Smile

Rush ID shops are almost as common as cats in the commercial areas of Metro Manila and trust me there are lots of your humble moggies out there on the streets. This land is obsessed with 1x1 and 2x2 colour photographs, signed on the back and attached to any and all official and semi official documents.

From renting a post office box, the application for which must have a photograph of all who may receive and/or retrieve the mail, to opening a bank account, 2 1x1’s signed on the reverse, please, a photograph of the claimant is mandatory. A resume without an attached photo won’t even be read. Thinking of registering a business name, 2 2x2 recent, less than a year old, signed on back photographs of the registrant, please, even if the application is being handled by a third party.

From kiosks in malls to small store fronts in shopping strips you can get your mug shot taken and processed within the hour and walk away with a fist full of likenesses with change from 200 pesos. Just look for the Rush ID sign and you’re in business.

Hand over the required number of pics along with the rest of the forms and be prepared for the staple through the frontal cortex. Interestingly the only application that doesn’t require a brace of displayed pearly whites is for marriage. And I’m just not going into that one.