By Joey Aguilar/Staff Reporter



The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) in the Philippines has given the green signal to hold special licensure examinations in the Middle East for six professions this year.
The Special Professional Licensure Board Examinations (SPLBEs) will allow graduates of mechanical, electrical and civil engineering, accountancy, nursing and architecture to take the test in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia from October 14 to 19. This was announced yesterday through an embassy circular e-mailed to various Filipino organisations in Qatar, signed by ambassador Crescente Relacion.
The PRC has provided the Philippine Professional Organisation (PPO) with a copy of a resolution on the exams, which includes the timetable of activities for the SPLBEs for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
Jhin Tabuzo, president of the United Architects of the Philippines (UAP) - Qatar chapter, has urged Filipino graduates from the six courses to register and take the test this year. “This is a good opportunity for them to take the examination while they are working in the Middle East,” he stressed.
Tabuzo said interested applicants could join review sessions spearheaded by the six PPO-affiliated professional organisations. The groups hold their weekly session in different parts of Qatar. An average of 300 OFWs in Qatar take the exams at the Philippine School of Doha every year.
Oath-taking rites are also held in some hotels in Doha, a few weeks after the PRC officially reveals the results of the exams.
During a recent meeting at the embassy, PPO chairman Lyndon Magsino said they were working to include graduates of education (teachers), physical therapy and radiology in the SPLBEs next year.
Tabuzo noted that many of those who passed the examinations earlier received promotion from their employers with corresponding salary increments. Besides offering postgraduate studies abroad, the SPLBEs help raise the profile of OFWs, which was earlier highlighted by labour attaché Leopoldo De Jesus.
The ambassador cited the role of PPO and the Philippine Overseas Labour Office (POLO) in the success and smooth conduct of the examinations. POLO screens the application of examinees.
Relacion and some government agencies are expected to grace a gathering of PPO officials and affiliated organisations on Thursday night at Best Western Hotel.


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