Getting One's PRC ID

Let me share here some information I got abut getting one's PRC ID. It was started by an email inquiring what help I could give to the Counselor's situation:

dear Fr. Bern,

greetings.. i am back to my mission in (abroad) last (date). Luckily i was able to process my requirements for the exception and was approved. Although i was not able to make it for the Oath Taking Ceremony, is there any means how to get my PRC ID. Neverthless i am actively doing the function of the guidance counselor. Other concern, Fr. will you pls send me the application for the Integrated Professional Counselors Association of the Philippines (IPCAP)...Is there any way i can update myself for the seminars which are necessary for updating and renewal of license. At the moment, i am actively involve in the psycho-pastoral and spiritual counseling with the migrants in (abroad). Thank you so much. God Bless,

My reply:
Hi,
Peace!
I called up the PRC Records Management Division of the PRC just a minute ago. To get your PRC ID, you should have the claim stub as well as a special power of attorney (S.P.A) given to someone who can claim it for you. In which case you should have registered at the PRC, kasi you should have signed in the logbook of professional counselors where you placed your ID din po. Hope my task is done. Hope you received too the IPCAP Application for membership. God bless and take care


I asked about the oath taking vis-a-vis the PRC, i.e., the authorized procedure regarding the oath-taking in relation to the ID. The person at PRC who answered my phone call said "that is understood na po."

Wow, that was interesting an answer.

If this is how it is, is there then NO MORE NEED FOR THE OATH TAKING? Has paying for one's license thus taken the place of the oath? Ang pera na ba ang kapalit ng panunumpa? Sorry, but I smell something. I am led to ask more questions like: what's with this oath taking that's making it "understood." Sabagay, in the commercial world, when I pay for something at the store, or bus terminal for a bus seat, or at the new PNRC (Philippine National Railway Corporation) with its new coaches, or in school, it means I am ready for the consequences of my purchase. Has the oath thus become nothing but "formality"? Has it then become so dispensable? If this is so, what is the purpose for its presence in the law?

Or is it possible that those who are tasked to administer the oath may not give it the priority it deserves? I'd like to believe that the bureaucratic system can create shortcuts that may open itself for and even encourage some shady process to take place.

Why not?

Because if I can get my license that way without having to show myself through an oath before the Board of Examiners (in our case, the Professional Regulatory Board of Guidance and Counseling), either personally or in groups, then the license can become a commodity that can be paid, or stated bluntly - BOUGHT!

I think there is a need to look into this matter. We cannot allow the license to be simply a commodity which money can buy. We all know what happens these days in the market: there are lots of pirated CDs, DVDs, cloned brand named jeans and shirts. Right beside PRC is Recto with its manufactured diplomas and even theses and dissertations. If this is so, a FAKE ID is not a distant possibility.