Legal basis and purpose stated
- Presidential Decree No. 223 provides that the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) shall submit and recommend to the President nominees for appointment to members of professional regulatory boards from among those nominated by accredited professional organizations.
- Executive Order No. 496 institutes uniform procedures and criteria for selecting and nominating persons for appointment to vacant positions in professional regulatory boards under PRC supervision.
- The nomination and selection system is designed to prioritize merit, integrity, and fitness.
- Membership in a professional regulatory board is treated as a privilege and not a right.
Governance: professional organization nomination duties
- Each accredited professional organization must create a permanent standing Committee on Nominations consistent with its Rules and Regulations Governing the Regulation and Practice of Professionals, as amended.
- The Committee on Nominations is composed of the five (5) immediate past national presidents of the organization.
- If any of the five past national presidents are unavailable, the past president immediately following the last five serves as a member.
- The most recent past president serves as Chairman of the Committee.
- If the organization lacks the required number of past presidents, incumbent Board of Directors members, selected by the board itself, serve in the Committee.
- The PRC must submit to the Office of the President at the end of every quarter an updated list of all accredited professional organizations.
Committee term and composition rules
- The Chairman serves until replaced by the next incoming past president.
- Committee members serve until replaced on a first-in, first-out basis through the assumption to membership of the most recent past president.
Committee duties and screening process
- The Committee must actively search, screen, and select qualified nominees for appointment to vacant positions in its professional regulatory board.
- The Committee must submit to the National Board of Directors for approval the names of five (5) qualified nominees, ranked in the order of preference, for each vacancy.
- If there are two or more vacancies, the Committee must submit a single list with appropriate rankings.
- The Committee must comply with all PRC requirements on selection and nomination for appointment to the professional regulatory board.
- The Committee’s nomination must be based strictly on merit, integrity, and fitness.
- The Committee must actively search for persons with demonstrated outstanding qualifications.
Selection criteria for nominees
- Nominees must meet all qualifications required by the laws governing each profession.
- Nominees must also satisfy these criteria:
- Proven leadership qualities, evidenced by honors, awards, citations from reputable organizations, and participation in the professional organization and social and civic associations.
- Professional competence and experience, evidenced by relevant past and present positions, years of professional practice, professional honors and awards, and academic honors and degrees.
- Impeccable integrity and a strong commitment to maintain highest professional standards, evidenced by personal and professional conduct, personal interviews, and testimony of colleagues, clients, and socio-civic leaders.
- Up-to-date knowledge of current theories, principles, and practices, evidenced by teaching and research activities, scholarly articles in publications, participation in continuing professional education and development programs, and advanced academic degrees.
- Time, capacity, and capability to perform regulatory board duties, including preparation and rating of examination papers, hearing administrative cases, and inspection of schools, colleges and universities, hospitals, industrial plants, and others.
Disqualifications from nomination
- The following are disqualified from being nominated:
- Those who have already completed at least two (2) terms on the professional regulatory board.
- Those who are incumbent national officers (President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer and Press Relations Officer or their equivalent positions) of the organization.
- Those who directly or indirectly solicit and use influence in seeking their nominations; such solicitation and use of influence constitutes prima facie evidence of lack of necessary qualifications.
Nominee documents, oath, and clearances
- Each nominee must accomplish the Personal Data Sheet or Nomination Form prescribed by the PRC.
- The Personal Data Sheet or Nomination Form must be subscribed under oath.
- The nominee must attach current clearances from the National Bureau of Investigation and the Office of the Ombudsman.
Submission and timing of nominee lists
- The National President of the accredited organization must submit to the PRC:
- The resolution of the National Board of Directors recommending not more than five (5) nominees for appointment to each vacancy.
- The nominees must be ranked in the order of preference.
- If two or more vacancies exist, a single list with appropriate rankings must be submitted.
- The organization must submit the list not later than three (3) months before the vacancy occurs.
- Nominations submitted to the PRC are valid for the present vacancy to be filled.
- Subsequent vacancies require another list of nominees, which may or may not include persons previously considered.
When organizations fail to submit nominees
- The PRC must notify the accredited professional organization of probable or existing vacancies.
- If the organization fails or refuses to submit nominees within the prescribed period, the PRC may recommend:
- (a) the reappointment of the incumbent or permit continued hold-over capacity if the law creating the professional regulatory board authorizes it; or
- (b) the appointment of another person with necessary qualifications based on the established criteria.
- The PRC may also exercise the same prerogative upon a clear showing that the Committee on Nominations disregarded the criteria in selecting nominees.
PRC publication, ranking, and presidential submission
- After receiving the resolution from the accredited professional organization, the PRC must immediately publish the resolution in a newspaper or general circulation to invite derogatory information.
- The PRC publication allows submission of derogatory information to the PRC within ten (10) days from publication.
- The PRC must also present a copy of the list on the bulletin board of the Commission.
- The PRC must adopt a resolution recommending to the President three (3) nominees, ranked in order of preference, for each vacancy in various professional regulatory boards.
- These three nominees must be selected from among the five (5) names recommended by the accredited organization.
- The PRC Chairman must submit the resolution to the Office of the President not later than two (2) months before the vacancy occurs.
- The submission must request that the appointment be issued not later than thirty (30) days before the scheduled licensure examinations.
Special appointment rules for board leadership
- A Chairman or Member of a professional regulatory board whose term would expire but who has served less than half of the full term as prescribed by law may be recommended for appointment if:
- he has shown exemplary record or performance, and
- reappointment is authorized by the law creating the professional regulatory board.
- If a vacancy occurs in the position of Chairman of the professional regulatory board, the PRC must:
- consult with the outgoing Chairman, the other members, and the concerned professional organization; and
- select a nominee from among the incumbent members for recommendation as Chairman if authorized by the law creating the board.
- The Chairman vacancy process must also adopt a separate resolution recommending nominees for appointment as Chairman for submission to the Office of the President.
- The Chairman recommendation process does not preclude nominating others who are not incumbent board members, provided they possess outstanding qualities based on the established criteria.
Effect on other rules and duration
- Executive Order No. 496 provides that it takes effect immediately.
- The order does not contain provisions establishing any repeal, separability clause, or sunset period governing its own effectivity.