SENATOR RONALD M. Dela Rosa seeks to scrap a law that mandates registered Filipino professionals to complete additional formal and non-formal learning before they can renew their professional license with the Philippine Regulatory Commission (PRC).
Under Senate Bill No. 2344, Mr. Dela Rosa proposed to repeal Republic Act No. 10912 or the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Act of 2016 to lessen the burden of professionals during the pandemic.
“At this time of global health crisis, the repeal of this law is well-timed and will immensely unburden our professionals,” he said in a press release.
The lawmaker said that although CPD promoted competency and kept professional qualifications up to date, many doubt its practicality.
Money needs to be spent to enroll in graduate schools, online courses, seminars and the like, he said, but many professionals cannot afford these due to “their meager resources.”
Moreover, professionals are also losing income as they skip work in order to attend CPD classes, and those from far-flung areas are forced to process and complete their mandated requirements in major cities due to limited CPD providers.
“Adding to these problems, the PRC admitted that they have limited capacity to monitor the implementation of the law. Like the Filipino professionals, they are also claiming inadequate or lack of funding,” Mr. Dela Rosa said.
Professionals that require a license in the country include teachers, nurses, engineers, and architects, among others. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan