House passes bill amending Continuing Professional Development Act

By: Neil Arwin Mercado - 2 years ago

The Plenary of the House of Representatives

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives approved Wednesday a measure that aims to enhance and strengthen the continuing professional development (CPD) of professionals in the country to “improve their skills and make them at par with professionals from other countries.”

With 176 affirmative votes, six negative, and no abstention, the lower chamber approved on final reading House Bill No. 9311, which seeks to amend Republic Act No. 10912 or the “Continuing Professional Development Act of 2016.”

Under the measure, CPD shall be a mandatory requirement in the updating and upgrading of knowledge, skills and values and competencies or titles of all registered and licensed professionals under the regulation of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).

The measure likewise mandates that all professionals shall be required to obtain 45 CPD credit units every four years which shall be deemed as the compliance period.

Some professionals, however, should be exempted from the CPD requirements such as the following:

newly licensed or registered professionals on the first renewal of their Professional Identification Card within the first four years after obtaining their license;
Overseas Filipino workers;
Senior citizens who are not engaged in the practice of their profession

The PRC likewise is given authority to temporarily suspend the compliance period for CPD requirements indefinitely during a pandemic, state of calamity or national emergency, based on the bill.

The measure also instructs various government departments and agencies, and private companies, in consultation and coordination with the PRC, to establish a mechanism whereby they shall provide professionals under their jurisdiction, with free or inexpensive seminars, workshops, online and similar training programs, to earn CPD credit units, with no or very low cost to the professionals.

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.”

KGA