Font size: 
If you're not a degree holder and you want to get a job in the Philippines, however, there is an easier way. For a small price and an hour's wait, you can get a transcript and diploma from the university of your choice. So cheap, so quick.
But will its authenticity be questioned? That is the risk one takes in buying a fake degree. It is a risk that many people have already taken.
It was noontime when I went undercover. A few blocks from a police outpost in the Quiapo district of Manila, a young man stood on the sidewalk behind a wooden signboard. Mounted on it were sample diplomas and transcripts from several schools, driver's licenses, company identification cards and other documents. They looked authentic, but they were all fakes. I approached the stall, and the young man offered me his service.
One of my purposes in exploring Quiapo was to find out whether or not the so-called "diploma mills" still exist. I was told this illegal business used to operate openly, but later became more elusive. As a result of frequent raids, these stalls have become ambulant and play hide-and-seek with the policemen; and the customers as well. So, after spotting the man operating the stall, I thought I would give it a try to personally experience how this "diploma mill" works.
I was asked for my name, the name of the school and the degree I preferred, which would be written on the fake transcript. I thought of a way to determine the quality of his work -- I gave him my personal details and the name of the university where I actually graduated. This way I could compare the fake with my original transcript.
He first asked me to pay 3,000 pesos (US$75), but it was later reduced to 620 (US$15). He took me to a nearby shopping mall where I waited for an hour. I was with another man who, like me, was waiting for a fake document. He wanted a driver's license, which was required by the immigration department.
After an hour, the young man came back carrying my fake transcript. He had already delivered the driver's license to my fellow customer. Of course, I immediately noticed the difference between the fake one and my original. The names of the subjects and the paper color were different. But what caught my attention were the signatures and the seal below the transcript. They were very similar to the original.
The existence of these "diploma mills" in the Quiapo and Recto districts of Manila is common public knowledge. But the fact that they continue to operate demonstrates how deeply ineffective and non-existent the notion of law enforcement is there.
The hawker who faked my transcript was located a few blocks from a police outpost. It was a crowded street and our deals were made openly. Even at the shopping mall where I waited for the fake document, there were three police officers sitting close by. The police presence at the police outpost and at the mall did not prevent the commission of an illegal and criminal act; they seemed blind to the illegal business operating right in front of them.
Obviously, the illegal hawkers have learned how to avoid arrest. However, their continued presence and illegal operation in the same areas poses a serious question concerning law enforcement and local authorities. Why do the police fail to make arrests, to prosecute perpetrators and put a stop to this long-term illegal activity of falsifying documents? The police only act when pressured; they do not consider the consistent enforcement of the law a routine part of their work.
By failing to hold those responsible to account and to prevent this illegal activity, the police themselves are helping undermine not only the country's universities, but its credibility. When Filipino nurses protested against a popular U.S. television series -- one of the show's characters had supposedly made a discriminatory remark about nurses graduating from the Philippines -- it demonstrated how widespread is the perception and presumption that training is of low quality in this country. Though this is not true, my purchase of a fake transcript for 620 pesos in public and the continued operation of the ambulant makers of fake documents is enough to breed suspicion over the credibility of human resources in the Philippines.
The discrimination suffered by well-trained Filipino professionals abroad did not develop overnight. It is the result of the continued failure of the authorities to restore the credibility of Filipino professionals even at home. A person who fakes documents may eventually be held to account, but the lack of a mechanism to determine the authenticity of an applicant's school's records, for example, undermines the education system in general. It creates unnecessary discrimination and prejudice against genuine professionals and degree holders. It promotes and tolerates inequality for students who work hard, exhausting their time and money to earn a degree.
This is basically rooted in the failure of the authorities, particularly the police, to adequately enforce the law, which should have begun in the streets of Manila.
--
(Danilo Reyes is a staff member of the Asian Human Rights Commission, a regional human rights NGO in Hong Kong. He is responsible for the organization's work on the Philippines. Previously, he worked as a human rights activist and journalist in the Philippines.)
