PRC extends acceptance of undertaking for license renewal until Dec. 31, 2021

The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) has extended the acceptance of undertaking for the renewal of licenses of professionals until the end of 2021.

Originally, the acceptance of undertaking for the renewal of Professional Identification Card (PIC) will end on December 31, 2020.

To allow the professionals to apply for the renewal of their PIC even without or incomplete Continuing Professional Development (CPD) units since they are constrained due to the COVID-19 crisis, the PRC extended the deadline until December 31, 2021.

This is “to enable professionals who face difficulties or cannot meet the required CPD credit units to apply for renewal of their PICs.”

Acknowledging the fact that professionals are constrained from attending CPD programs and learning activities that entail mass gathering due to the imposition of social distancing during the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, the PRC enumerated ways of learning that can earn CPD credit units through the following:

    Informal Learning — It refers to learning that occurs in daily life and which can contribute to a qualification such as:

•         Reading of books, magazine, journals, and the like that will develop leadership, management, and other skills
•         Learning how to use cross platform Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) and instant messaging using cloud-based video conferencing tool to meet with co-workers
•         Learning how to prepare gluten free meals and baked products
•         Learning how to do urban gardening for home consumption of organic vegetables and fruits.

    Professional Work Experience - It refers to practice at a workplace that is directly related to profession. Examples are:

•         Reading of books, magazine, journals, and the like on how to improve knowledge and skills in the field of professional practice
•         Learning how to fashion wheelchairs for pediatric patients with special needs
•         Learning how to design homes for the elderly population
•         Learning how to design modules for online teaching
•         Learning ways of collecting and disseminating information to faculty and students who are studying by distance education
•         Providing professional consultancy services to clients

    Self-Directed Learning – These are the learning activities such as online training, local/international seminar, non-degree courses, institution / company-sponsored training programs, and the like, which did not undergo CPD accreditation but may be awarded CPD units by the respective CPD Council. These activities are driven by one's need and motivation to learn either through a “professional activity” or “volunteer engagement.”

Professional activity refers to activity which promotes and facilitates enhancement of knowledge, skills and values as a professional.

Meanwhile, volunteer engagement refers to activity done under the ambit of social responsibility, which may or may not directly involve the practice of profession, but may help in the development of the professional in the social milieu.

PRC-licensed professionals can also earn necessary CPD units through “Online Learning Activities,” which refer to structured or unstructured learning initiatives, which make use of the internet and other web-based information and communication technology solutions.

The PRC urged CPD providers to convert training programs which entail mass gathering to online training to comply with the social distancing requirement during the COVID-19 crisis.

PRC-licensed professionals can apply for the renewal of their PIC online thru the agency’s website.—AOL, GMA News