TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session
)
< '07
SENATE
308
S. No.
Introduced by: Senator Loren Legarda
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
Republic Act No. 7836, or the Philippine Teachers Professionalization Act of 
1994, was enacted to ensure and promote quality education through the proper 
supervision and regulation of the licensure examination and the professionalization of 
the teaching profession. It established the Board for Professional Teachers (BPT), 
under the supervision of the Professional Regulation Commission, to advance its 
objectives of promoting, developing, and professionalizing teachers while regulating 
the licensure examination process.
This proposed measure seeks to amend R.A. No. 7836 to further strengthen 
the professionalization of teachers. It introduces the inclusion of a practical 
component, such as demonstration teaching or other evaluative modes, as a 
supplement to written examinations. The bill also provides for additional pathways for 
registration and licensure aside from the usual Board Licensure Examination for 
Professional Teachers (BLEPT), opening opportunities for individuals with prior 
teaching experience and graduates of accredited teacher education institutions to 
transition into teaching in basic education through non-examination methods, 
provided they meet the required competency standards. To enhance the proficiency 
of the Board, the bill also introduces a higher requirement for its members, mandating 
at least a master's degree in education or its equivalent.


By introducing these amendments, this proposed measure reaffirms the 
government's commitment to elevating the teaching profession, recognizing that the 
quality of our education system depends on the exceilence of our educators. 
Strengthening teacher professionalization is an investment in ensuring that our 
teachers are equipped to meet the evolving needs of iearners, thereby cuitivating 
teachers who wiil chalienge, inspire, and nurture the leaders of tomorrow. In doing 
so, we are iaying the foundation for an education system that is dynamic, inciusive, 
and fuliy prepared to meet the chalienges and opportunities of a rapidiy changing 
world.
In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this measure is earnestly 
sought.
LEGARDA


TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session
)
S. No.
SENATE
308
Introduced by Senator Loren Legarda
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 the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:
1 
Section 1. Section 5 of Republic Act No. 7836 is hereby amended as follows:
2 
"Section 5. Creation and Composition of the Board. - There is
3 
hereby created under this Act a Board for Professional Teachers,
4 
hereinafter called the Board, a collegial body under the general
5 
supervision and administrative control of the Professional Regulation
6 
Commission, hereinafter referred to as the Commission, composed
7 
of five (5) members, who duly possess all the qualifications
8 
prescribed in Section 8 of this Act, and who shall be appointed by
9 
the President of the Philippines. [The rccommondcGS shall bo chosen
10 
from the list of nominees Gcicctcd by the accroditod oGSOciation -of
11 
toachGrs,-who duly poGsoss all the qualifications proscribed in Section
12 
8 of this Act.]
13 
The chairman and the vice-chairman of the Board shall be
14 
appointed from these five (5) members by the President: Provided,
15 
That the members of the first Board appointed under this Act shall
16 
be automatically registered as professional teachers and issued with


1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8 
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20 
21 
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
the certificate of registration and professional license upon payment 
of the fees for examination, registration, and other fees prescribed 
by the Commission."
Sec. 2. Section 7 of Republic Act No. 7836 is hereby amended as follows: 
"Section 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. [Provided, That the first appointcos 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)
years; 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 PROFESSIONAL REGULATION 
COMMISSION FOR THE DURATION OF THEIR TERM. 
Vacancies shall be served for the unexpired term only. No person 
who has served AS MEMBER 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."
Sec. 3. Section 8 of Republic Act No. 7836 is hereby amended as follows: 
"Section 8. Quaiifications 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 personal as well as 
professional conduct and has not been convicted of any 
offense involving moral turpitude;
[(c) Be a holder of the dcgroo 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 or institute duly
constituted, recognized and/or accredited by the Philippine


1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8 
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20 
21 
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
government;]
(c) BE A HOLDER OF AT LEAST A MASTER'S DEGREE, 
PREFERABLY HOLDING A DOCTORATE DEGREE, IN 
EDUCATION, OR THEIR EQUIVALENT, FROM A 
UNIVERSITY, SCHOOL, COLLEGE, ACADEMY OR 
INSTITUTE DULY CONSTITUTED, 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 the 
teaching profession for at least ten (10) years [in the 
Glcmcntary and secondary IgvgI]; and
(f) 
Not TO be, AT TIME OF APPOINTMENT an official or 
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 PRC SHALL ISSUE THE
APPROPRIATE RULES TO GOVERN THE PRACTICE OF 
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, [however,] 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


1 
specialization.
2 
PROVIDED, THAT THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD
3 
SHALL ALSO HAVE THE NECESSARY EXPERTISE IN
4 
IMPLEMENTING TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS THAT
5 
ARE OFFERED BY TEACHER EDUCATION COUNCIL (TEC)
6 
AND REGULATED BY THE COMMISSION ON HIGHER
7 
EDUCATION (CHED), TEST DEVELOPMENT AND ANALYSIS,
8 
AND LOGISTICS IN IMPLEMENTING WIDE-SCALE
9 
ASSESSMENTS AND SYSTEM ACCREDITATIONS."
10 
Sec. 4. Section 12 of Republic Act No. 7836 is hereby further amended as
11 
follows:
12 
"Section 12. Removal of a Board Member. - The chairman or
13 
any member of the Board may be removed by the President of the
14 
Philippines upon recommendation of the Commission for neglect of
15 
duty, incompetence, TERMINAL ILLNESS, unprofessional,
16 
unethical, immoral or dishonorable conduct, commission or tolerance
17 
of irregularities in the examination, after having been given the
18 
opportunity to defend himself in a proper administrative
19 
investigation.
20 
In the course of the investigation, the President may
21 
preventively suspend the 
Respondent."
22 
Sec. 5. Section 13 of Republic Act No. 7836 is hereby further amended as
23 
follows:
24 
"Section 13. Examination, Registration, and License Required. -
25 
[Except as othorwiso specifically allowed under the provisions of this
26 
Act, all applicants for registration as prefossional teachers shall bo
27 
required to undergo a written examination which shall bo given at least
28 
once a year in such places and dates as the Board may determine upon
29 
opproval by the Commission. A valid certificate of registration and a valid
30 
professional license from the Commission are required before -any
31 
person is allowed to practice as a professional teacher in the Philippines,
32 
except as otherwise allowed under this Act.]


1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8 
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20 
21 
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
APPLICANTS FOR REGISTRATION AS PROFESSIONAL 
TEACHERS SHALL BE REQUIRED TO UNDERGO EITHER ONE OF 
THE FOLLOWING PATHWAYS:
(1) A WRITTEN EXAMINATION WHICH SHALL BE GIVEN 
AT LEAST ONCE A YEAR IN SUCH PLACES AND DATES 
AS THE BOARD MAY DETERMINE UPON APPROVAL BY 
THE COMMISSION. A WRITTEN EXAMINATION WILL 
BE REQUIRED FOR:
(a) 
GRADUATES OF EDUCATION PROGRAMS, 
STATED IN SECTION 8 OF THIS ACT;
(b) 
GRADUATES OF NON-EDUCATION 
PROGRAMS WHO HAVE COMPLETED 18 
UNITS OF CERTIFICATION IN PROFESSIONAL 
EDUCATION (CPE).
(2) ACCREDITATION OF TEACHER EDUCATION 
PROGRAMS BY THE TEACHER EDUCATION COUNCIL, 
WHEREIN GRADUATES OF THESE ACCREDITED 
PROGRAMS NEED TO SUBMIT A PORTFOLIO OF 
ATTAINMENT OF THE TEACHING PROFESSIONAL 
STANDARDS IN LIEU OF TAKING THE WRITTEN 
EXAMINATION.
(3) SUBMISSION OF A TEACHING EXPERIENCE 
PORTFOLIO FOR PURPOSES OF THOROUGH 
EVALUATION AND RECOGNITION OF KNOWLEDGE OR 
EXPERTISE ACQUIRED, COMPARABLE TO 
PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS, FOR THOSE WHO HAVE 
BEEN TEACHING IN HIGH-LEVEL BASIC EDUCATION 
AND TERTIARY EDUCATION PROGRAMS. FOR THIS 
PURPOSE, THE PRC, TEC, AND CHED SHALL PROVIDE 
THE APPROPRIATE GUIDELINES FOR THE 
ASSESSMENT, EVALUATION, AND EQUIVALENCY OF 
PRIOR TEACHING EXPERIENCE TOWARDS THE


1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8 
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20 
21 
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
AWARDING OF A PROFESSIONAL LICENSE TO TEACH, 
INCLUDING THE REQUIRED NUMBER OF YEARS OF 
TEACHING EXPERIENCE.
Sec. 6. Section 14 of Republic Act No. 7836 is hereby further amended as
follows:
"Section 14. Scope of Examination. - [The examinations for the 
elementary and secondary school toac-hors shall bo separate. The
examination for teachers in the elementary level shall consist of two (2-)
parts, namely: professional education and general education. The
examination for teachers in the secondary level shall consist of three (3)
parts, namely: professional education, general education, and field of
specialization.]
THE EXAMINATIONS FOR TEACHERS SHALL BE GIVEN 
SEPARATELY BY PROGRAM, ALIGNED WITH THE RELEVANT 
PROGRAMS, STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES ISSUED. THE 
EXAMINATIONS SHALL INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING 
COMPONENTS:
(1) TEACHER PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS;
(2) TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS OFFERED BY TEC 
AND REGULATED BY CHED; AND
(3) EXISTING CURRICULUM OF BASIC AND CHILD CARE 
EDUCATION.
THE EXAMINATIONS MAY INCLUDE A PRACTICAL 
COMPONENT AS A SUPPLEMENT TO WRITTEN EXAMINATIONS.
GRADUATES FROM NON-EDUCATION PROGRAMS SHALL 
BE ABLE TO CHOOSE THEIR EXAM PROGRAM REGARDLESS OF 
BACHELOR'S DEGREE.
IN CASE OF FAILURE IN THE EXAM BY THE 
AFOREMENTIONED TAKERS, CONTENT COURSES IN THEIR 
CHOSEN SUBJECT SHALL BE REQUIRED BEFORE THEY CAN 
RETAKE THE EXAM.
Sec. 7. Section 15 of Republic Act No. 7836, as amended by Section 1 of
6


1 
Republic Act No. 9293, is hereby further amended as follows:
2 
"Section 15. Qualification Requirements of Applicant - No
3 
applicant shall be admitted to take the examination unless, on the date
4 
of the filing of the application, he or she has complied with the foliowing
5 
requirements:
6 
(a) A citizen of the Philippines or an alien whose country has
7 
reciprocity with the Philippines in the practice of the teaching
8 
profession;
9 
(b) At least eighteen (18) years of age;
10 
(c) In good health and of good reputation with high moral values;
11 
(d) Has not been convicted by final judgment by a court for an
12 
offense involving moral turpitude;
13 
(e) A graduate [ef] FROM a [school, coliogc or university]
14 
TEACHER EDUCATION INSTITUTE DULY recognized by
15 
the COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION
16 
[govornmont] and possesses the minimum educational
17 
qualifications PURSUANT TO TEACHER EDUCATION
18 
PROGRAMS OFFERED BY TEC AND REGULATED BY
19 
CHED, OR EQUIVALENT PROGRAMS, OR OTHER
20 
PROGRAMS, AS MAY BE DETERMINED BY CHED, WITH
21 
AT LEAST EIGHTEEN (18) UNITS IN PROFESSIONAL
22 
EDUCATION^
23 
(f) THE RESULTS OF THE EXAM SHALL BE GIVEN BY
24 
COMPONENT. IF AN APPLICANT HAS PREVIOUSLY
25 
FAILED TO PASS COMPONENT/S OF THE
26 
EXAMINATION IN THE PAST THREE YEARS, HE OR SHE
27 
SHALL BE REQUIRED TO COMPLETE A REFRESHER
28 
COURSE FOR THE FAILED COMPONENT IN A CHED-
29 
RECOGNIZED TEACHER EDUCATION INSTITUTE
30 
BEFORE BEING ALLOWED TO RETAKE THE
31 
EXAMINATION.
32 
Sec. 8. Section 16 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:


1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8 
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20 
21 
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
"Section 16. RELEASE OF THE QUESTIONS AND Report of the 
Results of the Examination. - "The Board shall, NOT LATER THAN 
FORTY-EIGHT (48) HOURS AFTER EXAM ADMINISTRATION, 
RELEASE THE QUESTIONS AND INFORMATION ON THE 
MAKERS OF THE EXAM TO THE PUBLIC. THE BOARD SHALL 
FORM A TESTING BOARD EVERY YEAR, TO CONSIST OF 
REPRESENTATIVES FROM VARIOUS ACCREDITED TEACHER 
EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS. THE EXAM SHALL BE VALIDATED 
THROUGH A THIRD-PARTY ASSESSMENT BEFORE AND AFTER 
ADMINISTRATION. ITEM ANALYSIS IS RECOMMENDED TO BE 
DONE AFTER EXAM ADMINISTRATION.
ADDITIONALLY, the Board shall, within one hundred twenty 
(120) days after the examination, report the ratings obtained by each 
candidate BY EXAM COMPONENT to the Professional Regulation 
Commission for approval and appropriate action.
THE BOARD SHALL ALSO MAKE PUBLIC THE LICENSURE 
EXAM PERFORMANCE OF TEACHER EDUCATION 
INSTITUTIONS, WITH A 10-YEAR TRACK RECORD ANALYSIS, 
AS PROVIDED BY CHED, THROUGH APPROPRIATE 
ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUANCES FOR DISSEMINATION TO THE 
PUBLIC INCLUDING POSTING OF THE SAME ON THE OFFICIAL 
PRC AND OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES' WEBSITES, AND 
PUBLICATIONS IN NEWSPAPERS OF NATIONAL CIRCULATION 
IN SUCH PERIOD AND FREQUENCY AS THE BOARD SHALL 
DETERMINE.
TEACHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS SHALL UPON 
RELEASE OF SCHOOL PERFORMANCE IN THE EXAMINATION, 
ALSO MAKE PUBLIC THEIR LICENSURE EXAM PERFORMANCE, 
WITH A 10-YEAR TRACK RECORD ANALYSIS, THROUGH 
POSTING IN THREE (3) CONSPICUOUS PLACES ACCESSIBLE TO 
THE GENERAL PUBLIC, INCLUDING THE SCHOOL WEBSITE AND 
SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS IF AVAILABLE.
8


1 
NO UNDUE PROMOTION OR ADVERTISEMENTS SHALL BE
2 
ALLOWED FOR REVIEW CENTERS AND SIMILAR ENTITIES FOR
3 
PURPOSES OF OWNING CREDIT FOR PASSING OF THOSE WHO
4 
TOOK THE LICENSURE EXAMINATIONS FOR TEACHERS, AND
5 
SUCH CREDIT SHALL 
BE ATTRIBUTED SOLELY TO THE
6 
TEACHER.
7 
Sec. 9. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The Professional Regulation
8 
Commission, shall within sixty (60) days from the effectivity of this Act, promulgate
9 
the rules and regulations to effectively implement the provisions of this Act.
10 
Sec. 10. Transitory Provision. - The Professional Regulation Commission and
11 
the Board of Professional Teachers shall update its existing policies and issuances
12 
relevant to this Act and ensure its alignment with the same within a period of six (6)
13 
months from the effectivity of this Act and report the same to Congress within the first
14 
year of its implementation.
15 
Sec. 11. Separability Clause. - If any portion or provision of this Act is declared
16 
unconstitutional, the remainder of this Act or any provisions not affected thereby shall
17 
remain in force and effect.
18 
Sec. 12. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive
19 
order, letter of instruction, rule or regulation inconsistent with the provisions of this
20 
Act is hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
21 
Sec. 13. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days following
22 
its complete publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation.
Approved,