The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) has suspended its "utang tagging" policy or the banning of professionals with unpaid debts from renewing their license, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) announced on Sunday, Sept. 11.
In a statement, DOLE said the policy as contained in the Memorandum Order No. 44 was suspended through Resolution No. 1558 signed by PRC acting chairman Jose Cueto Jr. and commissioner Erwin Enad, and it will immediately take effect.
The labor department said this was their response after ACT Teachers Party-List Rep. France Castro raised the issue during the deliberation of its 2022 budget in Congress last Thursday, Sept. 8.
Castro called the department’s attention to the PRC’s policy. She pointed out that the "utang tagging" resolution is "illegal" as PRC is preventing many educators with pending administrative cases from renewing their licenses.
Labor Secretary Bienvenido E. Laguesma in a statement expressed his concern about the said policy and stressed that teachers cannot pay their loans “if they can’t work because the PRC won’t renew their licenses.“
He suggested to the PRC that in reviewing its policy and disciplinary procedures, it should focus its regulatory function on professional’s “undesirable acts“.
“Every regulation should pass the test of reasonableness and should not be used to penalize professionals simply because of their socio-economic circumstances,“ he added.
