Professionals, this is the last year that you may renew your Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) license cards without Continuing Professional Development (CPD) units!
PRC announced on their official website that professionals who lack CPD units may still renew until December 2020. Here’s the CPD Notice posted on their homepage:
“Professionals who are unable to comply with the required CPD credit units are ALLOWED to renew their Professional Identification Card (PIC) upon execution of an undertaking to complete the required CPD credit units for the next compliance period.
“This undertaking can be availed until December 31, 2020. For information and guidance.”
This grace period for CPD units is part of PRC’s implementation of maximum flexibility in the renewal requirement. The Undertaking is already embedded in the renewal form for ease of execution.
Why there is a need for CPD requirement
PRC started to require CPD units for renewal of license cards after Republic Act 10912 or the Continuing Professional Development Act of 2016 authored by Senator Antonio Trillanes IV was enacted into law.
Based on PRC Operational Guidelines, professionals have to expand their knowledge and technical competencies in the delivery of their services.
This is also in line with meeting the ASEAN Core Competency Standards as well as other international and global standards, where there is a need to continuously update themselves in order to meet these challenges.
Amendments and Exemptions
PRC and CPD Councils issued Resolution No. 2019-1146 which made amendments to the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the law. Here are some of the amendments:
PRC provides a “transition period” for professional to comply the unit requirements. During this transition period the following shall be observed:
a) Professionals working overseas (OFWs) will not be covered by the CPD requirement.
b) Newly licensed professionals shall not be covered by CPD requirement for the first renewal cycle after obtaining their license.
c) The various CPD Councils shall reduce the required CPD credit units to a minimum, which shall not be more than 15, as provided for under applicable laws.
Professionals who lacked CPD units but were able to renew through an Affidavit of Undertaking shall only comply with the required number of units as amended pursuant to this Resolution equivalent to not more than 15 credit units.
Recently, Representative Paolo ‘Pulong’ Duterte filed a bill in Congress that seeks to repeal the CPD Law for being a ‘burden’ to professionals.
“While we support lifelong learning among our professionals to further their craft, the requirements set by the CPD law just adds to the burden they have to deal with. After a long day of work, they are forced to spend a bulk of their salary, take absences from work, and go through unreasonable hardships just so they can renew their licenses and continue the practice of their professions,” Duterte said.
