Hope

Before anything else, I would like to take this time to clear the air of any misinformation among all people especially professionals. The CPD Law was enacted to upgrade the practice of Filipino professionals in compliance with the requirements set by the ASEAN Mutual Recognition Arrangements, the Philippine Qualifications Framework, and the ASEAN Qualifications Reference Framework, which are all part of our country's commitment to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) integration. The CPD law is basically enacted as required by the ASEAN integration. To put it in easier terms, in our current status, professionals of other nationalities who are under ASEAN may practice their profession in the Philippines. Whereas we Filipinos cannot practice our profession when we go out to other ASEAN countries. We'd have to take exams or study for another few years again in their country to do so. The CPD law allows us to "fix" this issue. It just so happened that Senator Antonio Trillanes IV is the chair of the Committee on Civil Service, Government, and Professional Regulation - therefore he is responsible for preparing the bill, which we all know that now became a law. The sudden change, and more importantly, improper (incomplete) dissemination of information through different media forms is what probably stirred us up, the professionals. Only a handful of us actually knows that this is required by the ASEAN for the integration. You can even try to Google "Senate CPD Bill", and the news articles that will show up barely mention "ASEAN". Thus, a lot of us missed the bigger part of the picture. These, probably together with current events in our nation, is what created the unnecessary hate (which we all should stop) veered toward Senator Trillanes and the Professional Regulation Commission. I am not writing this update to defend the aforementioned parties, I am just saying what is true and correct so that we can all understand the very root of the reason as to why this law was enacted and that we can have a better perspective and a more positive outlook on CPD. It also seems unfair that they would receive heavy beatings and false allegations for enacting something for the betterment of the Filipino people. But then again, it is very difficult to get something perfect the first time around, as we can see in the situations happening now like some CPD providers taking advantage of the law of supply and demand, among others. Again, the intention of the law is good, but we need to refine the implementation. This is why ALL of us are working together to make the law better and beneficial for all. And this unity is exactly what took place in the Senate hearing last August 9, 2017. It would be hard to share everything that went down in the hearing here. Soon, we'll be able to see an update in PRC's website, so just check out their latest news every so often. But to give everyone an idea, here are some valuable points taken from the hearing: - It was discussed that government employees will be provided free seminars by their respective government agencies. Also, these seminars will be made available online (also free) for the benefit of those who work in far flung areas. - For OFWs, a mechanism is being prepared to recognize in-service trainings provided by their employers. They may also take the CPD related courses from non-accredited providers in their host countries and have the CPD units accredited under a self-directed modality. - For the private sector, employers may apply as CPD providers for their employees. The trainings they currently provide their employees related to their jobs may be applied as sources of CPD credits. These are the trainings that they normally give employees and do not require them any additional cost to provide since they are already doing it. - PRC will provide operational guidelines for private institutions (IPOs and AIPOs) to prevent them from charging exorbitant fees. There are other more positive updates. In fact, there will be more follow-up hearings about this matter. In the meantime, we do thank all parties for being very open-minded on this matter especially PRC, Arch. Angeline T. Chua Chiaco, Mr. Teofilo S. Pilando, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, and other officials as well. Let us all hope for the best outcome as the discussion for this subject presses on. May God be with us all!