' y’T' i11' 'i
NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Third Regular Session
]
24 SEP 25 A10 52
SENATE
s.B. No. 2840
me;; -L.
Introduced by SENATOR WIN GATCHALIAN
AN ACT
FURTHER AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7836, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS 
THE "PHILIPPINE TEACHERS PROFESSIONALIZATION ACT OF 1994” AS 
AMENDED BY REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9293
EXPLANATORY NOTE
The 1987 Constitution provides that the State recognizes the 
complementary roles of public and private institutions in the educational system 
and shall exercise reasonable supervision and regulation of all educational 
institutions. In pursuit of these objectives, Republic Act (R.A.) No. 7836 or the 
“Philippine Teachers Professionalization Act of 1994” was enacted for the 
promotion, development and professionalization of teachers and the teaching 
profession, and the supervision and regulation of the licensure examination. The 
law was amended in 2004 by R.A. No. 9293, amending in particular Sections 15, 
16, and 31.
Schools all over the world regard licenses as an essential employment entry 
in the teaching field.1 In the Philippines, the licensure examination became one
1 Yauney, J.M. (2022). K-12 CS teacher licensing in the US. In Proceedings of the 53rd ACM 
Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education, 2, 1171. Available at: https:// 
doi.org/10.1145/3478432.3499202


of the factors that signaled the quality of educators and the instruction they 
provided. It has become a key safeguard for the caliber of a teacher to be 
employed in schools and offers a standard by which to judge whether a graduate 
has the minimal proficiency necessary to engage in the teaching profession.2
The Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET) is the measure by which the 
Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and the Board for Professional 
Teachers (Board) ascertain the educational preparedness of future educators. 
From 2017 to 2019, the average national passing rates for elementary and 
secondary education examinees were below 50%.3 A World Bank study4 examined 
data from 2009 to 2017 with findings impljdng the need to improve teacher 
preparation as teachers performed poorly on tests measuring teacher content 
knowledge. Considering the importance of the LET in determining teaching 
quality, the need to revisit the “Philippine Teachers Professionalization Act of 
1994” is necessary.
In support of strengthening the professional standards and pool of 
qualified teachers while enabling the Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs) to 
reinforce the constructive alignment between the curriculum, teacher training, 
and licensure examination, this bill seeks to amend Sections 5, 7, 8, and 13 to 
16, through the following provisions:
(1) Expanding the nominations for the members of the Board and posting 
the final list of nominees on the PRC official website;
(2) Providing that the members of the Board who are employees or officials 
of government agencies be seconded to the PRC for the duration of their 
term;
2 Abao EL, Petancio JAM, Sanchez JMP and Sumalinog GG (2023) Performance of beginning 
teachers in the licensure examination for teachers: a national study. Front. Educ. 8:1240658. 
doi: 10.3389/feduc.2023.1240658
3 Ibid.
4 World Bank. (2019). Philippines basic education: public expenditure review. Available at: 
https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/3d726a60-03c8-55 3f- 
8de8-214e29234b45 / content


(3) Setting additional qualifications and necessary expertise of the Board 
Members and the prohibition on the conflict of interest in the conduct 
and release of the licensure examination to be set by the PRC;
(4) Introducing pathways for the application for registration as professional 
teachers, which shall either be through a licensure examination or the 
submission of a portfolio of attainment of the professional standards 
for teaching, in lieu of taking the examination, for those who graduated 
from an accredited Teacher Education Center of Excellence with a 
consistent passing rate of at least 80% in the last five years;
(5) Prescribing the scope of examinations for the early childhood, 
elementary, and secondary levels;
(6) Proposing other applicable fields of specialization with qualifications as 
may be determined by the TEC and the requirement of a refresher 
course for those who failed to pass the licensure examination three (3) 
times;
(7) Mandating the release of LET questions and answers by the PRC 
immediately after the administration of the examination; and
(8) Requiring the report of the ratings obtained by each candidate in each 
component to the PRC and mandating the Board to make public the 
licensure examination performance of TEIs.
This bill also introduces a new Section 13-A, which enables the registration 
without examination of qualified applicants to highlight the State's recognition of 
the knowledge and expertise acquired that is comparable to the professional 
standards.
With the end goal of providing transformative education through refocused
and qualified educators, the immediate passage of this bfilds earnestly sought.
[NNGATCH


NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Third Regular Session
]
SENATE
s.B. No. 2840
ir ,■!
24 SEP 25 AlO S3
Ri:i
Introduced by SENATOR WIN GATCHALIAN
AN ACT
FURTHER AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7836, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS 
THE “PHILIPPINE TEACHERS PROFESSIONALIZATION ACT OF 1994” AS 
AMENDED BY REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9293
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:
1 
Section 1. Section 5 of Republic Act (R.A.) No. 7836 is hereby amended
2 
to read as follows:
3 
“SEC. 5. Creation and Composition of the Board. - There is
4 
hereby created under this Act a Board for Professional
5 
Teachers, hereinafter called the Board, a collegial body under
6 
the general supervision and administrative control of the
7 
Professional Regulation Commission, hereinafter referred to as
8 
the Commission, composed of five (5) members who shall be
9 
appointed by the President of the Philippines from among the
10 
recommendees chosen by the Commission.
11 
THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION (DEPED),
12 
COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION (CHED), TEACHER
13 
EDUCATION COUNCIL (TEC), EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE


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AND DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL (ECCDC), ASSOCIATION OF 
LOCAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (ALCU), PHILIPPINE 
ASSOCIATION OF STATE UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES 
(PASUC), AND AN ACCREDITED ASSOCIATION OF 
TEACHERS SHALL EACH RECOMMEND A NOMINEE WHO 
SHALL BE EVALUATED BY THE COMMISSION BASED ONT 
who duly possess all the qualifications prescribed in Section § 
3 of this Act. THE FINAL LIST OF NOMINEES SHALL BE 
POSTED ON THE COMMISSION’S OFFICIAL WEBSITE.
The chairmanPERSON and vice-chaimianPERSON of the 
Board shall be appointed from these five (5) members by the 
President; Provided, That the members of the first Board 
appointed under this Act shall be automatically registered as 
professional teachers and issued with the certificate of 
registration and professional license upon payment of the fees 
for examination, registration, and other fees prescribed by the 
Commission.”
Section 2. Section 7 of the same Act is hereby amended as follows: 
“SEC. 7. Term of Office. - The members of the Board shall hold 
office for a term of three (3) years from the date they assume 
office-r. Provided, That the first appointees to the Board under 
this Act shall hold office according to the following terms: one
(1) member shall serve for one (1) year; one (1) member for two
(-2)~3^ars; the chairman, vice-chairman, and one (1) member for
three (3) years. MEMBERS OF THE BOARD WHO ARE 
EMPLOYEES OR OFFICIALS OF GOVERNMENT AGENCIES 
SHALL BE SECONDED TO THE COMMISSION FOR THE 
DURATION OF THEIR TERM. Vacancies shall be served for the 
unexpired term only. No person who has served AS MEMBER


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OF THE BOARD for two (2) consecutive terms shall be eligible 
for reappointment. Appointment to fill an unexpired term shall 
be considered an appointment to a complete term.
X X X
Section 3. Section 8 of the same Act is hereby amended as follows: 
“SEC. 8. Qualifications of Board Members. - Each Board 
member must at the time of his OR HER appointment:
(a) Be a citizen and resident of the Philippines;
(b) Be at least thirty-five (35) years of age, of proven integrity, 
and possessed of high moral values in his OR HER 
personal as well as professional conduct and has not been 
convicted of any offense involving morad turpitude;
[(c) Be a holder of the degree of Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor
of Science in Education and preferably a holder of-a
master's or doctorate degree in- education,—or their
equivalents, from a university, school, college, academy
OF—institute—duly—constituted,—recognized—and/or
accredited by the Philippine government;]
(c) BE A HOLDER OF AT LEAST A MASTER S DEGREE, 
PREFERABLY AN EARNED DOCTORATE DEGREE, IN 
TEACHER EDUCATION OR OTHER ALLIED 
DISCIPLINES from a REPUTABLE UNIVERSITY, 
COLLEGE, INSTITUTION, OR SCHOOL, duly recognized 
and/or accredited by the Philippine government;
(d) Be a professional teacher with a valid certificate of 
registration and valid professional license, save those 
members who shall compose the first Board for 
Professional Teachers;
(e) Has been a professional teacher in the active practice of


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the teaching profession for at least ten (10) years in 
elementary and OR secondary LEVELS, OR A FACULTY 
IN A TEACHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION (TEI) 
ENGAGED IN TEACHING COURSES IN PROFESSIONAL 
EDUCATION, GENERAL EDUCATION, OR ANY FIELD 
OF SPECIALIZATION FOR AT LEAST TEN (10) YEARS; 
and
(f) Not be, AT THE TIME OF APPOINTMENT, an official 
member of the faculty of, nor have pecuniary interest in 
any university, college, school, or institution conferring a 
bachelor’s degree in education or its equivalents for at 
least three (3) years prior to his appointment, and neither 
connected with a review center or with any group or 
association where review classes or lectures in 
preparation for the licensure examination are offered or 
conducted, NOR HAVE PECUNIARY INTEREST IN 
SUCH.
PROVIDED, THAT THE COMMISSION SHALL ISSUE 
THE APPROPRIATE RULES TO GOVERN THE PRACTICE 
OF THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD TO ENSURE THAT 
NO CONFLICT OF INTEREST SHALL ARISE IN THEIR 
FUNCTIONS RELATED TO THE CONDUCT OF THE 
LICENSURE EXAMINATION AND RELEASE OF THE 
RESULTS.
Provided, FURTHER, that the membership to the Board 
shall be evenly distributed to cover all levels of education, 
including equitable representation of the different fields of 
specialization.
PROVIDED, FINALLY, THAT THE MEMBERS OF THE 
BOARD SHALL ALSO HAVE THE NECESSARY EXPERTISE


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IN IMPLEMENTING TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS 
THAT ARE PRESCRIBED BY THE TEC AND REGULATED 
BY THE CHED, TEST DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT AND 
ANALYSIS, AND LOGISTICS IN IMPLEMENTING WIDE- 
SCALE 
ASSESSMENTS 
AND 
SYSTEM
ACCREDITATIONS.”
Section 4. Section 13 of the same Act is hereby amended as follows: 
“SEC. 13. Examination, Registration and License Required. - 
Except as otherwise specifically allowed under the provisions 
SECTION 5 of this Act, all applicants for registration as 
professional teachers shall be required to EITHER (1) undergo 
a written LICENSURE examination which shall be given at least 
once a year in such places and date as the Board may 
determine upon approval by the Commissionr; OR (2) SUBMIT 
TO THE COMMISSION A PORTFOLIO OF ATTAINMENT OF 
THE PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR TEACHING IN LIEU 
OF TAKING THE LICENSURE EXAMINATION, FOR THOSE 
GRADUATES OF ACCREDITED TEACHER EDUCATION 
CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE WITH A CONSISTENT PASSING 
RATE OF AT LEAST 80% IN THE LAST FIVE YEARS.
THE COMMISSION SHALL PROVIDE THE CRITERIA OF 
PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS AND 
DETERMINE THE SATISFACTORY DEMONSTRATION OF 
SUCH IN THE SUBMITTED PORTFOLIO TO ENSURE THAT 
ONLY QUALIFIED AND COMPETENT APPLICANTS SHALL 
BE GIVEN THE REQUIRED CERTIFICATE OF 
REGISTRATION AND LICENSE TO TEACH.
A valid certificate of registration and a valid professional 
license from the Commission are required before any person is


1 
allowed to practice as a professional teacher in the Philippines,
2 
except as otherwise allowed under SECTION 8 OF R.A. NO.
3 
10533, OR THE MENHANCED BASIC EDUCATION ACT OF
4 
2013”: PROVIDED, THAT THEY PASS THE LICENSURE
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EXAMINATION WITHIN FIVE (5) YEARS FROM THE DATE
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OF HIRING.”
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Section 5. A new Section 13-A is hereby inserted in R.A. No. 7836, to
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read as follows:
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“SEC. 13-A. REGISTRATION WITHOUT EXAMINATION. - A
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PERSON WHO POSSESSES THE QUALIFICATIONS
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REQUIRED TO TAKE THE LICENSURE EXAMINATION FOR
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TEACHERS MAY BE REGISTERED WITHOUT
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EXAMINATION: PROVIDED, THAT THE APPLICANT HAD
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TAUGHT FOR AT LEAST TEN (10) YEARS PRIOR TO THE
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EFFECTIVITY OF THIS ACT AND FILES WITH THE BOARD,
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WITHIN THREE (3) YEARS FROM EFFECTIVITY, AN
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APPLICATION FOR REGISTRATION AND ISSUANCE OF A
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CERTIFICATE OF REGISTRATION AND PROFESSIONAL
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IDENTIFICATION CARD BY SUBMITTING A TEACHING
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EXPERIENCE PORTFOLIO FOR PURPOSES OF THOROUGH
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EVALUATION AND RECOGNITION OF KNOWLEDGE OR
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EXPERTISE ACQUIRED, COMPARABLE TO PROFESSIONAL
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STANDARDS.
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FOR THIS PURPOSE, THE COMMISSION IN COORDINATION
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WITH THE TEC, SHALL PROVIDE THE APPROPRIATE
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GUIDELINES FOR THE ASSESSMENT, EVALUATION, AND
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EQUIVALENCY OF PRIOR TEACHING EXPERIENCE TOWARDS
29 
THE AWARDING OF A PROFESSIONAL LICENSE TO TEACH.”
30


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Section 6. Section 14 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as
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follows:
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“SEC. 14. Scope of Examination. - The examinations for the
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elementary and secondary school teachers shall be separate.
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The examination for teachers in the EARLY CHILDHOOD,
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elementary, AND SECONDARY levels shall consist of THE
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FOLLOWING parts, namely: professional education, general
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education, and/OR field of specialization, AS APPLICABLE.”
9
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Section 7. Section 15 of the same Act is hereby further amended to
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read as follows:
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“SEC. 15. Qualification Requirements of Applicant. - No
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applicant shall be admitted to take the examinations OR
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SUBMIT A PORTFOLIO OF ATTAINMENT 
OF THE
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TEACHING PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS IN LIEU OF
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TAKING THE LICENSURE EXAMINATION, unless, on the date
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of the filing of the application, he OR SHE shall have complied
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with the following requirements:
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(a) A citizen of the Philippines or an edien whose country has
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reciprocity with the Philippines in the practice of the
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teaching profession;
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(b) At least eighteen (18) years of age;
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(c) In good health and of good reputation with high moral
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values;
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(d) Has not been convicted by final judgment by a court for an
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offense involving moral turpitude;
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(e) A graduate of a school, college or university TEI DULY
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recognized by the government CHED and possesses the
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minimum educational qualifications, as follows:
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(1) For teachers in preschool THE EARLY CHILDHOOD


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level, a bachelor's degree in early childhood education 
(BECED) or its equivalent;
(2) For teachers in the elementary grades, a bachelor's 
degree in elementary education (BSEED) or its 
equivalent;
(3) For teachers in the secondary grades, a bachelor's degree 
in education or its equivalent with a major and minor or 
a bachelor's degree in arts and sciences with at least 
eighteen (18) units in professional education;
(4) For teachers of vocational and two-year technical 
courses, a bachelor's degree in the field of specialization 
or its equivalent, with at least eighteen (18) units in 
professional education; and
(5) OTHER APPLICABLE FIELDS OF SPECIALIZATION 
WITH QUALIFICATIONS AS DETERMINED BY THE 
COMMISSION, IN COORDINATION WITH THE TEC.
(f) HAS COMPLETED A REFRESHER COURSE IN A CHED- 
RECOGNIZED TEI WITHIN ONE YEAR PRIOR TO THE 
DATE OF THE EXAMINATION FOR APPLICANTS WHO 
FAILED TO PASS THE LICENSURE EXAMINATION 
THREE (3) TIMES.”
Section 8. Section 16 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as
follows:
‘SEC. 16. RELEASE OF THE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS; 
Report of the EXAMINATION RESULTS. - THE LICENSURE 
EXAMINATION QUESTIONS AND CORRESPONDING 
ANSWERS SHALL BE RELEASED BY THE COMMISSION TO 
THE TEC IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE ADMINISTRATION OF 
THE EXAMINATION.


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FURTHER, the Board shall, within one hundred twenty (120) 
days after the examination, report the ratings obtained by each 
candidate IN BACH COMPONENT to the COMMISSION for
approval and appropriate action.
THE COMMISSION SHALL ALSO MAKE PUBLIC THE 
LICENSURE EXAMINATION TEST QUESTIONS AND 
PERFORMANCE OF TEIS IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE 
RELEASE OF EXAMINATION RESULTS.”
Section 9. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within sixty (60) days 
from the effectivity of this Act, the Commission shall update its implementing 
rules and regulations (IRR) necessary for the full and effective implementation 
of this Act.
Section 10. Transitory Provision. - The Commission and the Board shall 
update their existing policies and issuances relevant to this Act and ensure 
their alignment with the Act within the period of six (6) months from its 
effectivity and report the same to Congress on the first year of its 
implementation.
Section 11. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part of this Act is 
declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining provisions or parts not 
affected shall remain in full force and effect.
Section 12. Repealing Clause. - All other laws, executive orders, 
presidential decrees, administrative orders, rules and regulations, issuances, 
or parts thereof inconsistent with or contrary to the provisions of this Act are 
hereby repealed or amended accordingly.
Section 13. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after


1 its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
Approved,
10