DAVAO -- Unscrupulous fake diploma makers and users have made it difficult for legitimate graduates, as college diplomas are of no use if you are to take the real estate broker licensure examinations in Davao Region.
The underlying reason, an insider source said, is the proliferation of fake diplomas submitted by those taking the examination in Davao City.
Professional Regulations Commission (PRC)-Davao operations head Imelda Solon told Sun.Star Davao that applicants should submit a certificate of graduation because they do not accept a diploma as proof of being a graduate in order to take up the licensure exam.
Her statement came after Niño Martin Pineda, a Bachelor of Science in Management graduate of the Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU), and nine other graduates from Manila-based schools had trouble over the compliance of their requirements since their schools in Manila are not releasing notarized list of graduates and they do not have certificates of graduation since their courses do not have board examinations.
As of Wednesday, May 6, however, help has been offered to Pineda's situation through the intercession of a lawyer. Sun.Star could not ascertain whether the other applicants in a similar situation are also getting a reprieve.
As Sun.Star learned, requirements 5 and 6 of PRC-Davao for the broker licensure exam are:
5. Certificate of Graduation (for graduates of 2009 onwards of academic programs with board exam).
6. A notarized list of graduates (for graduates of 2009 onwards) - duly signed by the President/Chairman of the Board to be requested from the school for submission by the school registrar to PRC.
What happened to the young graduates was that PRC accepted their payment for application but refused to give them a notice of acceptance because they could not produce requirements 5 and 6.
This despite presenting a diploma signed by the president, vice president and dean of Pineda's college in ADMU and a certificate of graduation duly signed by the registrar.
Solon, meanwhile, insisted that their office should comply with the PRC Resolution 2015-885 series of 2015, which requires the academe to submit a list of graduates who have academic degrees that are qualified for board exams.
The problem with the broker exam is that anyone who has graduated from any course, even those that do not have board exams, can take it. Thus, lists of graduates for these courses are not submitted to the PRC nor released to the graduates. This includes, among many others, business courses.
"We cannot just bypass the resolution of the commission [PRC]. In his case, hindi na namin siya pinasubmit ng notarized list of graduates so yung certificate of graduation na lang ang isu-submit niya," Solon said.
PRC-Davao demanded that the notarized list of graduates to be submitted should be signed by at least two of the three: the University President, the College Dean and Registrar. But when this was requested, the graduate was scolded because there is no such requirement that should be given to individual students.
"That's not our problem anymore. He [Pineda] is their graduate so he has the right to ask for that document to be able to apply for the examination. So bakit nila ipe-penalize ang graduate nila kung kailangan talaga?" Pineda said when informed about this.
A batchmate of Pineda who applied for the same licensure examination in Metro Manila was not required to submit the same documents as his diploma was accepted as valid document.
Solon then reminded applicants for any licensure exam to comply with the requirements even before the deadline to pave the way for any adjustments or alternatives should there be issues in their application. (Sun.Star Davao)