NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Third Regular Session
n: ■ :
)
SENATE
s. No. 2830
24 SEP 18 P4 ;20
Introduce! by Senator Loren B. 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 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. Additionally, the bill provides for additional pathways for registration 
and licensure aside from the usual Board Licensure Examination for Professional 
Teachers (BLEPT), providing 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 elevate the proficiency of the board, the


bill introduces a heightened requirement for 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 nation's education relies heavily on the excellence of its educators. 
Strengthening the professionalization of teachers is an investment in ensuring our 
educators are equipped to meet the evolving needs of our learners—teachers who will 
challenge, inspire, and nurture the leaders of tomorrow. In doing so, we are building 
a foundation for an education system that is dynamic, inclusive, and fully ready to 
prepare our youth for the challei iges and opportunities of a fast-changing world.
In view of the foregoing, the approval of this bill is earnestly sought.
OREN LEGARDA


NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Third Regular Session
)
)
)
SENATE
s.No. 2S3(j
'lOiiTf at:
24 SEP 18 P4:20
Introduced by Senator Loren B. 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 Phiiippines in 
Congress assembled:
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Section 1. Section 5 of Repubiic Act No. 7836 is hereby amended as foilows:
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"Section 5. Creation and Composition of the Board. - There
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is hereby created under this Act a Board for Professional
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Teachers, hereinafter called the Board, a collegial body under the
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general supervision and administrative control of the Professional
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Regulation Commission, hereinafter referred to as the
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Commission, composed of five (5) members, who duly possess
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all the qualifications prescribed in Section 8 of this Act, and who
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shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines from
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among the recommendees chosen by the Commission.
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The recommendees shall be chosen from the list of
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nominees from Teacher Education Council (TEC); Department of
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Education (DepEd); Coordinating Council of Private Educational
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Associations (COCOPEA); Commission on Higher Education
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(CHED); Association of Local Colleges and Universities (ALCU);
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Philippine Association of State Universities And Colleges
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(PASUC); an Accredited Association of Teachers; and an


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Association of Teacher Education Students, who duly posset ail 
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 chairman and the vice-chairman 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 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. Members of the board who ai-e employees of 
officials of government agencies shail 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:
"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 
personal as well as professional conduct and has not 
been convicted of any offense involving moral turpitude;
(c) 
Be a holder of at least a master's degree, preferably 
holding a doctorate degree, in education, or their


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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; 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 and 
neither connected with a review center or with any group 
Or association where review classes or lectufes 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, 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 offered by Teacher Education Council (TEC) and 
regulated by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), test 
development and analysis, and logistics in implementing wide- 
scale assessments and system accreditations."
Sec. 4. Section 9 of Republic Act No. 7836 is hereby further amended aS follows:


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"Sec. 9. Compensation of the Board. - The chairman, vice- 
chairman, and members of the Board shall receive compensation 
comparable to the compensation received by existing regulatory 
boards under the Professional Regulation Commission, computed 
on the basis of the number of examinees/candidates."
Sec. 5. Section 12 of Republic Act No. 7836 is hereby further amended as
follows:
"Sec. 12. Removal of a Board Member. - The chairman or 
any member of the Board may be removed by the President of 
the Philippines upon recommendation of the Commission for 
neglect of duty, incompetence, terminal Illness, unprofessional, 
unethical, immoral or dishonorable conduct, commission or 
tolerance of irregularities in the examination, after having been 
given the opportunity to defend himself in a proper 
administrative investigation.
In the course of the investigation, the President may 
preventively suspend the respondent."
Sec. 6. Section 13 of Republic Act No. 7836 is hereby further amended as
follows:
"Sec. 13. Examination, Registration, and License Required. 
- 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)
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(2) 
Accreditation of teacher education programs by the 
Teacher Education Councii, 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 awarding of a 
professional license to teach, including the required 
number of years of teaching experience.
Sec. 7. Section 14 of Republic Act No. 7836 is hereby further amended as
follows:
"Sec. 14. Scope of Examination. - 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.


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In case of failure in the exam by the aforementioned takers,
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content courses in their chosen subject shall be required before
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they can retake the exam/'
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Sec. 8. Section 15 of Republic Act No. 7836 and Section 1 of Republic Act 9293
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is hereby further amended as follows:
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"Sec. 15. Qualification Requirements of Applicant - No
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applicant shall be admitted to take the examination unless, on
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the date of the filing of the application, he or she has complied
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with the following requirements:
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(a) A citizen of the Philippines or an alien 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
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an offense involving moral turpitude;
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(e) A graduate from a teacher education institute duly
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recognized by the Commission on Higher Education and
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possesses the minimum educational qualifications
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pursuant to teacher education programs offered by TEC
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and regulated by CHED, or equivalent programs, or other
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programs, as may be determined by CHED, with at least
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eighteen (18) units in professional education;
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(f) The results of the exam shall be given by component. If
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an applicant has previously failed to pass component/s
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of the examination in the past three years, he or she shall
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be required to complete a refresher course for the failed
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component In a CHED-recognized teacher education
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institute before being allowed to retake the
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examination."
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Sec. 9. Section 16 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:


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"Sec. 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 pubiic. 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.
No undue promotion or advertisements shall be allowed for 
review centers and similar entitles for purposes of owning credit 
for passing of those who took the licensure examinations for 
teachers, and such credit shall be attributed solely to the teacher 
education institutions where the examinees graduated.


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Sec. 10. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within sixty (60) days from
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the effective date of this Act, the Professional Regulation Commission shall update its
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implementing rules and regulations necessary for the full and effective implementation
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of this Act.
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Sec. 11. Transitory Provision. — The Professional Regulation Commission and
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the Board of Professional Teachers shall update its existing policies and issuances
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relevant to this Act and ensure its alignment with the same within a period of six (6)
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months from the effectivity of this Act and report the same to Congress on the first
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year of its implementation.
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Sec. 12. Separability Clause. - If, for any reason, any section or provision of
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this Act or the application of such section in provision to any person in circumstance
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is declared unconstitutional or invalid, no other section or provision of this Act shall
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be affected thereby.
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Sec. 13. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, circulars, administrative orders,
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rules and regulations, and other issuances which are inconsistent with the provisions
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of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
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Sec. 14. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days following
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its complete publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation.
Approved,
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