Lawmakers on Thursday urged anew their colleagues to pass a measure seeking to waive professional licensure examination fees for qualified Filipino indigents.

In the proposed House Bill (HB) 4927 or “An Act providing for Free Professional Examinations to Qualified Indigents” by Davao City Rep. Paolo Duterte (1st District) and Benguet Rep. Eric Yap (Lone District), it was noted that financial incapacity should not be an obstacle for poor Filipinos to achieve their dream of enjoying a reliable profession.

Both legislators believed that since the sole purpose of licensure examinations is to determine whether one has enough knowledge and experience to perform his or her chosen profession, being unable to pay the licensure exam fees should not be a barrier for any exam taker.

Duterte and Yap renewed their call as the second regular session of the 19th Congress opened on Monday.

The bill covers licensure examinations administered by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and the Civil Service Commission (CSC), and the Bar Examinations conducted by the Supreme Court (SC).

The PRC currently charges between PHP450 to PHP1,050 for takers of the various licensure examinations it administers in the fields of health, business, education, social sciences, engineering and technology.

For the CSC, the fee for the Career Service Examination for Professional and Sub-Professional Levels is PHP500.

The non-refundable Bar Application Fee as of this year is PHP12,800.

Duterte said these fees add to the financial burden of graduates who also have to shell out money for even higher expenses to review for the board exams.

HB 4927 has been pending with the House Committee on Civil Service and Professional Regulation since Sept. 21, 2022.

A Senate version of the bill was filed by Senator Joel Villanueva last February. (PNA)

Photo credit: Facebook/professionalregulationcommission