Congress has made a move to tackle the controversial Continuing Professional Development (CPD) law amidst calls by different sectors to amend or repeal the measure.
The House Committee on Higher and Technical Education chaired by Rep. Paolo Everardo Javier (Lone District, Antique) on Monday created a technical working group (TWG) to draft a substitute bill on several measures which call for the amendment or repeal of Republic Act 10912 or the “Continuing Professional Development Act of 2016”.
Under RA 10912, programs for the mandatory continuing professional development or CPD of workers and professionals were institutionalized.
House Bill 6461 authored by AKO BICOL Party-list Reps. Rodel Batocabe, Alfredo Garbin, Jr. and Christopher Co seeks to exempt overseas Filipino workers from the continuing professional development requirements in the renewal of their license under the Professional Regulation Commission, amending for the purpose RA 10912.
House Bill 8296 authored by Rep. Maximo Rodriguez, Jr. (2nd District, Cagayan de Oro City) aims to amend some provisions of RA 10912 to make it easier for the workers and professionals affected to comply with the mandatory requirements of the CPD law.
House Bill 7171 introduced by ACT Party-list Reps. Antonio Tinio and France Castro, Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate (Party-list, BAYAN MUNA), GABRIELA Women’s Party-list Reps. Emmi de Jesus and Arlene Brosas, Rep. Ariel Casilao (Party-list, ANAKPAWIS) and Rep. Sarah Jane Elago (Party-list, KABATAAN) seeks to repeal the Continuing Professional Development Act of 2016.
Meanwhile, House Resolution 1610 authored by Reps. Aniceto Bertiz III (Party-list, ACTS OFW), Rodel Batocabe, Anthony Bravo (Party-list, COOP NATCCO), Winston Castelo (2nd District, Quezon City) and Eugene De Vera (Party-list, ABS) calls for an inquiry, in aid of legislation, into the status of implementation of RA 10912.
In his sponsorship speech, Garbin said in the course of their work in foreign countries, OFWs who are licensed professionals are required to comply with several requirements and competencies by their employer or the host country.
“This means that OFW professionals are, during their stay abroad, already obligated to undergo professional development in relation to their work,” he said.
Garbin further said that since these OFWs are outside the jurisdiction of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) during the period they work abroad, they should not be subject to the mandatory requirement of RA 10912.
Tinio for his part said they filed the bill calling for the repeal of RA 10912 as its implementation has imposed multiple, logistical, and psychological burdens on professionals especially to nurses and teachers.
Castelo said practice of continuing professional development has brought a lot of hardships not only to the OFWs but to all licensed professionals.
PRC, which undertakes the overall implementation of the CPD Programs together with the Professional Regulatory Boards (PRBs), agreed to the amendment under House Bill 6461 to exempt professionals working overseas for the first compliance period or during the first three years of the implementation of the CPD Law.
Although it expressed its support for the proposal to exempt professional from CPD compliance for the first renewal period after obtaining their license, the PRC proposed to maintain the three-year cycle of PIC (Professional ID Card) renewal to be consistent with that of the Professional Regulatory Board.
Other stakeholders representing the nurses and teachers expressed their support for the repeal of the CPD Law. (Ma. Victoria Palomar, http://congress.gov.ph)
