The "How to apply for the Environmental Planning Exam" for dummies

The final verdict is…rejection of my application for the Environmental Planning board exam, thanks to the certificate of experience signed only by a Municipal Planning and Development Coordinator, not by a certified Environmental Planner.

I’m tired of pushing it further. Dear God does not want me to take the exam ahead of Keith.

But what the hell is this Environmental Planning animal—EnP, for short--anyway?

Environmental Planning is the institutionalized version of urban planning because in reality, as a profession, urban planning in the Philippines is non-existent. The EnP practice is regulated by the Presidential Decree 1308. Basically the graduates of MA URP can apply for the exam without the need for the certificate of experience. And i also read somewhere that graduates of allied planning course like architecture, environmental management and the likes need only to take crash courses in planning (I don't know, maybe 40 hours long?) and some sort of a certification and they're okay to take the exam. 

In my case, however, my undergraduate degree & program was in the field of social science  so I needed units in urban planning in order to be legible for the board exam. I’ve done it all—I took a diploma course in urban and regional planning, and have been in development work for the last 4 years, much of which is focused on transportation planning and road network development, and being in the whole shitty mess of the system of governance in the local government. If that does not constitute a planning experience, I don’t know what does.

The reason why my certificate of experience was not signed by an EnP because the EnPs I personally know were out of the country when I decided to take the board exam. When I started processing my application, they’re still out and away. Meanwhile, the EnPs that were “referred” to me (to our group), the EnPs who were alumni of the diploma program to which I am also an alumnus, refused to sign. One even said that his signature would require at least 2 months of on-the-job training. Christ. I have drafted a provincial road network development plan on my own, what more experience did he want?

I know and understand where PRC is coming from. They are a regulatory institution and regulations are not meant to make things convenient to everyone. So I made this post in order to assist those willing to take the EnP exam in the future, particularly those coming from the diploma program of urban and regional planning of UP Visayas.

Here’s the checklist I made. The comments come as bonus.

           1. Birth Certificate in NSO SECurity PApers (SECPA)

I know, everything needs to be in the costly NSO SECPA now. The cost won’t really matter if the lines at NSO aren’t that long. Since i have a day job and this is a rush job, to get this, I had to ask my husband to take a day off at work so he could get my security papers in my behalf.

The NSO in Region VI (in Iloilo) is now located at the building right across Amigo Hotel. If you go there early in the morning (meaning, before 8 am) you won’t get lost. The length of the lines will give the location away. Just follow the line.

This along with other SECPAs (CENOMAR, Marriage Certificate, etc), by the way, you can also get somewhere else. Like the NSO kiosk at SM City Iloilo but it will take about 5 working days before you can get your SECPA if you use the SM City method. Another option is to go through the online SECPA request--which will require you your credit card number. But this one is truly for the dummies as once your request is in (meaning you've paid online), you can just sit back and relax, and wait for the mailman to deliver your SECPA to your doorstep. 

2.    Marriage Certificate in NSO SECurity Papers (FOR MARRIED FEMALE APPLICANTS)

My husband and I agreed that I will retain my maiden surname after marriage so when applying for EVERYTHING, my marriage certificate is as indispensable as my valid ID. Usually when a woman wants to use her husband’s surname she’d have to apply for a change of name in the school she attended and in all other institutions that bear her pertinent records, like work for that matter. And because I didn’t change my name, my school records remained as virginal as they could be. In cases similar to mine, WOMEN, when filling out the application form you write your maiden surname and just indicate your married name (husband’s surname) with a dash. That solves the problem. And PRC allows it.

And there is no such thing as a NEW LAW in the Philippines that allows married women to use their maiden surname. Married women are always allowed to use their maiden surname and it was NEVER mandatory to change surname with a change of civil status. 

I did not encounter any problem as regards single-married name at PRC. Unlike in Comelec where, in the voter’s registration, I specifically retained my singular name and wrote my husband’s name in the box that says: Spouse’s name. When my Voter’s ID was issued, the people at the COMELEC automatically changed my surname to that of my husband’s.

Seeing it, my husband looked at me apologetically and said, “I really make things hard for you, don’t I?”

It’s the same thing with the passport. I applied for renewal of passport and subsequently applied for a change in civil status (which actually does not appear in the passport profile, anyway). For me to retain my singular name I was given two options: One is to present certification of a marriage annulled or proof that I am a widow.

So change of surname it is.

3.     Official transcript of records with your PICTURE and a note: “For Board Exam Purposes Only” written somewhere.

For UPV graduate program alumni who can’t find time to go to Miag-ao to get their OTR, all you do is get in touch with the Graduate Program Office (GPO).

For those who know the number of pages of their OTR, you can go directly to the cash office located at the College of Management. When you get there tell the person at the cash register that you’re requesting for OTR. She may require you to fill out a form or something. Each page cost PHP30.00 so if you’ve seen your OTR before you’ll know how much you’re going to pay.

For those first-time OTR requesters, you may really need to go to Miag ao, OR be extra friendly to the staff of the registrar's office so they can check out your records and give you the information you want through the phone. 

Once you’ve paid, you put your official receipt (either a photocopy or the original but be sure to retain a proof of the receipt for yourself just to be sure) and a passport-sized ID picture (with white background and you must be wearing a collared-shirt in the picture) inside an envelope. When the documents are ready you hand it to Ng Jo Jinon of the GPO and ask her to pouch it to the Registrar’s Office for you. Pouching means sending the documents to Miag-ao. BE friendly and kind, if you're usually not as pouching in behalf of the graduate alumni is not part of Ng Jo's work. 
Once your OTR is prepared, the Registrar Office will pouch your transcript back to the GPO. At these times it takes about 10 working days maximum for the transcript to be ready because a lot of new graduates are requesting for copies. Come the last quarter of the year and you can just walk in the Registrar’s Office, file a request and the Reg Office staff will prepare your OTR while you’re paying at the cash office.

Anyway, make sure you call Ng Jo from time to time about your OTR because she is also busy and because she is not your nanny.

Any by the way, requesting for OTR does not require personal appearance. Your dog can do it for you, if your dog is the speakin’-an’-writin’ type.

4.     Certificate of Good Moral

The certificate has to categorically contain the phrase: “a person of good moral character” otherwise PRC will ask you to get other proofs of your morality somewhere else. For NEW GRADS, you may request if from your school. However, in the case of the DURP UPVisayas, all that the College issues is a document certifying the “absence of any legal or administrative violations”. It might be possible to ask the preparer to put the good moral thing somewhere in the paragraph, so better do.

For OLD Graduates, like me, get your certificate of good moral from your barangay captain. And since you’re in the planning business, better start rubbing elbows with the basic unit of planning in your community—the barangay.

5.    Community Tax Certificate (CEDULA/CTC)

For City residents you get it at the City Hall, at the Office of the Treasurer. There’s no lining-up getting this, and it’s easy as 1-2-3.

6.     CERTIFICATE OF EMPLOYMENT

Which you will request from your employer. If your work is remotely related to planning please take note that I am not suggesting you fabricate some sort of an employment certificate from somebody who can provide you with such. The signatory for your certificate of employment must be the head of the office.

The board requires at least TWO YEARS of planning experience for one to qualify to take the environmental planning exam.

7.     CERTIFICATE OF EXPERIENCE

You need to have a Registered EnP sign this. PRC has a form (you get from the guy at the entrance) for this which you fill out, attach your certificate of employment to, and have an EnP sign it. Once the EnP has signed, you need to have it notarized. When you have this notarized, make sure you have your CTC number as the Notary Public will need it for his records.

Ideally, this certification presents a proof that during the time you were employed by the company where you requested a CERTIFICATE OF EMPLOYMENT from, you were supervised by the EnP, the same person signing your Certificate of Experience. And since that is close to impossible, please note that I am not telling you that that does not matter since PRC will not be assessing if the EnP actually supervised you or not. What’s important is, you got an EnP-signed Certificate of Experience.

8.       A PHOTOCOPY OF ALL THE ABOVE-STATED DOCUMENTS

9.       4 pieces of ID Pictures with PRC seal

Which you can only obtain from the photographer of the PRC Employees Cooperative. It costs PHP70.00 for four pieces of once-in-a-lifetime mug-shot look. The PRC seal photoshopped at the upper right corner is a freebie. You need to have a collared shirt for this, doesn’t matter what color or design, long as your collared shirt is not without sleeves. If you come for your picture-taking in non-collared shirt, you will be compelled to wear the dirty collared shirt (which a thousand previous applicants has also worn) for your picture taking, which provided by the photographer.

Trust me, my husband had gone through this while applying for the Architecture exam. The shirts smelled bad, he said.

These pictures are the ones you will use for your application and registration forms.

10.  PRC Application form

Which will only be issued to you once you’ve bought a Documentary Stamp at the PRC Employees Cooperative. Despite the form being NOT FOR SALE, meaning reproducible, you cannot do so because it already has a documentary stamp pasted on it.
And no, you cannot use the form downloaded from the PRC site even if they look very much the same. Says who?
Says the PRC entrance guy.

And the guy at the entrance (no, not the guards, the PRC guy—he also issues the queuing number) will only give you the application form once all your requirements are complete.

11. PHP 900.00 as application fee. 
     You need not pay this if you get rejected. But when you go to PRC bring money along just to be sure. 


           
12. Then you line up (at window 8) and wait for the verdict.

If the verdict is bad, like mine, there’s a local coffeeshop located just across the PRC building. Try to nurse your broken heart with a cup of frappe loaded with fatty whip cream. It will make you feel better.

But before anything else, may I tell you that NO, reviews and crash courses will not assure you a passing rate. What will assure your passing the board exam is quality and span of your reading, reading and more reading of things specific and related to planning.

When I apply for the environmental planning exam next time—next year’s board exam—PRC better sees to it that the application process is a lot easier for a re-applier like me. Also, it would be a big help if you do things in group and if each member of your group is looking after the welfare and progress of each of the member, that each one sees to it that no one is left out. That way, you get help in obtaining your documents.

Watch out for our eclectic group of happy people, board exam, you will have your time.