Tuesday, February 5, 2019

Final draft of the new Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Continuing Professional Development Law of 2016 (CPD Law): Bits of Facts and My Stance



GREAT NEWS! The final draft of the new Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Continuing Professional Development Law of 2016 (CPD Law) has been released.

Among the provision of the new IRR includes:

1. Significant decrease in the number of required CPD units for the renewal of professional license. From 45 units, it’s now down to 15 units every three years.

2. In-house trainings and capacity-building activities of government agencies and corporations, including local government units and private employers shall be credited and considered as CPD compliance.

3. CPD is still a mandatory requirement for the renewal of the PRC ID of all registered and licensed professionals.

4. For teachers, there should be an alignment in the CPD forms with the DepEd to lessen the burden of additional paperwork.

During the transition period, the following shall be observed:

- Professionals working abroad shall not be covered by the CPD requirement during the period of their employment abroad.

- Newly licensed professionals shall be exempted from CPD requirements for their first renewal.

- CPD councils shall reduce the required CPD units to a minimum which shall not be more than 15 CPD units.

The following are the pre-conditions of the PRC before they can fully implement the mandatory CPD law:

1. Needs-based capacity building for professional organizations and professionals

2. Assignment of Philippine Qualifications Framework for all professionals with the following appropriate mechanism for awarding of qualifications:

- Standardization of the assessment of learning outcomes with corresponding credit units.

- Crafting of the mechanics for the accumulation of credit units leading to award of qualifications or higher PQF levels.

-Institutionalization of Career Progression and Specialization

3. Upgrade of the CPD Accreditation System

4. Attainment of sufficient number of accredited CPD providers and programs

5. Rationalization of CPD Registration/Seminar Fees

It was agreed during the consultation that until the PRC complies with the pre-conditions, all seminars attended by licensed professionals should be recognized as CPD units and shall be accepted as valid for the renewal of their licenses.

PRC Chairman Teofilo S. Pilando, Jr. said the aforementioned provisions will be in effect until the end to the transition period for RA 10912.

“This resolution will take effect after 15 days following its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation, copy furnished the U.P. Law Center,” Pilando said.

“Hopefully once all of these things are met then we will be prepared the mandatory character of the law,” the PRC chair added.







MY STANCE:

BEFORE: (based on my Facebook post last December 12, 2017)
"THIS IS JUST MY OPINION. (I hope you guys would respect it and please don't hate me.)
Possibly, I can complete the CPD because I have a very understanding employer but how about the others who are not financially capable? It's really a fact that some employers are not that supportive of their workers and some employees have low salaries. Our differences really hinder us to have this CPD fruitful. CPD is surely promising but the sad fact is that there are also professionals who can't afford to attend seminars or enroll themselves to graduate school.

It seems that our freedom of choice is useless (or abused maybe) because it's already a mandate and whether we like it or not, we need to obey it... I wanna ask this question again.. How about those who can't afford? Instead of paying for their other financial obligations, they would rather cut their budget just to comply the CPD... you know not all are fortunate enough...Right? We don't only spend money on our professional development, we also need to spend on our daily needs especially that nowadays, the products are too expensive.. mahal ang bigas
mahal ang tubig at kuryente
mahal na ang lahat... 
pati ang magmahal..

Yes. I somewhat agree with this CPD... it's really a big help for us professionals to upgrade and update ourselves but... the question is (again)... how about those who can't afford? It seems that we deprive them of choosing what they really want.. You know if they want to develop then good.. if they don't want to then okay... it's their choice anyway... At the end of the day, it's our choice to develop as professionals, not by anybody else..."


NOW: I am so happy because of this newly released final draft of the new Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of the Continuing Professional Development Law of 2016 (CPD Law). Honestly, I don't have problems with CPD. I just want it to be more realistic and more attainable. Now that the proposed provision and amendment are drafted, I am sure that all professionals here in the Philippines will be the happiest!

Furthermore, I really love the changes especially these two:
1. Significant decrease in the number of required CPD units for the renewal of professional license. From 45 units, it’s now down to 15 units every three years.

2. In-house trainings and capacity-building activities of government agencies and corporations, including local government units and private employers shall be credited and considered as CPD compliance.

I am so grateful to those individuals who have exerted their efforts to make this possible! God is so good and great! 

Source:
TheSummitExpress. (2019). LOOK: Final draft of new Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of CPD Law. Retrieved last February 6, 2019 from https://www.thesummitexpress.com/2019/02/new-irr-cpd-law-released-teachers.html?fbclid=IwAR0qEXTsWcIVfwLWWtso_dirrZDcLeIFtEMmvzlT0ZFsWbE25krwsxmOFBg

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