Board structure under amended law
- A Professional Regulatory Board for Social Workers (the Board) is created under the administrative control and supervision of the Professional Regulation Commission (the Commission).
- The Board is composed of a Chairperson and four (4) members.
- Board members are appointed by the President of the Philippines from a list of three (3) nominees for each position submitted by the accredited integrated professional organization (AIPO) for social workers, and ranked by the Commission.
- Appointed members must meet the eligibility conditions stated at the time of appointment, under the amended Section 2 framework.
Applicant qualifications for social work exam
- To be admitted to take the social work examination, an applicant must, at the time of filing the application:
- Be a citizen of the Philippines.
- Be at least eighteen (18) years of age.
- Be in good health and of good moral character.
- 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.
- Have completed a minimum period 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.
- The Act applies the Civil Service Act of 1959 (Republic Act No. 2260), as amended, insofar as cultural minorities are concerned.
- For those with a social work undergraduate program, academic courses must be organized so that the required field practice of one thousand (1,000) case hours comes after the academic courses, consistent with the social work curriculum approved by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and the Board.
Continuing CPD and funding obligations
- All registered social workers must provide proof of earning forty-five (45) units of continuing CPD courses.
- CPD courses must be provided by any CPD provider duly accredited by the CPD Council for social workers.
- The earned CPD units are a requirement for the renewal of the professional identification card of social workers.
- Local government units (LGUs) and employer organizations must allocate the necessary funding to support professional development of social workers under their employ, regardless of employment status, to enable compliance with the CPD requirement.
Integration and AIPO membership rules
- All registered and licensed social workers must be united and integrated into one (1) national organization.
- The national organization must be accredited by the Board, subject to the approval of the Commission, as the AIPO for social workers.
- All registered and licensed social workers must become members of the AIPO and are entitled to benefits and privileges incidental thereto upon payment of the required fees and dues.
- Membership in the AIPO does not bar membership in any other professional organization.
Special Temporary Permits for foreigners
- The Board may issue Special Temporary Permits (STPs), subject to approval of the Commission and payment of the prescribed fees, to foreign social workers in the following situations:
- Foreign social workers called by the Philippine Government for a specific public purpose or project.
- Foreign social workers employed by any domestic private firm/establishment.
- Foreign social workers engaged as professors or lecturers in a higher educational institution or university for the enhancement of social work education in the country.
- Foreign social workers, including volunteers, whose services are engaged during disasters, calamities, or any emergency cases as may be determined by the Board.
- An STP must limit the foreign professional’s practice to the particular work for which the foreigner is engaged.
- An STP is valid for one (1) year only, subject to renewal.
- Practice under an STP remains subject to applicable domestic laws and regulations.
Social welfare agencies: registration and licensing
- No social welfare and development agency, as defined herein, may operate and be accredited as such unless it first registers and secures a license with the Department of Social Welfare and Development, which then issues the corresponding registration certificate and license to operate.
- Existing social welfare and development agencies at the time of approval of the Act must secure the corresponding certificate of registration and license to operate within one (1) year.
- Before a social welfare and development agency is registered and licensed, the applicant must satisfy the Department’s requirements, including:
- The applicant is engaged mainly or generally in social welfare and development activities.
- The applicant has employed a sufficient number of duly qualified staff and/or registered social workers to supervise and take charge of its social welfare and development activities in accordance with set standards.
- The applicant shows in a duly certified financial statement that at least seventy percent (70%) of its funds are disbursed for direct social work services.
- The applicant keeps a record of all social development and/or welfare activities handled by it.
Penal provisions and sanctions
- Social work practice and related offenses are punishable by:
- A fine of not less than PHP 100,000.00 but not more than PHP 200,000.00, or
- Imprisonment of not less than six (6) months but not more than two (2) years, or both,
- at the discretion of the court.
- The following are penalized under these penalties:
- Practicing or offering to practice social work in the Philippines without being registered or exempted from registration under the Act.
- Presenting or attempting to use as one’s own the certificate of registration of another.
- Giving false or fraudulent evidence to the Board or any member thereof in obtaining a certificate of registration as social worker.
- Impersonating any registrant using a like or different name.
- Attempting to use a revoked or suspended certificate of registration.
- Otherwise assuming, using, or advertising any title or description tending to convey the impression of being a social worker without holding a valid registration.
- Violating any provision of the Act.
- Any person or corporate body that violates Board rules and regulations or Board orders promulgated to carry out the Act.
- Operating as a social welfare and development agency without a corresponding valid Certificate of Registration and License to Operate results in:
- A fine of not less than PHP 100,000.00 but not more than PHP 500,000.00, and/or
- Imprisonment of not less than one (1) year but not more than three (3) years,
- at the discretion of the court.
- These penalties for unlicensed operation are without prejudice to the seizure of equipment, instruments, and other facilities of the social welfare and development agency.
Implementation, separability, and repeal
- The Commission and the Board, in consultation with the AIPO for social workers, academe, and other relevant government and nongovernmental agencies, must issue the implementing rules and regulations of the Act within sixty (60) days after the effectivity of the law.
- If any provision of the Act is held invalid, the other provisions not affected continue in operation.
- All laws, orders, decrees, issuances, or parts thereof inconsistent with the Act are repealed or modified accordingly.