Lowering the Age Requirement for Applicants Taking the Board Examination for Social Workers

May 23, 2016

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10847

AN ACT LOWERING THE AGE REQUIREMENT FOR APPLICANTS TAKING THE BOARD EXAMINATION FOR SOCIAL WORKERS, PROVIDING FOR CONTINUING SOCIAL WORK EDUCATION, AND UPGRADING THE SUNDRY PROVISIONS RELATIVE TO THE PRACTICE OF SOCIAL WORK

SECTION 1. Section 2 of Republic Act Numbered Forty-Three Hundred Seventy-Three (R.A. No. 4373) is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 2. Name and Composition of the Board. — There shall be created a Professional Regulatory Board for Social Workers, hereinafter referred to as the Board, under the administrative control and supervision of the Professional Regulation Commission, hereinafter referred to as the Commission, composed of a Chairperson and four (4) members who shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines from a list of three (3) nominees for each position submitted by the accredited integrated professional organization (AIPO) for social workers and ranked by the Commission, and who, at the time of their appointment shall:

(a) -do-

(b) -do-

(c) -do-

(d) -do-

(e) -do-

(f) -do-."

SECTION 2. Section 12 of the same Act is hereby further amended:

"SEC. 12. Qualification of Applicants. — In order to be admitted to take the social work examination, an applicant must, at the time of filing of application therefor:

(a) Be a citizen of the Philippines;

(b) Be at least eighteen (18) years of age;

(c) Be in good health and of good moral character;

(d) Have a bachelor's degree or masteral degree or its equivalent in social work from an institution, college, or university duly accredited and legally constituted: Provided, That, the provisions of Republic Act Numbered Twenty — Two Hundred and Sixty (R.A. No. 2260), otherwise known as the Civil Service Act of 1959, as amended, insofar as cultural minorities are concerned, shall be applied; and

(e) Have completed a minimum period of one thousand (1,000) case hours of practical training in an established social work agency under the direct supervision of a fully trained and qualified social worker: Provided, That, in the institution, college, or university's undergraduate program, the academic courses preceded the required field practice of one thousand (1,000) case hours: Provided, further, That, the required field practice complies with the social work curriculum approved by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Board."

SECTION 3. The same Act is hereby amended by inserting Sections 26, 27 and 28 on Continuing Professional Development (CPD), Integration of the Social Work Profession and the Issuance of Special Temporary Permit (STP), respectively:

"SEC. 26. Continuing Professional Development (CPD). — All registered social workers must provide proof of earning forty-five (45) units of continuing CPD courses given by any CPD provider duly accredited by the CPD Council for social workers as a requirement for the renewal of the professional identification card of social workers.

All local government units (LGUs) and employer organizations shall allocate the necessary funding to support the professional development of social workers under their employ, regardless of employment status, for the purpose of complying with the CPD requirement."

"SEC. 27. Integration of the Social Work Profession. — All registered and licensed social workers shall be united and integrated into one (1) national organization which shall be accredited by the Board, subject to the approval of the Commission, as the AIPO for social workers. All registered and licensed social workers shall become members of the AIPO and shall consequently be entitled to all the benefits and privileges incidental thereto upon payment of the required fees and dues. Membership in the AIPO shall not be a bar to membership in any other professional organization."

"SEC. 28. Issuance of Special Temporary Permits. — Special Temporary Permits (STPs) may be issued by the Board, subject to the approval of the Commission and payment of the prescribed fees, to any of the following:

(a) Foreign social workers called by the Philippine Government for a specific public purpose or project;

(b) Foreign social workers to be employed by any domestic private firm/establishment;

(c) Foreign social workers to be engaged as professors or lecturers in a higher educational institution or university for the enhancement of the social work education in the country; and

(d) Foreign social workers, including volunteers, whose services are engaged during disasters, calamities, or any emergency cases as may be determined by the Board. CAIHTE

The STP shall provide, among others, that: (1) The practice of the foreign professional shall be limited to the particular work for which the foreigner is being engaged; (2) The validity of the STP shall be for one (1) year only, subject to renewal; and (3) The practice of the foreign social worker shall be subject to the applicable domestic laws and regulations."

SECTION 4. Sections 23 and 26 of the same Act are hereby likewise amended as follows:

"SEC. 23. Registration with the Department of Social Welfare and Development. — No social welfare and development agency, as defined herein, shall operate and be accredited as such unless it shall first have registered and secured a license with the Department of Social Welfare and Development which shall then issue the corresponding registration certificate and license to operate: Provided, That existing social welfare and development agencies at the time of approval of this Act shall have a period of one (1) year within which to secure the corresponding certificate of registration and license to operate.

Before any social welfare and development agency shall be duly registered and licensed, the following requirements must be duly complied with to the satisfaction of the Department of Social Welfare and Development:

(1) That the applicant must be engaged mainly or generally in social welfare and development activities;

(2) That the applicant has employed a sufficient number of duly qualified staff and/or registered social workers to supervise and take charge of its social welfare and development activities in accordance with the set standards;

(3) That the applicant must show in a duly certified financial statement that at least seventy percent (70%) of its funds are disbursed for direct social work services; and

(4) That the applicant keeps a record of all social development and/or welfare activities handled by it."

"SEC. 29. Penal Provisions. — The following shall be penalized with a fine of not less than one hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) but not more than two hundred thousand pesos (P200,000.00), or imprisonment for not less than six (6) months but not more than two (2) years, or both, at the discretion of the court:

(a) Any person who shall practice or offer to practice social work in the Philippines without being registered or exempted from registration in accordance with the provisions of this Act;

(b) Any person presenting or attempting to use as one's own, the certificate of registration of another;

(c) Any person who shall give any false or fraudulent evidence of any kind to the Board or any member thereof in obtaining a certificate of registration as social worker;

(d) Any person who shall impersonate any registrant of like or different name;

(e) Any person who shall attempt to use a revoked or suspended certificate of registration;

(f) Any person who shall in connection with one's name, otherwise assume, use, or advertise any title or description tending to convey the impression that one is a social worker without holding a valid registration;

(g) Any person who shall violate any provision of this Act; and

(h) Any person or corporate body who shall violate the rules and regulations of the Board or orders promulgated by it, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this Act.

Any person, corporation or entity operating as a social welfare and development agency, without the corresponding valid Certificate of Registration and License to Operate issued by the Department of Social Welfare and Development shall be penalized with a fine of not less than one hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) but not more than five hundred thousand pesos (P500,000.00) and/or imprisonment for not less than one (1) year but not more than three (3) years, at the discretion of the court. These penalties shall be without prejudice to the seizure of equipment, instruments and other facilities of the social welfare and development agency."

SECTION 5. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — The Commission and the Board, in consultation with the AIPO for social workers, academe and other relevant government and nongovernmental agencies, shall issue the implementing rules and regulations of this Act within sixty (60) days after the effectivity of the law.

SECTION 6. Separability Clause. — If any provision of this Act is held invalid, the other provisions not affected thereby shall continue in operation.

SECTION 7. Repealing Clause. — All laws, orders, decrees, issuances or any part or parts thereof which are inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SECTION 8. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation in the Philippines.

Approved: May 23, 2016.