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Pursuant to Section 5 of Republic Act No. 6239, known as The Forestry Profession Law and Section 6 (a) of P.D. No. 223, as amended, the Board hereby adopts the following Guidelines governing the Continuing Professional Education Program for registered Foresters in the Philippines submitted by the Society of Filipino Foresters, Inc. in consultation and approved by the Board.

Guidelines For Continuing Professional Education and Accreditation of Filipino Foresters Practitioners

I
Introduction

The Code of Ethics for Foresters enjoins each Forester to "develop professionally and be informed and updated on new developments in forestry ".  In order to fulfill this requirement, a Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Program for Foresters is designed.  These guidelines will provide each member a program which he can adopt and as a means to document the activities undertaken to advance his professional competence.  Likewise, the Society of Filipino Foresters, Inc. (SFF) is provided with a system of evaluating and accrediting its members for the continuing education undertakings as a requirement for the renewal of their professional Foresters lincenses.

II
Administration-Accreditation and Evaluation Board

a.  Membership — A Continuing Professional Education Committee shall administer the CPE program.  The CPE committee shall be composed of five (5) members who shall come from the following sectors:

Government sector              -  2
Academic/Research
          sector  —                  -  2
Private Sector                      -  1

The Chairman of the Education and Accreditation Committee (EAC) of SFF shall chair the CPE committee.  The remaining four (4) members shall be appointed by the Board for Foresters from among the members of the SFF upon the recommendation of the SFF Board of Directors.

b.  Qualifications — Qualifications for membership in the CPE Committee shall be:

(1)     a regular SFF member in good standing;

(2)     a duly registered professional forester in good standing;

(3)     a minimum of five (5) years professional experience.

c.  Tenure — The term of the CPE Committee Chairman shall be co-terminus with his term as chairman of EAC.  The other members shall serve for a term of two (2) years, renewable for another two (2) years, unless otherwise disqualified or removed for cause by the Board for Foresters.

d.  Functions — The CPE Committee shall have the following functions:

(1)     Recommend program guidelines for the continuing professional education for foresters;

(2)     Recommend a system of CPE accreditation for foresters;

(3)     Accredit activities/programs upon request of professionals and other related organizations;

(4)     Periodically review and recommend revisions of guidelines for the Continuing Professional Education for Foresters.

III
CPE Activities and Corresponding Credits

Category 1 — Organized course work in forestry in such fields as silviculture, mensuration, land use classification, forest protection, forest products utilization, watershed management, erosion control, agroforestry, wildlife and habitat management, social forestry, forest development planning, forest policy and forestry-related subject matters.  This will include seminars, short training courses, symposia, workshops conducted or sponsored by public or private organizations. Credit shall accrue at the rate of one (1) CPE unit for each hour of actual contact.

Category 2 — Other organized course work/activities.  These include professionally enriching activities directly benefiting the individual in his/her present position.  This would include conventions/conferences of the Society of Filipino Foresters and Philippine Forest Research Society, or other professional meetings or course work in areas such as computer science, managerial and leadership skills and others.  Credits accrue at the same rate as in category 1.

Category 3 — The development, preparation, and presentation of course work and other related activities such as described in categories 1 and 2, which require effort beyond the general scope of the individual’s normal duties or job description. Credits shall accrue at the rate of four (4) CPE units for each presentation.

Category 4 — Researches and Publications. The preparation, writing, and publication of forestry or forestry-related subject matter which requires effort beyond the general scope of the individual’s normal duties or job description.  Credit shall accrue at the rate of ten (10) CPE for each publication requiring technical review, and five (5) CPE units for each article or a series of articles of the same topic of substantial nature in magazines, newspapers, or similar publications.

Category 5 — Holding elected or appointed office, or active committee assignment in the SFF or allied professional organizations such as the Philippine Forest Research Society; or service as Member of the Board for Foresters, Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and Area Specialists of the Board. Credits accrue at the rate of five (5) CPE units per year for holding office or chairing a committee and, at the discretion of the Committee Chairman, up to a maximum of five (5) CPE units per year for active committee membership.

Category 6 — Attendance/participation in international meetings or conferences on forestry such as those of IUFRO, ASEAN-COFAF, ASEAN Coordinating Group on Forestry and others, or those sponsored by forestry-related or private forestry organizations. Credits shall accrue at the rate of three (3) CPE units per day of attendance.

Category 7 — Postgraduate and non-degree training. This includes pursuance of graduate studies leading to Masteral or Doctoral degrees or participation in extended non-degree training courses. Credits accrue at the rate of ten (10) CPE units per year or a fraction thereof of attendance of graduate studies, and one (1) CPE units per month or a fraction thereof of attendance in non-degree training courses.

Category 8 — Self improvement. This includes self-improvement activities in Forestry or related subjects such as reading of technical journals and other related publications as evidenced by subscription and purchase of such publications.  The CPE committee accredits publications which will be included under this category. Credits accrue at the rate of two (2) CPE units per year of subscription of each publication.

IV
Procedure for Accreditation

Requests for accreditation shall be submitted with supporting documents to the chairman, Committee on Continuing Professional Education through the Executive Secretary, SFF who shall issue the corresponding certificate of CPE units earned during the period prescribed by the board for Foresters.

V
Minimum Requirement

A minimum of thirty (30) CPE units over a three year period shall be considered as satisfactory compliance of the CPE requirement.  Provided, that any CPE unit earned in any of the categories specified herein shall be considered in the determination of the total CPE units earned.  Provided, further that any CPE unit earned within the three-year period which is over and above the required thirty (30) CPE units shall be carried over to the next accreditation period.

VI
Monitoring Members CPE Credits

The SFF through the Committee on Continuing Professional Education shall issue corresponding certificates attesting to the CPE units earned during the period by each member in good standing. These certificates should be kept and presented to the PRC at the time the professionals ID license is renewed.

VII
Effectivity

The effectivity of these guidelines for Foresters licenses-issuance purposes will start on April 1, 1991, with the accumulation of CPE units starting on April 1, 1990. All those who are scheduled to renew their professional Foresters licenses from April 1, 1991 to March 31, 1992 should have earned at least ten (10) CPE units during the preceding year; those renewing their licenses from April 1, 1992 to March 31, 1993 should have earned at least twenty (20) CPE units during the preceding two (2) years; and those renewing their licenses starting April 1, 1993 should have earned at least thirty (30) units during the preceding three (3) years.  These guidelines will be fully operational starting April 1, 1993.

Upon approval hereof by the Commission these Guidelines shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

Adopted: 17 May 1990

(SGD.) CELSO P. DIAZ
Chairman

(SGD.) WILBUR G. DEE Member

(SGD.) GREGORIO I. TEXON Member

Approved as part of the Rules and Regulations governing the practice of Forestry, this 17th day of May, 1990.

(SGD.) JULIO B. FRANCIA, JR.
Commissioner

(SGD.) NILO C. MARIANO Associate Commissioner

(SGD.) MARIANO A. MENDIETA Associate Commissioner