Bohol 3rd District Representative Kristine Alexie Tutor called for a longer validity period for Professional Regulation Commission identification cards as a practical way to reduce recurring administrative requirements for teachers and other licensed professionals.
Tutor is a principal author of House Bill 8876, which would extend the validity of PRC-issued Professional Identification Cards from three years to five years. The House approved the measure on third reading on May 20 and transmitted it to the Senate on May 25.
“Government processes should be efficient and reasonable without compromising professional standards.”
“Teachers already carry significant responsibilities inside and outside the classroom. Government processes should be efficient and reasonable without compromising professional standards,” the veteran legislator said.
Under HB 8876, all PRC Professional Identification Cards would be valid for five years, subject to compliance with the existing legal and procedural requirements for their issuance.
The proposed law would also require the PRC’s Information and Communication Technology Service and other concerned offices to complete necessary system enhancements and administrative processes, including the revised assessment of annual registration fees, within six months from the law’s effectivity.
“This is not about lowering professional standards.”
“This is not about lowering professional standards. It is about making regulation more efficient so our professionals spend less time on repetitive transactions and more time doing the work they were trained to do,” the lady lawmaker explained.
The House said in May that professional teachers account for more than 560,000 valid PRC license holders, making them the largest professional group cited in PRC data accompanying the measure.
Tutor, a vice chairperson of the House Committee on Civil Service and Professional Regulation, said reforms involving teachers should recognize them not only as public servants and educators, but also as regulated professionals. The committee has jurisdiction over the status, welfare and benefits of government employees and the regulation of professions.
World Teachers’ Day was observed on October 5. UNESCO’s 2026 theme, “Standing with teachers: 60 years of protecting the profession, advancing its status and shaping our futures,” focuses on the professional and material status of teachers, including the support and working conditions they need.
“Supporting teachers also means looking at the systems surrounding their profession and removing unnecessary burdens where we can. A simpler, more efficient regulatory system is one concrete way government can do that,” she concluded.
