ATTENDANCE TO THE CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION (CPE) COURSES OFFERED BY CPE COUNCIL AND PRC ACCREDITED CPE PROVIDERS AS A REQUIREMENT FOR ALL PROFESSIONALS TO BE IN GOOD ST…

WHEREAS, Section 14, Article XII of the 1987 Philippine Constitution
provides in part that “[T]he sustained development of a reservoir of
national talents xxx professionals xxx shall be promoted by the State;”

WHEREAS, the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), under Section 7
(a), (n), and (y) of Republic Act No. 8981, otherwise known as the “PRC
Modernization Act of 2000” has these specific powers:

“(a) to administer, implement and enforce the regulatory policies
of the national government with respect to the regulation and licensing
of the various professions and occupations under its jurisdiction
including the enhancement and maintenance of professional and
occupational standards and ethics and the enforcement of the rules and
regulations relative thereto;”

“(n) To adopt and promulgate such rules and regulations as may be
necessary to effectively implement policies with respect to the
regulation and practice of the professions;”

“(y) To perform such other functions and duties as may be necessary
to carry out the provisions of this Act, the various professional
regulatory laws, decrees, executive orders and other administrative
issuances;”

WHEREAS, Section 9 (b) of R.A. 8981 provides that one of the Powers,
Functions and Responsibilities of the Various Professional Regulatory
Boards (PRBs) is “(T)o monitor the conditions affecting the practice
of the profession or occupation under their respective jurisdictions and
whenever necessary, adopt such measures as may be deemed proper for the
enhancement of the profession or occupation and/or the maintenance of
high professional, ethical and technical standards, xxx;”

WHEREAS, the President of the Republic of the Philippines issued on
June 23, 2003, Executive Order (E.O.) No. 220, “[D]irecting the Adoption
of the Code of Good Governance for the Professions in the Philippines;”

WHEREAS, the said Code was adopted by PRC and the PRBs embodying the
principles of professional conduct specifically, integrity, and
objectivity, professional competence and global competitiveness;”

WHEREAS, the President of the Republic of the Philippines, directed
and convened the National Council for Global Competitiveness, to ensure
that among other things, our own professionals are also globally
competitive in preparation for the effects of economic
globalization;

WHEREAS, the Republic of the Philippines, as one of the sovereign
member states of the World Trade Organization (WTO), has to deal with
and prepare itself for the implementation of the 4^th Protocol, under
the General Agreement for Services in Trade (GATS), a general agreement
that will govern trade among member nations in twelve (12)
Classifications of Services;

WHEREAS, in the 4^th Protocol under the General Agreement on Trade in
Services (GATS), the Philippines is mandated to make sure it can o f
fer competitively to other WTO members professional services in Health
and Education, Marketing and Distribution, Telecommunications,
Business Outsourcing Services, Information Technology, Engineering,
Architectural and other Construction services, Tourism and allied
services, Transportation and Logistics services, among others, and
therefore made attendance by our registered professionals to accredited
Continuing Professional Education (CPE) mandatory, as a result of the WTO and GATS initiatives;

WHEREAS, the Republic of the Philippines as a member state of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), has to ensure that the
Filipino professional is compliant with established requirements in the
various Mutual Recognition Arrangements/Agreements (MRA) entered into
under the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS);

WHEREAS, these MRA’s on, to wit: Nursing, Engineering, Surveying and
Architecture services prescribe line requirements prior recognition of
competencies/qualifications for the practice of these professions
within the territories of other member states;

WHEREAS, one of the requirements and common to all of these MRA’s, is
the compliance with satisfactory continuing professional development;

WHEREAS, the PRC, as the instrument of the Filipinos in securing for
the nation a reliable, trustworthy, and progressive system of
developing professionals whose competencies are globally competitive,
has decided to make attendance to the CPE Council and PRC Accredited
Continuing Professional Education courses mandatory for registered
professionals to maintain their status in good standing and globally
competitive, as soon as the list of accredited CPE courses and service
providers have been officially released by the PRC;

WHEREFORE, the Commission hereby RESOLVED, as it now RESOLVES, to
prescribe and mandate all registered professionals to attend duly
accredited Continuing Professional Education courses from duly
accredited Continuing Professional Education Service Providers, as soon
as the same have been made available by the Commission, to maintain
their status in good standing in their respective professions and to
ensure their competitiveness in the light of liberalization of trade in
services under the 4th Protocol of the General Agreement on Trade in
Services (GATS) pursued by the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the
ASEAN where the Republic of the Philippines is an active member.

This Resolution shall take effect after fifteen days following its
complete and full publication in the Official Gazette or any newspaper
of general circulation.

Adopted: 01 Aug. 2008

(SGD.) LEONOR TRIPON-ROSERO
Secretary

(SGD.) RUTH RAÑA- PADILLA
Commissioner