTAKING if you do not have enough CPD points.

8. Photocopy your old PRC ID (front and back) and bring it with you on the appointed date.

9. Go to a photo studio for a 2x2 ID photo with white background and in a business attire. You will need to have the photo attached to your printed PIC.

10. If you have a PWD ID or a Senior's ID, include it in your online information, and you can use it to queue at the special lane for PWDs and senior citizens at the PRC office.

My entire visit to the PRC Office was quick and convenient. It only took about 15 minutes since I had all the required documents: the signed PIC with 2x2 photo, eOR, and a photocopy of my old PRC ID. 

I simply queued at the PWD line, submitted my documents, and waited. After the wait, my name was called and the lady gave me my new PRC ID!

Getting my new ID was as easy as A-B-C!😀

Maraming salamat, PRC!😎

(The PRC Office at the 3rd floor of Robinsons Bacolod)

#professionalregulationcommission #PRC

#CPA #Robinsonsmall #Robinsons

A 1937 Medal from the 33rd International Eucharistic Congress in Manila, Philippines

In 1937, when she was 35 years old, Tita Luz (Luz Montinola), the third daughter of Don Felix Montinola (read blog here) traveled from Negros Occidental to Manila, probably with her older sister, Salud, to join the 1.5 million Catholics from the Philippines and around the world, at the 33rd International Eucharistic Congress, held from February 3 to 7 that year.

The first Eucharistic Congress was held in 1881 in Lille, France, 56 years before this gathering in Manila, Philippines. This was its first ever congress in Asia with events held at the Rizal Park and Quezon City with hundreds of thousands in attendance each time. It is also remembered as having the largest religious procession of more than 600,000 Catholics, which must have included Tita Luz and Tita Lud, both devout Catholics. At that time, it was considered the largest Catholic gathering in the only Catholic country in Asia. It was also the first time that a Catholic cardinal set foot in the Philippines. Dennis Joseph Cardinal Dougherty of Philadelphia came; hwas the former bishop of Jaro in Iloilo from 1908 to 1915.

To memorialize the Eucharistic Congress, two kinds of medals were minted and sold to attendees that could be worn by pinning. This is one of the two medals. Its obverse (principal side) features the Manila Cathedral in the middle, and the words "Congressus", "Eucharisticus", "Internationalis", and "Manilanus", meaning, International Eucharistic Congress (Manila) with the numbers 1-9-3-7 distributed around it.

The other side is a depiction of the First Mass in the Philippines with two Spanish soldiers on the left and a family on the right wearing modern clothes. On the background is a sea with mountains. Also featured are a few coconut trees. Sadly, no one in the medal is seen sipping buko juice nor is anyone seen taking a dip at the beach.😃

The number 1-5-2-1 are engraved, and the Latin words are written around the medal: "Praedicate Evangelium Omni Creaturae" - which means 'preach the Gospel to every creature'.

After Tita Luz gave this to my mother, she wore it to honor the giver. It was noticed by Father Bayona, a former parish priest who told my mom that her medal was lovely.

The medal is heavy and is shaped like a cross, and has a witness one of the largest Catholic gatherings ever in Asia.😃

#Catholicmedals #EucharisticCongress #Catholic #Philippinehistory #Philippines #medals #1937 #evangelical #CardinalDougherty

Seoul Shopping: The Issey-Miyake Inspired Blouses of Namdaemun Market!

Every time I flew home to the Philippines, I made sure I bought my mom a few of these Issey Miyake-inspired blouses. I first saw this type of blouses at a store in Itaewon. It was the ajumma-owner who told me they were like Issey Miyake blouses. Of course, these were not original Issey Miyake blouses, but 'inspired' by Issey Miyake designs because of the prints and the pleats. 

The first time I bought my mom these, she was happy because these ones need no ironing. They are wash-and-wear types. And they fit her perfectly!😍

I didn't buy the ones in Itaewon because they were pricey and I knew then that I could get the same type at a cheaper price somewhere.

I was right!

During my wanderings around the Dongdaemun shopping district and in Namdaemun Market, I saw a few shops that sell the same type of blouses. And which one sells the cheapest?

A shop at Namdaemun Market!

There are three shops in Namdaemun Market that I found, but the one that is in the middle of Namdaemun offers the lowest prices. I tried to haggle with all of them, trying to charm the ajummas to give me discounts. But it was the one in right in the middle of one of the buildings, in a tiny corner, that has the prices that ranged from KRW40,000 to KRW 80,000. Probably the low rental rate she paid enabled her to go low.

So, if you're interested in these Issey Miyake-inspired pleated blouses, wander around Namdaemun Market so you can also enjoy these wash-and-wear blouses like my mom does!

Happy shopping!😀

#Seoul #shopping #Namdaemun #isseymiyake #Korea #Seoulshopping #blouses #Koreatravel