HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

Eighteenth Congress
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. _3340

Introduced by Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy

AN ACT REPEALING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10912 ALSO KNOWN AS “CONTINUING
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 2016” AND OTHER RELATED ISSUANCES,
GUIDELINES, AND MEMORANDUMS-

Explanatory Note

Continuing Professional Development or CPD refers to the inculcation of advanced knowledge,
skills and ethical values in a post-licensure specialization or in an inter or multidisciplinary field
of study, for assimilation into professional practice, self-directed research and/or lifelong
learning.This was established in 2016 through Republic Act No. 10912in order to develop the
work and knowledge of our Filipino professionals.Continuing Professional Development is
inevitably an important practice to improve outcomes, skills, and knowledge of professionals.
This process is relevant in the advancement of an individual's profession as it develops the
standards and updates the competencies needed in their field of work.

However.in 2017, more than fifty thousand professionals signed a petition to review the
implementation of R.A. 10912 as the mandatory requirement caused unnecessary distress for
professionals to comply with the obligations under the law. Programs, seminars, and talks are
reported to be exceptionally expensive. Suchprograms range from two thousand pesos (PhP
2,000) to roughly twenty thousand pesos (PhP 20,000) or more depending on the duration of
the seminar, the nature of the topic, and mainlyisdependent onthe private CPD providers

Several articles have already reported actual accounts of different professionals and their
experience of costly and inefficient CPD seminars. According to variousreports, a particular
incident happened ina seminar for civil engineers, where it was alleged that the engineers paid
three thousand pesos (PhP3,500) for the seminar yet there were so many participants who
attended that the venue lacked chairs for all the participants. Thisended with the participants,
engineers and professionals all, having to sit on the floor. To add more insult to injury, no meals
were provided for the duration of the seminar. With regards to the substance of the seminar, it
was alleged that the topics tackled by the seminar were either not related to their profession or
are topics which are so basic, containing information the participants already knew.

Other accounts of Filipino professionals in provinces emphasized that they have to shell out
extra money for airfare, lodging, and transportation just to attend CPD seminars outside their
region but are only offered few CPD units. This raises a serious problem regarding these
accredited CPD providers if they are really able to provide significant learning or if it is only
becoming a money-making scheme that abuses our professionals’ pockets and opportunities.

It has been apparent that Filipino professionals are troubled with spending more and going
beyond their budget. These seminars serve asa burden for Filipino professionals and instead
hinder their productivity, especially for those with low wages and those who cannot practice their
professions due to financial needs. Professionals lack financial support and would need
assistance in fuffiling the units prescribed by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC). It
is also important to note that different private CPD providers have not been effectively
monitored in terms of price and quality of offered programs. Other than expenses, CPD also
brings a burden to time. According to a report by Rappler, nurses have also shared their plight
with CPD. Due to long work shifts, nurses cannot afford to attend CPD seminars not only
because of financial constraints but also due to the length and duration of the seminars
available. In the same report,most nurses are already requiredby their employing hospitals to
attend trainings and seminars for at least forty-eight (48) hours a yearif they want to keep their
contracts. Particularly, the National Kidney and Transplant Institute provides training sessions
for free, but these sessions are not accredited by the Professional Regulation Commission.
Theseare all legitimate concems by Filipino professionals as some trainings made and given to


professionals are put to waste. It is ironic that costly and irrelevant seminars are accredited by
the PRC but free seminars and trainings by institutions for the development of their workers are
often disregarded and not considered as “professional development.”

Overall, it seemed that the pursuit of professional development became self-defeating and has
created an apparent inequality across professionals. Although there is no doubt that the goal of
our CPD program would greatly improve skills of professionals, its current implementation only
serves to be a need for quantity rather than quality.

According to the online petition by professionals “the CPD Law only made the process very
costly, more bureaucratic and unnecessary regulative.” There are different mandated CPD units
depending on theprofession and divergentprocesses of accreditation of units. Even the
accreditation of Master's and Doctorate degrees must be filed not later than five years from the
completion of said degrees. This undermines and poses a question if degrees completed before
the ratification of RA 10912 will stil be considered as CPD units. Thus, the PRC has not been
clear as to how CPD is interpreted and implemented. It is problematic that the PRC seemed to
be inconsistent in its implementationdespite its various guidelines and lacked the necessary
oversight in monitoring professional development.

RA 10912 mandated Continuing Professional Programs for Filipino professionals. However, the
program albeit with good intentions, serve only as added unnecessary and abusive burdens to
our professionals in acquiring and renewing their licenses. It poses a problem with regard time,
access to seminars, financial capacity, and quality of learning of the Filipino professionals. It
also disregards the problem of unemployment and the absence of standardization of processes
and practices involved in CPD. It has even tums a blind eye tothe numerous reports of abuses
and overpricing of several accredited CPD providers. Real professional development was not
reached and was watered down due to costs and inefficient service delivery. Ultimately, the
Professional Regulation Commission pursued minimal changes to improve the implementation
of the law.Itdid not remedy the problem of access, affordability and quality of the programs.

It is the duty of the state to improve the quality of work of its citizens. However, this must be
donein accordance to their needs. Although continuing professional development is necessary,
taking due consideration of the capacities and capabilities of the Filipino professionals are
equally important. RA 10912 failed to acknowledge these aspects and must be discontinued as
it was proven to be more of an inconvenience than an advancement. The state must look into
better measures in the pursuit of professional development and at the same time give credence
to the woes of our Filipino professionals.

In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this measure is eamestly sought.

BER! JETTE HERERRA-DY


HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

Eighteenth Congress
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. _3340

Introduced by Rep. Bernadette Herrera-Dy

AN ACT REPEALING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10912 ALSO KNOWN AS “CONTINUING
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ACT OF 2016” AND OTHER RELATED ISSUANCES,
GUIDELINES, AND MEMORANDUMS

Section 1. Repeal of the Law. Republic Act No. 10912, An Act Mandating and Strengthening
the Continuing Professional Development Program for All Regulated Professions, Creating the
Continuing Professional Development Council, And Appropriating Funds Therefor, And for
Other Related Purposes also known as “Continuing Professional Development Act Of 2016" is
hereby repealed. This includes the memorandumsand issuances by the Professional Regulation
Commission (PRC) and the Professional Regulation Boards (PRB) for each profession.

Section 2. Establishment of a Multi-stakeholder Review Committee.The Committee shall be
established to review the problems faced in the implementation of RA 10912, to gather good
practices of professional organizations, and to recommend next steps in promoting continuous
development of Filipino professionals by producing a detailed report of findings that reflect the
needs of each sector. Adopting a multi-sectoral approach,the Committee shall be composed of
representatives from the different sectors, the Professional Regulation Commission, the
Professional Regulation Boards, Accredited Integrated Professional Organization or the
Accredited Professional Organization (AIPO/APO) in a given profession, the academe, private
CPD providers, private firms and corporations, hospitals, and civil society professionals from
each field other than the direct representative of the AIPO/APO of each profession.

Section 3. Implementing Rules and Regulations. Within ninety (60) days from the effectivity
of this Act, the Professional Regulation Commission, in consultation with appropriate
government agencies and other stakeholders, shall promulgate the necessary rules and
regulations to implement this Act.

Section 4. Repealing Clause. All laws, decrees, orders, rules, and regulations, or parts thereof,
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, amended, or modified
accordingly.

Section 5. Effectivity Clause. This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days following its
Publication in the Official Gazette and at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,