The House committee on appropriations chaired by Rep. Karlo Alexei Nograles (1st District, Davao City) approved the funding provision of a substitute bill regulating the practice of food technology in the country.
The funding provision of the unnumbered substitute bill titled “Philippine Food Technology Act” provides that “The Chairperson of the Professional Regulation Commission shall include in the PRC’s program the implementation of the Act, the funding of which shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act (GAA).”
The bill substituted House Bill 2310 authored by Rep. Evelina Escudero (1st District, Sorsogon) and HB 2726 by Rep. Gary Alejano (Party-list, Magdalo).
The bill provides that the State recognizes the importance of professional food technologists in nation-building and development.
Hence, the State shall develop and nurture competent, virtuous, productive and well-rounded professional food technologists whose standards of practice and service shall be excellent, world class and globally competitive through honest, effective, relevant and credible licensure examinations and through regulatory programs, measures and activities that foster their professional growth, social responsibility and development.
It defines food technology as “the application of the physical, biological, and behavioral sciences to the conversion of raw materials into safe, stable, palatable, and nutritious foods.” It includes the processes of handling, storage, processing, packaging, and utilization of food.
The measures provide for the creation of the Professional Regulatory Board of Food Technology, called the Board, under the administrative supervision of the PRC. It shall be composed of a Chairperson and two members who shall be appointed by the President of the Republic of the Philippines.
The Board chairperson and members shall have a term of three years and may be reappointed for another three years immediately after the expiry of their term.
Among the powers and functions of the Board are to: promulgate, administer, and enforce rules and regulations necessary for carrying out the provisions of the Act; supervise and regulate the registration, licensure, and practice of food technology in the country; adopt a program for the full computerization of the licensure examination; and prescribe and adopt a Code of Ethics and a Code of Technical Standards for the practice of food technology.
The Board shall also ensure, in coordination with the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), that all educational institutions offering food technology education comply with the policies, standards, and requirements of the course prescribed by CHED in the areas of curriculum, faculty, library and facilities; issue special permits to persons admitted to the practice of food technology for a specific duration of time and certificates of recognition for advanced studies, researches and accomplishments that contribute to the enrichment of the profession; and prescribe guidelines and criteria in the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program for food technologists.
Except as otherwise specifically allowed under the Act, applicants for registration for the practice of food technology shall be required to pass a licensure examination as provided for in the Act in such place and date as the PRC may designate in the Resolution thereof on the Master Schedule for all licensure examinations in accordance with Section 7 (d) of Republic Act 8981, PRC Modernization Act of 2000, as amended.
To pass the licensure examination, the bill provides that a candidate for food technologist must obtain a passing rate of 75 percent in each subject given during the examination.
The bill prohibits the following: representing oneself as a food technologist without passing the licensure examination; representing oneself as a food technologist during the time that the professional license is not valid, or that the certificate of registration has been suspended or revoked, or that the temporary special permit is cancelled ; allowing another person to use one’s certificate of registration and/or professional license or temporary special permit as a food technologist; using the certificate of registration and/or professional license or temporary special permit of another food technologist.
Violators of the Act shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of P40,000 to P150,000 or by imprisonment of six months to four years, or both, at the discretion of the court.
Aside from Escudero and Alejano, other authors of the bill are Reps. Vilma Santos-Recto, Divina Grace Yu, Estrellita Suansing, Maximo Rodriguez, Jr., Bernadette Herrera-Dy, Mario Vittorio Mariño, Carlos Isagani Zarate, Mercedes Cagas, France Castro, Marisol Panotes, Harlin Neil Abayon III, Gabriel Bordado Jr., and Victoria Isabel Noel.