QuestionsQuestions (Republic Act No. 10847)
RA 10847 amends R.A. 4373 to lower the age requirement for social worker board exam applicants, provide for Continuing Professional Development (CPD), integrate the social work profession, and upgrade other provisions related to the practice and regulation of social work.
At the time of filing of application, an applicant must be at least eighteen (18) years of age.
The applicant must be a citizen of the Philippines.
The applicant must be in good health and of good moral character.
The applicant must have a bachelor’s degree or master’s degree (or its equivalent) in social work from an institution, college, or university duly accredited and legally constituted.
It provides that the provisions of R.A. No. 2260 (Civil Service Act of 1959), insofar as cultural minorities are concerned, shall be applied.
Applicants must have completed a minimum 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.
It states that, in the undergraduate program, the academic courses are to be preceded by the required field practice of one thousand (1,000) case hours.
It must comply with the social work curriculum approved by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Board.
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.
Yes. RA 10847 requires LGUs and employer organizations to allocate necessary funding to support professional development of social workers under their employ, regardless of employment status, to comply with the CPD requirement.
All registered and licensed social workers must be united and integrated into one national organization accredited as the AIPO for social workers, and they must become members of the AIPO, entitled to benefits upon payment of required fees and dues; membership in the AIPO is not a bar to membership in any other professional organization.
STPs may be issued by the Board subject to approval of the Commission and payment of prescribed fees.
Foreign social workers called by the Philippine Government for a specific public purpose or project; foreign social workers employed by domestic private firms/establishments; foreign social workers engaged as professors or lecturers in higher education institutions for social work education; and foreign social workers (including volunteers) whose services are engaged during disasters, calamities, or emergencies as determined by the Board.
The STP must limit practice to the particular work for which the foreigner is engaged; the validity is for one (1) year only subject to renewal; and practice is subject to applicable domestic laws and regulations.
No social welfare and development agency may operate and be accredited as such unless it first registers and secures a license with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), which issues the registration certificate and license to operate.
Existing agencies at the time of approval of the Act are given a period of one (1) year within which to secure the corresponding certificate of registration and license to operate.
Examples include: (1) being engaged mainly or generally in social welfare and development activities; (2) employing sufficient qualified staff and/or registered social workers to supervise social welfare and development activities; (3) showing in a certified financial statement that at least 70% of funds are disbursed for direct social work services; and/or (4) keeping records of social development/welfare activities handled.
Any person who practices or offers to practice social work in the Philippines without being registered or exempted from registration is penalized with a fine of not less than P100,000 but not more than P200,000, or imprisonment of not less than six (6) months but not more than two (2) years, or both.
It is penalized with a fine of not less than P100,000 but not more than P500,000 and/or imprisonment of not less than one (1) year but not more than three (3) years, at the discretion of the court, without prejudice to seizure of equipment, instruments, and other facilities.