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Republic of the Philippines /.? RECEIVED
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES E pyre DEC 1 3,
Constitution Hills, Quezon City L aig

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
Third Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. _ 8803

Introduced by Hon. Salvador B. Belaro Jr.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The passage of Republic Act No. 10912 or the Continuing Professional
Development (CPD) Act institutionalized the implementation of mandatory
programs for continuing professional development to enhance the personal skills
and proficiency of our professionals.

As part of the ASEAN and the globalizing world, the reality of the fast-
paced globalization characterized by borderless integration and exchange of
goods, services and manpower, including professionals, lie ahead of us. Various
quality frameworks, including our very own Philippine Qualifications
Framework (PQF) and the ASEAN Qualifications Reference Framework
(ASEAN-QRP), also provide for the system of describing the levels of education
and training vis-a-vis the standards for qualification outcomes.

Despite its good intentions, its implementation was marred with Various
issues including questions about its accessibility and its susceptibility to
corruption resulting to a series of legislative inquiries.'

+ Senate Inquiry on Complaints against the Implementation of Republic Act No. 10912 (RA 10912) or the
Continuing Professional Development Act of 2016



This bill aims to respond to the timely need for our human resources to be
equipped with the necessary expertise and to become competitive in this century
by removing the objectionable features of the Continuing Professional
Development (CPD) Program as provided in RA No. 10912 by way of providing
an obvious solution—making CPD programs free to all professionals and by
mandating the State, including all government agencies and SUCs, to conduct
CPD Programs for their employees and to institute a liberalized and relaxed
compliance scheme thereto.

In view of the foregoing, the approval of this bill is earnestly sought.

ma. An
VADOR B. BELARO, JR.

Representative
1-Ang Edukasyon Party List

CON



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Constitution Hills, Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
Third Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No.__ 8803

Introduced by: Hon. Salvador B. Belaro Jr.

AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR FREE AND LIBERALIZED CONTINUING
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (CPD) IN THE COUNTRY,
AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10912, AND
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

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 known as the “Free and Liberalized
Continuing Professional Development Act of 2018”.

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. — It is the policy of the State to promote and
upgrade the practice of professions in the country by instituting and undertaking
measures that will continuously enhance the competitiveness and competence of
Filipino professionals in accordance with the international standards of practice
to ensure their contribution in uplifting the progress of the nation.

SECTION 3. Free Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Programs. —
Henceforth, Filipino professionals should be provided free Continuing
Professional Development (CPD) Programs in the country.


SECTION 4. In-house Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Program.
— All government agencies are mandated to offer and conduct free CPD
programs to be made available to all professionals, including its in-house
professionals.

Whenever government agencies require academic input in their CPD
trainings, they are mandated to tap the expertise of State Universities and
Colleges (SUCs), and the latter, in turn are mandated to provide the said CPD
Programs as part of the SUCs’ community outreach activities provided that the
funding for such activities shall be borne by the respective government agencies.

SECTION 5. Crediting of Workshops, Trainings and Seminars. — All trainings,
workshops and seminars conducted by every government agency, and related to
the exercise of the respective professions of their employees, shall be credited as
CPD units subject to equivalencies set by their pertinent professional regulatory
boards. This includes the workshops, trainings and seminars regularly conducted
by the Department of Education for all teachers nationwide.

SECTION 6. Five-year Period of Compliance. — Compliance period of the CPD
requirement shall be set at every five years which shall coincide with the period
of their respective Professional Identification Cards (PICs).

SECTION 7. Exception. — A.) All licensed professionals who are Overseas
Filipino Workers (OF Ws), for the period of their stay in a foreign country for the
purposes of employment, shall be exempted from the requirement of the CPD.
B.) Non-Practicing Professionals shall also be excluded from the requirement.

SECTION 8. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — The Professional
Regulatory Commission (PRC), in coordination with the Civil Service
Commission (CSC), shall formulate the Implementing Rules and Regulations as
may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.

SECTION 9. Appropriations. — An initial amount of One Hundred Million Pesos
(P100,000,000.00) necessary to carry out the provision of this Act shall be
included in the General Appropriation Act of the year following its enactment
into law.


SECTION 10. Separability Clause. — If any provision hereof is held invalid or
unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or provision not otherwise affected
shall remain valid and subsisting.

SECTION 11. Repealing Clause. — All laws, presidential decrees, executive
orders, rules and regulations contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this
Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SECTION 12. Effectivity. — This act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved.