Albay lawmaker-elect vows to extend PRC license validity

By Connie Calipay

LEGAZPI CITY --- Albay 3rd District Representative-elect Raymond Adrian Salceda said on Tuesday he would push for the extension of professional license validity and reduction of compliance burdens on professionals.

In a media release on Tuesday, Salceda said the bill and supporting economic impact studies have already been finalized and ready for formal filing.

The proposed “Professional License Rationalization and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Access Act” will extend the validity of professional licenses issued by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) from the current three years to either five or 10 years, depending on the nature of the profession.

“We’re targeting unnecessary red tape. The law should distinguish between fast-changing professions and those with long-established practices. A blanket three-year renewal cycle is wasteful and unfair,” Salceda said.

He said professions will be reclassified as dynamic professions, such as those in healthcare and information technology, which will renew every five years, and established professions, such as teaching, librarianship, and criminology, which will renew only every 10 years.

Salceda also said the bill mandates that CPD programs be provided free or subsidized for professionals in the service of public interest, such as teachers in the Department of Education, government nurses, and uniformed personnel like the Philippine National Police.

“As the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) president in Albay, I’ve already helped deliver free CPD to our professionals. But we can’t keep solving this piecemeal. We need structural reform. That’s what this bill does,” he said.

Salceda emphasized that under the current setup, many professionals, especially those in the public sector, spend as much as PHP15,000 over 10 years to maintain their license due to renewal fees and CPD expenses. The proposed reform could reduce this to less than PHP2,000.

“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 cited examples from Canada, where aircraft maintenance engineers hold 10-year licenses; New Zealand, which offers teachers extended certification validity; and Germany, where doctors are licensed for life with strict CPD and ethics systems in place.

The bill also mandates a five-year ethical review to ensure accountability across the board.

“We’ve benchmarked this against global systems. We also ran economic modeling. The numbers show this reform is a win-win: professionals save money and time, and the government can focus on real regulation,” Salceda said. (PNA)