Raymond Adrian Salceda, the representative-elect for the Albay 3rd District, declared on Tuesday that he will advocate for extending the validity of professional licenses and easing the burden of compliance for professionals.
Salceda stated in a press statement on Tuesday that the measure and its accompanying economic effect analyses are already complete and prepared for official submission.
Professional licenses granted by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) will now have a three-year validity period; however, the proposed “Professional License Rationalization and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Access Act” would increase that to either five or ten years, depending on the type of profession.
“Unnecessary red tape is our aim. The law ought to make a distinction between occupations with established practices and those that are rapidly evolving. A three-year renewal cycle is unjust and wasteful, according to Salceda.
According to him, occupations will be classed as either dynamic (like those in information technology and healthcare) or established (like teaching, librarianship, and criminology), with the former renewing every five years and the latter only every ten.
Salceda added that the bill requires CPD programs to be offered free or at a reduced cost to professionals that serve the public interest, including government nurses, teachers in the Department of Education, and uniformed officers like the Philippine National Police.
As the president of Albay’s League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP), I have already assisted in providing our professionals with free CPD. However, we cannot continue to solve this puzzle piecemeal. Structural transformation is required. This measure accomplishes that,” he stated.
According to Salceda, the proposed change might lower the renewal fees and continuing professional development costs for license maintenance to less than PHP2,000. Under the existing system, many professionals, particularly those in the public sector, spend up to PHP15,000 over ten years.
“This isn’t about weakening standards; it’s about removing senseless burdens. Professionals should focus on their work, not on chasing certificates and receipts every three years.”
Salceda gave the examples of Germany, where doctors have lifelong licenses with rigorous CPD and ethics protocols in place; Canada, where aircraft maintenance engineers have 10-year licenses; and New Zealand, which grants instructors longer certification validity.
In order to guarantee accountability everywhere, the measure also requires a five-year ethical review.
This has been compared to international systems. Additionally, we performed economic modeling. According to the data, this reform benefits both parties: professionals save time and money, while the government can concentrate on effective regulation, Salceda stated.
