And You Thought Driving in the Philippines was a Pain...
Went to get my driver's license renewed yesterday with Aissa, who was renewing Wilson's car registration. Even computerized the Land Transportation Office still couldn't do away with the lines and the delays, presumably because they still entertain "fixers" who come into the office to sneak in the paperwork of their "clients," disregarding the people lined up outside (and the fact that it's totally illegal). Immediately after we parked the car a guy with a ponytail approached Aissa offering to speed up the insurance paperwork for 700 bucks. Meanwhile my journey through the "legitimate" process consisted to a trip to the doctor (2 minutes and 50 bucks), the drug testing center (2 minutes and 300 bucks), drug test proper (15 minutes plus having to pee into a little plastic bottle with the bathroom door open), picture-taking (1 minute), payment (1 hour at the cashier) and finally issuance of the temporary license (30 minutes). I don't know what's more bewildering: the fact that a cursory medical exam is a lot cheaper than being asked to pee into a bottle, or that the whole experience cost 402 pesos and 80 centavos more than the last renewal.
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