Introduced in 2016, the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) had good intentions: “To strengthen the country’s professional workforce through continuous learning.”
But it would seem that nearly a decade on, people are still on the fence.
On Labor Day 2025, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called on the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and the CPD Council for a review of its policies. He stated that it has become burdensome for professionals, especially those facing high costs and limited access.
Republic Act No. 10912, better known as the CPD Law, requires licensed professionals to earn CPD units to renew their PRC licenses. The original requirement was 45 units every three years. That target has since been scaled down to 15 units for most professions after years of criticism over the policy’s inaccessibility and financial weight.
Two presidents have called for a review of the law. In his 2020 State of the Nation Address, then-President Rodrigo Duterte criticized the CPD requirement as “not realistic” during a global health crisis.
Now, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. reiterated the need for reassessment, directing the PRC and CPD Council to “revisit our guidelines” and evaluate whether current training remains appropriate.
In Congress, efforts to revise or repeal the law have come and gone. Senator JV Ejercito filed Senate Bill No. 1162 in 2022, citing the law’s disproportionate cost to professionals. In the same year, House panels endorsed a substitute bill proposing to amend the CPD Act, most notably, removing the CPD requirement for license renewal and pushing for more accessible, even free, training options.
So far, none of these proposals have been passed into law.
Meanwhile, the PRC has introduced measures to soften the CPD Law’s impact. These include reducing the unit requirement, accepting sworn undertakings from applicants promising future compliance, and exempting Overseas Filipino Workers from the requirement altogether.
The CPD Act remains in effect. But nearly a decade later, pressure to revise it is louder—and more bipartisan—than ever.
