94. PRC & THE ROAD TO LPT

PRC & THE ROAD TO LPT

Dr. Troy Alexander G. Miano

15 June 2019

This afternoon I took the Oath of Professionals conducted by Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and Board for Professional Teachers (BPT). Dr. Paz I. Lucido, Vice Chairperson of the BPT, led the rites during the 35^th Oath Taking Ceremonies of Professional Teachers at the Cagayan State University (CSU) Gym, Andrews Campus, Tuguegarao City in Cagayan province. The gym was jam-packed with passers, parents, family members and well-wishers withstanding the humidity and very hot ambiance. My wife was my only companion in the family but I was with my three former students at the Isabela State University (ISU) Cauayan City Campus, Rodamae L. Allam (now my staff), John Carlo S. Yadao, Wilfredo A. Ramento, Jr. and another staff at the Isabela Tourism Office, Honeylet M. Dela Cruz. All four passed the recent Licensure Examination for Teachers (LET).

After forty-two working days, the PRC and the BPT released the results of the LET given last March 24, 2019 in twenty testing centers all over the Philippines. Records shows that 19,659 elementary teachers out of 72,054 examinees (27.28%) and 22,271 secondary teachers out of 85,823 examinees (25.95%) successfully passed the LET. Furthermore, 19,659 elementary teacher passers, 5,078 are first timers and 14,581 are repeaters. For the secondary teachers, 15,621 passers are first timers and 6,650 are repeaters.

After passing the exam, the next step was the registration at the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC). Using online registration, I was able to secure a slot in PRC Tuguegarao City to process my oath-taking, certificate of rating, and application in the Philippine Association for Teacher Education (PAFTE). Here I learned that the PAFTE is an organization for teacher educators which promotes professional development and competency increase for Filipino teachers.

I browsed the net on the historical background of the PRC and the website revealed that the PRC is a three-man commission attached to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). Its mandate is to regulate and supervise the practice of the professionals who constitute the highly skilled manpower of the country. As the agency-in-charge of the professional sector, the PRC plays a strategic role in developing the corps of professionals for industry, commerce, governance, and the economy. However, the PRC does not cover lawyers since they are handled by the Supreme Court of the Philippines.

The Commission was created by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 223 signed by President Ferdinand E. Marcos on June 22, 1973 with Architect Eric C. Nubla as the first PRC Commissioner who assumed office on January 2, 1974. The Commission made its offices at the burned Civil Service Commission building at P. Paredes Street in Manila. The structure later became the PRC Main Building. The PRC Coat-of-Arms designed by the Heraldry Commission was officially adopted on February 1, 1974. On June 14 of the same year, Proclamation No. 1276 was issued declaring June 22 to 29 of 1974 as "Professional Consciousness Week." By December 9 also of the same year, the Implementing Rules and Regulations of P.D. 223 were promulgated.

At present the Commission is headed by Hon. Teofilo S. Pilando, Jr with two commissioners, Hon. Yolanda D. Reyes and Jose Y. Cueto, Jr. Atty. Aristogerson T. Gesmundo is the lone assistant commissioner. The Board for Professional Teachers (BPT), on the other hand, is headed by Dr. Rosita L. Navarro, vice chair Dr. Paz I. Lucido and members, Dr. Paraluman R. Giron and Dr. Nora M. Uy.

Since grade school, I dreamed of becoming a teacher and a lawyer. I always admire teachers for they are a strong force in developing a child to become professionals and responsible citizens of a locality. My instructors in the Ateneo, during my grade school years, were A1 teachers and I can still clearly remember their unique style and technique which became some of my approaches and methods. At long last, at 39 years old, I was given the chance to teach. During my last years as a municipal councilor for the term 2013-2016, I was invited by Rev. Fr. Franklin G. Picio, MS, Ph.D. as a part time instructor at the University of La Salette (ULS) in Santiago City. I was under the College of Arts and Sciences under Dean Janet C. Colobong and taught social science subjects to the different colleges including Life, Works and Writings of Rizal, Introduction to Economics with Agrarian Reform, Philippine History, Philippine Constitution, and Sociology and Anthropology with Population Education. My normal schedule in the ULS was Tuesdays and Thursdays. Also during this term, I was also a part time instructor at the Isabela State University (ISU) Cauayan Campus under Executive Director Ricmar S. Aquino, now the University President. Aside from Rizal, Philippine History, I also taught political science subjects and was under the School of Arts and Criminology, now College of Arts and Sciences. My schedule in the ISU was Mondays and Wednesdays. During weekends, I also taught public administration subjects under Expanded Tertiary Education Equivalency and Accreditation (ETEEAP) and other masteral subjects in public administration. During my three years of teaching, I also finished my Masters in Development Management and Governance at the University of Makati and eventually my Doctor in Public Administration at the Lyceum Northwestern University in Dagupan City. Despite all these academic undertakings, I still feel I am not a teacher.

One fateful day in June 2018, my staff Rodamae, sought permission to enrol units in education at the Isabela Colleges (IC) in Cauayan City. She informed me that this would be the last year for an 18 units in Education as minimum requirement to take the LET. To make the long story short, I also enrolled, attended classes, graduated on November 10 of the same year and took the March 2019 examinations. On May 25, Saturday, while driving on my way home from a wedding in Barangay Holy Friday, Mallig town, Rodamae gave me a ring and informed me that we passed the national teachers exam. I saw my name under no. 14336 in the list in the PRC website and this is the only time it sank to me that I am now a full-fledged teacher.

One can be a teacher even without the license. We can be teachers at home, teachers in the office and teachers in the community. I can say that being a teacher is the noblest of all profession. All professionals are products of the teaching profession. But bearing the license gives me an inner glow of personal development excellence and the undying drive to contribute more to the noble teaching profession.