MANILA, Philippines — Branding the measure “uncalled for” and “anti-professional,” House Deputy Speaker Paolo Duterte on Wednesday said he will file a bill repealing the law authored by former Senator Antonio Trillanes IV which mandates professionals to earn Continuing Professional Development (CPD) units for the renewal of their Professional Identification Card.
Duterte said that not only will he file a bill repealing Republic Act No. 10912 or the “Continuing Professional Development Act of 2016” “for the sake of filing,” but he would also seek support from his colleagues for its passage.
“This CPD law is uncalled for. To address this, we will file a bill repealing this anti-professional measure introduced by Trillanes,” Duterte said in a statement.
CPD, under the law, “refers to the inculcation of advanced knowledge, skills and ethical values in a post-licensure specialization or in an inter- or multidisciplinary field of study, for assimilation into professional practice, self-directed research and/or lifelong learning.”
Article III Section 10 of the CPD law makes the CPD a mandatory requirement in the renewal of the Professional Identification Card (PIC) of all registered and licensed professionals under the regulation of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).
This can be earned by taking additional formal and non-formal trainings.
“While we support the lifelong learning among our professionals to further their craft, the requirements set by the CPD law just adds to the burden they have to deal with,” Duterte said.
“After a long day of work, they are forced to spend a bulk of their salary, take absences from work, and go through unreasonable hardships just so they can renew their licenses and continue the practice of their professions,” the lawmaker added.
Duterte said that the government can help professionals meet global standards through other means, “without passing the burden to them.”
“Our proposed measure is also to serve as gratitude to our professional frontliners who continuously render their service to our nation, especially in this time of crisis. We have witnessed the selfless acts of our professional frontliners. They do not deserve the CPD law,” Duterte said.
If Duterte pushes through with the move, he might have some supporters in the lower chamber as there have been moves in the past—in both the House and Senate—to repeal the controversial law, while some 44,000 professionals sign an online petition questioning the requirements for license renewal.
Several authors of the bills filed during the 17th Congress seeking to repeal the Continuing Professional Development Act are still in office.
In the 17th Congress, three bills were filed in the House seeking to repeal the CPD law.