House OKs bill seeking reforms in criminology profession

MANILA, Philippines - The House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading a bill seeking to regulate the practice of criminology in the country following criminal incidents involving new graduates or students of criminology.

House Bill 6736 seeks to reform the criminology profession and strengthen it by setting standards of practice and service which are excellent, world class and globally competitive, according to its authors.

Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, president of the Centrist Democratic Party and one of the authors of the measure, said several students and new graduates of criminology have been implicated in serious crimes so there is a need to improve the regulation of the profession.

Other authors of the bill include Representatives Andres Salvacion Jr., Joseph Emilio Abaya, and Maximo Rodriguez Jr.

The bill creates a Professional Regulatory Board for criminologists, a collegial body under the administrative supervision and control of the commission to be composed of a chairperson and two members appointed by the President.

One of the functions of the board is to supervise and regulate the registration, licensure and practice of criminology in accordance with the provisions of the bill.

Another is to promulgate, adopt or amend the syllabi and tables of specifications of the subjects for the licensure examination/s in consultation with academe and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED).

The board is also tasked to prepare questions for the licensure examination, which will strictly be within the scope of the syllabi of the subjects for examination as well as administer, correct and release the results of the licensure examinations.

The measure also aims to empower the board by providing it with quasi-judicial authority in addition to its executive, administrative and rule-making powers.

One of the key provisions of HB 6736 is to develop and upgrade the subjects for licensure examination.

Under the bill, the subjects for licensure examination for criminologists shall include but not be limited to criminal jurisprudence and procedure, law enforcement administration and crime detection and investigation, among others.

Another provision is to implement the Continuing Professional Education (CPE) for the development of the professional competence of criminologists.

The bill also provides a new rating system in the licensure examination. To pass the licensure examination for criminologists, a candidate must obtain a weighted average rating of 75 percent with no grade of less than 50 percent in any given subject.