Early on, IECEP had planned to assist those applying for conversion of their Electronics & Communications licenses to Electronics Engineer, as well as those applying for upgrading to Professional Electronics Engineer category. The idea was for IECEP to receive all applications, file them for and in behalf of the applicants and follow-through with the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) until the new licenses are secured.
Unfortunately, this has not worked out, because of the requirement that all professionals securing their licenses from the PRC must personally sign the Master Roster of Professionals. This is a requirement not only for ECEs, but for all professionals registering with the PRC.
My advice for those applying for the conversion of their licenses is therefore to allocate the time and make the small sacrifice to queue up at PRC to personally file the application for conversion. My son, Engr. Joel S. Marciano, Jr. (Ph.D.), who is as time-conscious as and (much more) impatient than his father, did exactly that, queuing up at 9:00 in the morning, and finally managing to finish everything by 11:30 AM. He did absent himself from his work for half a day, and then he had to wait for a month before he was issued his Professional Identification Card (ID) as an Electronics Engineer.
For those intending to apply for conversion and upgrading at the same time, it turns out this is not possible to accomplish at one time. One must apply for conversion first, secure the license and ID as an Electronics Engineer (photocopies of which shall be attached to the application for upgrading), and thereafter file another application for the upgrading. My son has not done that yet, but I imagine he has to queue up again by the time he files his application for upgrading, and I am sure he will again be required to personally sign the Master Roster, this time as a PECE, when he gets his upgraded license.
IECEP is continuing to explore with PRC and the Board of Electronics Engineering whatever possibilities may exist to expedite the process, but in the meantime, pagtiyagaan na natin… Do try queuing up and don't forget to bring your PSP and/or your favorite Harry Potter pocketbook with you.
