Philippine
professionals are in a mad rush to prepare themselves for the 2015 ASEAN
(Association of Southeast Asian Nations) integration with several professions
already seeking regulation with the Philippine Regulation Commission (PRC) for
competitiveness.
“There
are pending applications from new professions that want to be regulated by the
PRC now,” PRC chairperson Atty. Teresita R. Manzala said during the
Mindanao Pre-Summit Conference held at the Grand Regal Hotel last week. The Pre-Summit
was a venue for the different professions to present the regional and national
development that will impact on the competitiveness of the Filipino
professionals.
Among
the professions seeking PRC regulation are Microbiology, Instrumentation, Food
Technology and Human Resources.
Ms.
Manzala said the best time to prepare for the Asean integration is now. It is
time to prepare and develop the different roadmaps for each profession now if
Filipino professionals are to compete in Asean by 2015, she added.
She
said the Philippines has to develop the Asean Qualifications Reference
Framework (AQRF) by 2014, in preparation for 2015. “It is time to start putting
in place our ABCs or Action, Branding and Communication,” she said.
The
AQRF is the common reference framework which will function as a translation
device to enable comparisons of qualifications across participating ASEAN
countries.
The
ASEAN is made up of 10 member-states, she said, and each one has different
levels of development and education. There is a need to harmonize all these
qualifications through the AQRF, she added.
AQRF
is based on the 1995 ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS) agreed upon
by the ASEAN economic ministers in order to substantially eliminate
restrictions to trades in services.
Leandro
a. Conti of the Board of Mechanical Engineering said the major professional
services initiated the Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRAs) to enable to
qualifications of professional service suppliers to be mutually recognized by
signatory member states. The Registry for Engineering started in 2005, ahead of
the other professions like Nursing which started in 2006, Architecture in 2007,
Dentistry in 2008 and Accountancy in 2009.
When
the Asean integration happens, Ms. Manzala said, it will pave the way for the
mobility of professionals within ASEAN as well as the exchange of information
and enhance the cooperation in mutual recognition of practitioners.
Ms.
Manzala said it is easier to assess the standards of professions with PRC
regulation. “For unregulated professional they will have a hard time doing
that,” she added.
