The House Committee on Higher and Technical Education chaired by Baguio Representative Mark Go, in a joint hearing with the Committee on Civil Service and Professional Regulation chaired by Bohol Representative Kristine Alexie Tutor, approved subject to style and amendment, the substitute bill seeking to amend Republic Act 10912, or the “Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Act of 2016.”
The panel likewise approved the committee report of the said substitute bill.
Prior to the approval of the bill, the committee approved the motion for the consolidation of House Bill 1086 filed by Camarines Sur Representative Luis Raymund Villafuerte; HB 1662 by Cagayan de Oro City Representative Rufus Rodriguez, and HB 3468 by AGIMAT Party-list Representative Bryan Revilla which would serve as the lead bill of the 12 measures on the CPDA.
The other bills are HBs 567, 816, 1168, 1388, 2529, 2836, 2982, 4948, and HB 5773.
“The joint committee approved a version of the bill that required CPD units not only for the renewal of license but also for career progression and whose compliance period be suspended in case of pandemic, calamity or national emergency.”
In his opening remarks, Go said in the 18th Congress, the joint committee acted on several bills that addressed issues and concerns related to CPDA, specifically on the renewal of the professional regulation identification card or license, the high cost of CPD seminars and trainings, the number of training hours required, and the lack of CPD providers, among others.
“The joint committee approved a version of the bill that required CPD units not only for the renewal of license but also for career progression and whose compliance period be suspended in case of pandemic, calamity or national emergency,” the veteran legislator remarked.
The seasoned lawmaker said HB 9311 also would exempt certain categories of professional from the mandatory CPD training, such as the newly licensed or registered professionals on the first renewal of their professional ID card within the first four years after obtaining their license, as well as overseas Filipino workers (PFWs) and senior citizens who are not engaged in the practice of the profession as defined under their respective regulatory laws.
“The continuous training and education of the professionals is necessary to improve their skills.”
He further said that the approved bill also included the in-service training of teachers as part of CPD and instructed the various government departments and agencies, as well as private companies in consultation and coordination with the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) to establish a mechanism whereby they would provide professionals under their jurisdiction with free or inexpensive training seminars, workshops, online and similar training programs to earn CDP credits.
Meanwhile, Committee on Civil Service and Professional Regulation Vice Chair and PBA Party-list Representative Migs Nograles who co-chaired the joint committee hearing, said the continuous training and education of the professionals is necessary to improve their skills and for them to easily adapt to the fast-changing development in their specific professions and be at par with their global counterparts.
Go said HBs 1086, 1662, and 3468 adopted the same provisions of HB 9311 which was an amendment to RA 10192.
