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Republic of the Philippines
Bouse of Representatives
Queson City, Metro Manila

Twentieth Congress

First Regular Session
House Bill No. 44 02

Introduced by

HON. REPRESENTATIVE LAARNI LAVIN ROQUE
4™ DISTRICT, BUKIDNON

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The importance of the teaching profession lies in its critical role in
shaping the future of the nation through the empowerment of the youth and
building a solid foundation for national development. The teaching profession
is not just a job but a calling which requires long years of education, training
and continuous professional development to achieve and maintain
competence.

Republic Act No. 7836, as amended by Republic Act No. 9293, also
known as the ‘Philippine Teachers Professionalization Act’ was enacted in
1994 with the objective of promoting professionalization of teachers and the
teaching profession, and the supervision of and regulation of licensure
examinations. Among its salient provisions include the creation of the Board
for Professional Teachers (Board) under the supervision of the Professional
Regulation Commission (PRC).

There is now a need to revisit the law and modify certain provisions to
be attuned to current developments in the teaching profession in order to
enhance the quality of teaching and education in the country.

This bill seeks to expand the nomination pool for the Board of
Professional Teachers to include the Teachers Education Council (TEC), the
Department of Education (DepEd), accredited associations of private and


public school teachers and school administrators, and the Commission on
Higher Education (CHED). Moreover, the measure proposes the issuance of
appropriate rules by the PRC governing the practice of the members of the
Board to avoid conflict of interest in the conduct of licensure examinations
and the release of results. Likewise, the bill aims to provide inclusive
qualifications for the teacher licensure examinations, and mandates a
refresher course for applicants who have failed thrice in the professional
licensure examinations for teachers.

The end goal is to produce highly qualified and professional teachers
that will enter our education system, which in turn with result to improved
learner outcomes.

This bill has been approved on Third Reading by the House of
Representatives in the 19 Congress and transmitted to the Senate for
concurrence, but was not enacted into law due to lack of material time.

For the foregoing reasons, the immediate approval of the bill is
earnestly urged.

HON. I LAVIN ROQUE
47 DI ', BUKIDNON


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Republic of the Philippines
Bouse of Representatives
Queson City, Metro Manila

Twentieth Congress
First Regular Session

4402

Introduced by

HON. REPRESENTATIVE LAARNI LAVIN ROQUE
4" DISTRICT, BUKIDNON

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:

SECTION 1. Section 5 of Republic Act No, 7836 is hereby amended as
follows:

“Section 5. Creation and Composition of the Board. - There is
hereby created under this Act a Board for Professional Teachers,
hereinafter called the Board, a collegial body under the general
supervision and administrative control of the Professional Regulation
Commission, hereinafter referred to as the Commission, composed
of five (5) members who shall be appointed by the President of the
Philippines from among the recommendees chosen by the
Commission. The recommendees shall be chosen from the list of
nominees fseleeted—by} SUBMITTED BY THE TEACHER
EDUCATION COUNCIL (TEC), DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
(DEPED), COORDINATING COUNCIL OF PRIVATE


EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS (COCOPEA), COMMISSION ON
HIGHER EDUCATION (CHED), ASSOCIATION OF LOCAL
COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (ALCU), PHILIPPINE
ASSOCIATION OF STATE UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES
(PASUC), AN ACCREDITED ASSOCIATION OF TEACHERS, AND
AN ASSOCIATION OF TEACHER EDUCATION STUDENTS fand
aceredited—asseciation—of_teachers,] who duly possess all the
qualifications prescribed in Section 8 of this Act.

THE FINAL LIST OF NOMINEES SHALL BE MADE PUBLIC. A
SCREENING COMMITTEE SHALL BE FORMED TO EVALUATE
THE NOMINATIONS RECEIVED.

The chairperson and the vice-chairperson 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.”

SEC. 2. Section 8 of Republic Act No. 7836 is hereby amended as follows:

Section 8. Qualifications of Board Members. - Each Board member
must, at fRis-er-her] 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 personal as well as
professional conduct and has not been convicted of any offense
involving moral turpitude;

(c) Be a holder of {the-degree—of Bachelerof Arts_or_Bachelor-of
docterate-degt in-education;-ortheir_equivatents;] AT LEAST
A MASTER'S DEGREE, PREFERABLY HOLDING A
DOCTORATE DEGREE, IN EDUCATION, OR ITS
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 elementary
and secondary level; and

(f) Not be 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 ffer
atleast three_{3)} years _priorto-his_appeintment;] 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.

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 THE RELEASE OF THE
RESULTS.

Provided, fhewever] 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, THAT THE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD SHALL ALSO
HAVE THE NECESSARY EXPERTISE IN IMPLEMENTING
TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS THAT ARE MANDATED BY
CHED, TEST DEVELOPMENT AND ANALYSIS, AND LOGISTICS
IN IMPLEMENTING WIDE-SCALE ASSESSMENTS AND SYSTEM
ACCREDITATIONS.”

SEC. 3. Section 13 of Republic Act No. 7836 is hereby amended as follows:

“SEC. 13. Examination, Registration and License Required. - [Except



i fessi
ilippines- . ig Act]

‘APPLICANTS FOR REGISTRATION AS PROFESSIONAL
TEACHERS SHALL BE REQUIRED TO UNDERGO: 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 COURSES, CONSISTENT WITH
SECTION 4 OF THIS ACT;

(B) GRADUATES OF NON-EDUCATION COURSES WHO HAVE
COMPLETED 18 UNITS OF CERTIFICATION IN
PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION (CPE).’

SEC. 4. Section 15 of Republic Act No. 7836, as amended, is hereby further
amended as follows:

‘Section 15. Qualification Requirements of Applicant. - No applicant
shall be admitted to take the examination unless, on the date of the
filing of the application, {e-er-she] THE APPLICANT shall have
complied with the following requirements:

(a) A citizen of the Philippines or an alien whose country has

reciprocity with the Philippines in the practice of the teaching

profession;

(b) At least eighteen (18) years of age;

(c) In good health and of good reputation with high moral values;

(d) Has not been convicted by final judgment by a court for an
offense involving moral turpitude;


(e) A graduate of a school, college or university recognized by the
government and _ possesses the minimum _— educational
qualifications IN LINE WITH THE GOVERNMENT-MANDATED
TEACHER EDUCATION CURRICULUM (INCLUDING THE VARIOUS
SPECIALIZATIONS BY KEY STAGE/GRADE LEVEL, SUBJECT, OR
OTHERS, AS PRESCRIBED BY THE RELEVANT GOVERNMENT
AUTHORITY); AND [as-fellows:

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atleast-eighteen18) units in-_professionat education}

(F) THE RESULTS OF THE EXAM SHALL BE GIVEN BY
COMPONENT. IF AN APPLICANT HAS PREVIOUSLY FAILED
TO PASS A COMPONENT/S OF THE EXAMINATION IN THE
PAST THREE (3) YEARS, HE OR SHE SHALL BE REQUIRED
TO COMPLETE A REFRESHER COURSE FOR THE FAILED
COMPONENT IN A CHED-RECOGNIZED TEACHER
EDUCATION INSTITUTE, BEFORE BEING ALLOWED TO
RETAKE THE EXAMINATION.’

SEC. 5. Section 16 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

‘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 THE 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 EXAMINATION
PERFORMANCE OF SCHOOLS WITH A TEN (10) YEAR TRACK
RECORD ANALYSIS. CREDIT FOR PASSING FOR THOSE WHO
TOOK THE CPE SHALL GO TO THE INSTITUTION WHERE THE
CPE PROGRAM WAS COMPLETED.

SEC. 6. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within sixty (60) days from
the effective date of this Act, the Professional Regulation Commission shall
update its implementing rules and regulations (IRR) necessary for the full
and effective implementation of this Act.

SEC. 7. Transitory Provision. - The Professional Regulation Commission and
the Board of Professional Teachers shall update its existing policies and
issuances relevant to this Act and ensure its alignment with the same within
a period of six (6) months from the effectivity of this Act and report the
same to Congress on the first year of its implementation.

SEC. 8. Separability Clause. — If, for any reason, any section or provision of
this Act or the application of such section or provision is declared
unconstitutional or invalid, no other section or provision of this Act shall be
affected thereby.

SEC. 9. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, circulars, administrative
orders, rules and regulations, and other issuances which are inconsistent
with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 10. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved.