QUEZON City Rep. Patrick Michael D. Vargas has filed a bill that seeks to exempt the poor from paying professional examination fees. 

House Bill 8356 or the Free Professional Examinations Act will give poor Filipinos an opportunity to take licensure examinations for free. 

“This measure aims to provide a mechanism to make these examinations available to individuals who may have difficulty paying the required fees and allow them the same access to better employment as their economically well-off counterparts,” he said in the bill’s explanatory note. 

Under the bill, the examinee must get a certification from the Social and Welfare department to qualify. This will be presented to the Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) or Civil Service Commission (CSC). — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz