Presidential Directive to Conduct Special Licensure Examinations Abroad
PRESS RELEASE NO. APV-05-2010
06 FEBRUARY 2010
The Philippine Embassy in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia wishes to inform all Filipino nationals in the Kingdom that the Presidential Management Staff (PMS) has issued a memorandum on 12 January 2010 regarding the status of compliance with Presidential Directive to conduct Special Licensure Examinations Abroad (SPLBEs) (EO 835, s. 2009) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and other Middle East countries for the benefit of qualified Filipino workers.
It was reported that, according to the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) a total of 1,254 examinees took the SPLBEs in the areas of accountancy, architecture and civil, electrical, electronics, and mechanical engineering in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar from 26 November to 4 December 2009.
Although the PMS has noted that the examinee turnout abroad is very low, if assessed against the total cost of the undertaking, it remains supportive to the ideal of the SPLBE carrying on program once in every year for the benefit of OFWs.
In this regard, to maximize government resources and the program's outcome, the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh is encouraging OFWs who have not taken the professional licensure exams in the Philippines to take the SPLBE examinations to be given in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The examination dates and venues for each year will be announced as soon as they are become available. END
