Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ____ 
Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR. 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Constitution, Article XII, Section 14, provides: 
The sustained development of a reservoir of national talents consisting of 
Filipino scientists, entrepreneurs, professionals, managers, high-level 
technical manpower, and skilled workers and craftsmen in all fields shall be 
promoted by the State. 
Presidential Decree No. 223, created the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) 
which is tasked to administer, implement, and enforce regulatory policies of the national 
government with respect to the regulation and licensing of the various professions and 
occupations under its jurisdiction, including the maintenance of professional and 
occupational standards and ethics and the enforcement of the rules and regulations 
relative thereto. 
As per the National Statistics Office (NSO), there are more than forty (40) recognized 
professions in the country. Each of these professions has its own organizations or 
associations. Unfortunately, many professionals, for some reason or another, fail to 
become members of such organizations or associations. Thus, these professionals are 
unable to avail of the benefits given to members. 
This bill seeks to address this problem by mandating that all examinees who pass the 
PRC licensure examination shall automatically become members of their respective 
accredited 
professional 
organization 
upon 
compliance 
with 
the 
membership 
requirements. 
LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR. 
October 20, 2022
153 pm
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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ____ 
Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR. 
AN ACT 
PROVIDING FOR AUTOMATIC MEMBERSHIP OF PROFESSIONALS  
IN THEIR RESPECTIVE ACCREDITED PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be cited as the “Automatic Professional 
Membership Act.” 
SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. – The State shall enhance, promote, and protect 
various professional disciplines and towards this end, shall unify and strengthen the 
bond amongst all professionals and shall encourage their active involvement and 
participation in organizations or societies which will serve as vehicles for nurturing and 
enhancing the standard of practice of their profession, thereby ensuring the contribution 
of professionals to the upliftment of the general welfare, economic growth, and 
development of the nation. In pursuit of these objectives, automatic membership of 
professionals in their respective accredited professional organizations shall be required. 
SECTION 3. Accredited Professional Organization. – There shall be one professional 
organization for each profession which shall be accredited by the Professional 
Regulation Commission (PRC), herein referred to as the Commission, which shall serve 
as the umbrella organization for all professionals in their respective professions. The 
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establishment of this accredited professional organization shall not be a bar to the 
formation and continued existence of other voluntary organizations which may co-exist 
with the accredited professional organization. Duly accredited professional organizations 
now existing shall continue to be recognized as such by the Commission. 
 
Each Accredited Professional Organization (APO) shall coordinate and work together 
with their respective Professional Regulatory Board (PRB), here referred to as the Board, 
in the exercise of its function for the effective enhancement of their profession particularly 
in the promotion of programs and activities which will advance and foster excellent and 
globally competitive professionals in their respective fields of expertise. 
 
The functions and responsibilities of the APO are as follows: 
(A) Maintain an updated roster of membership in the organization; 
(B) Enforce rules and regulations for membership in good standing; 
(C) Organize, conduct, and accredit continuing professional education and training 
programs for its members; 
(D) Monitor and supervise the activities and operations of organizations belonging under 
APO; 
(E) Assist the Board in monitoring and ensuring that members maintain the highest 
professional competence and comply at all times with their professions’ Code of 
Ethics; 
(F) Report and recommend sanctions to the Board on illegal and malpractice cases of 
the profession; 
(G) Assist the Board in enforcing compliance with member registration and renewal of 
licenses; 
(H) Select, evaluate, and submit to the Commission nominees to fill up any vacancies in 
the Board; 
(I) Assist the Board in the preparation, adoption, and issuance of syllabi or tables of 
specifications of the subjects for licensure examinations; 
(J) Assist government agencies in activities related to the delivery of services and 
improvement of the professionals and the profession; and 


 
 
(K) Perform such other functions and responsibilities normally performed by accredited 
professional organizations 
 
SECTION 4. Automatic Membership. – All examinees who pass the PRC licensure 
examinations and who have been issued a Certificate of Registration and a Professional 
License or Certificate of Competency, as the case may be, shall automatically become 
members of their respective accredited professional organizations upon compliance with 
the membership requirements. All professionals, whose names now appear in the roster 
of professionals or who may hereafter be included, upon registration and payment of 
required fees, shall automatically become members of their respective accredited 
professional organization and shall be issued a certificate of membership. Professionals 
with more than one profession shall automatically be considered as members of all the 
appropriate APOs under the same terms and conditions provided herein. 
 
A Certificate of Membership in Good Standing from each respective APO shall be 
presented by the professional to the Commission before the latter may renew his license 
to practice his profession. 
 
SECTION 5. Inactivation of Membership. – The Accredited Professional Organization 
shall consider a member under inactive status in the event that the member decides to 
discontinue the practice of the profession, in which case, his name shall not be dropped 
from the roster of membership, provided, however, that if he wants to resume the 
practice of the profession, he shall follow the procedure and requirements for registration 
for new members of the organization. 
 
SECTION 6. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – The Professional Regulation 
Commission shall formulate the necessary implementing rules and regulations within 
ninety (90) days after the approval of this Act in consultation with the representatives of 
the existing accredited professional organizations and professional regulatory boards. 
 
 
SECTION 7. Separability Clause. – If any provision or part hereof is held invalid or 


 
 
unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall 
remain valid and subsisting. 
 
SECTION 8. Repealing Clause. – Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive 
order, letter of instruction, administrative order, or rule or regulation contrary to or 
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, modified, or amended 
accordingly. 
 
SECTION 9. Effectivity Clause. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
 
Approved,