Trillanes to review implementation of professional development law

After getting a number of complaints from various stakeholders on the implementation of Republic Act 10912 or the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Act, Senator Antonio "Sonny" F. Trillanes IV has filed P.S. Resolution 441 or the resolution seeking to conduct an inquiry on the law's implementation.

According to Trillanes, chairman of the Committee on Civil Service, Government Reorganization and Professional Regulation, "More than a year after the said law took effect, numerous stakeholders have raised pressing issues regarding its implementation, foremost of which are the affordability and accessibility in acquiring CPD units."

Trillanes explained that numerous professionals, especially those who are unemployed, underemployed or who receive low wages, and casual or contractual employees, may not be able to afford to pay the training, seminar, or courses needed to renew their licenses. He added that others have less access to Professional Regulation Commission (PRC)-accredited institutions, especially those assigned in far-flung areas who are compelled to travel to major cities just to process their applications and complete the required CPD units.

The CPD law was enacted to upgrade the practice of Filipino professionals in line with the integration of economies of the member countries of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), as required by the ASEAN Mutual Recognition Arrangements, the Philippine Qualifications Framework, and the ASEAN Qualifications Reference Framework.

It mandates all professionals to take additional formal and non-formal training through CPD for the renewal of their Professional Identification Card every three years, effective July 1, 2017.

Trillanes also pointed out other issues of various stakeholders such as: the PRC-accredited CPD providers are limited to current providers which are private institutions and the Accredited Integrated Professional Organizations (AIPO), allegedly offering expensive training and seminars; and the PRC does not recognize in-house training by government agencies such as the Department of Education (DepEd) and other companies, which are already instituted and are usually free.

"Prior to the issuance of the General Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) by the PRC, I have proposed measures on how they can implement the law without it becoming a burden to our professionals. Among these are the offering of affordable online courses, so the professionasl won't have to travel in order to gain their units; inclusion of annual seminars of teachers and other professional annual conventions in their CPD units; and providing additional leaves to our professionals so they can attend training and seminars for their units. But to my dismay, I have been informed that the training and seminars they provide remain costly and limited to few accredited training institutions."

"Obviously, these problems are not the intention of the CPD law. It was created to help our professionals cope with their respective globalizing field; thus, we want to call the attention of the PRC and Professional Regulatory Boards, so they can review and amend their implementing or operational guidelines, which should not be burdensome to our professionals," Trillanes further explained.