G.R. No. 251816 – FLORENTINA CAOYONG SOBREJUANITE-FLORES , petitioner, vs. COMMISSIONERS TEOFILO S. PILANDO, JR., YOLANDA D. REYES, MIRIAM P. CUE, ALEXA P. ABRENICA, AND IMELDA G. VILLAR, ALL OF THE PROFESSIONAL REGULATION COMMISSION, respondents.

M.V. LOPEZ, J.

Rule Synopsis

Administrative bodies have the power of subordinate legislation. This is a relaxation of the doctrine of separation of powers to promote public interest in view of the growing complexity of modern life, the multiplication of the subjects of governmental regulations, and the increased diﬃculty of administering the laws.

The tests for valid delegation of legislative powers are the completeness test and the suﬃcient standard test. The law is complete when it sets the policy to be executed leaving nothing to the delegate except to implement it. On the other hand, the law lays down a suﬃcient standard when it provides adequate guidelines or limitations to determine the boundaries of the delegate’s authority and prevent the delegation from running riot.

Facts

Florentina Caoyong Sobrejuanite-Flores (Petitioner) questions the constitutionality of Section 16 (c) of the IRR of R.A. No. 10029 of the Philippine Psychology Act of 2009. The said law mandated that all applicants for registration to practice psychology must pass a licensure examination. By way of exception, Section 16 exempted psychologists from the examination if they possess certain educational attainment and work experience. Among those exempted are: “[p]sychologists or employees who hold positions as psychologists presently employed in various government or private agencies, who have a bachelor’s degree in psychology, accumulated a minimum of ten (10) years of work experience in the practice of psychology as a psychologist, and who have updated their professional education in various psychology-related functions.”

Section 16(c) of the Implementing Rules and Regulations adopted the requirement under the Law. In addition, it defined “professional education in various psychology-related functions” as the completion of at least 100 hours of updating workshops and training programs across various areas and specialties in psychology conducted by duly established national or international organizations of psychologists, psychiatrists, and other allied mental health professionals, in the last ﬁve (5) years immediately preceding the eﬀectivity of R.A. No. 10029. The Petitioner applied for registration as a psychologist without examination. The Board of Psychology (BOP) of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) denied her application on grounds that she has insuﬃcient work experience and has not updated her professional education. The PRC likewise denied her appeal. Before the Court of Appeals (CA), the petitioner argued, among others, that the requirement under Section 16 (c) of the IRR of RA No. 10029 requiring “at least 100 hours of updating workshops and training programs” is unconstitutional because the law itself did not provide for such onerous and discriminatory provisions. She further argued that the requirement is unfair, unreasonable, and inequitable which results in a denial of due process and violation of the equal protection clause. The CA upheld the validity of the administrative regulation.

Issue

Is Section 16 (c) of the IRR of R.A. No. 10029 unconstitutional?

Ruling and Discussion

No. Section 16 (c) of the IRR of R.A. No. 10029 is not unconstitutional.

There is no invalid delegation of legislative powers.

(a) Administrative bodies have the power of subordinate legislation. It allows them to implement the broad policies laid down in a statute by ﬁlling in the details that the legislature may not have the opportunity or competence to provide. Congress can make a law to delegate a power to determine some fact or state of things upon which the law makes, or intends to make, its own action depends. The power of subordinate legislation is a relaxation of the doctrine of separation of powers to promote public interest in view of the growing complexity of modern life, the multiplication of the subjects of governmental regulations, and the increased diﬃculty of administering the laws.

(b) R.A. No. 10029 satisfied the tests for valid delegation of legislative powers, i.e. the completeness test and the suﬃcient standard test. The law is complete when it sets the policy to be executed leaving nothing to the delegate except to implement it. On the other hand, the law lays down a suﬃcient standard when it provides adequate guidelines or limitations to determine the boundaries of the delegate’s authority and prevent the delegation from running riot. The standards set for subordinate legislation in the exercise of the administrative bodies’ rule-making authority are necessarily broad and highly abstract. The standards may be either expressed or implied. The standards do not have to be spelled out speciﬁcally and could be implied from the purpose of the act considered as a whole.

In this case, the law, under Section 2, states the policy to guide the implementing agencies in carrying out its provisions. The clear legislative intent is to regulate the practice of psychology and to protect the public from incompetent individuals oﬀering psychological services. As such, Congress now requires a licensure examination for psychologists. Meanwhile, the law, under Section 16, crafted sufficient standards on who may avail of the exemption from examination measured in terms of educational attainment and work experience. Specifically, the law provides that applicants who have Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology may be registered without examination if they accumulated a “minimum of ten (10) years of work experience in the practice of psychology as a psychologist” and “updated their professional education in various psychology-related functions.”

R.A. No. 10029 expressly authorized the BOP to promulgate the necessary IRR subject to PRC’s review and approval.

The requirement under Section 16(c) of the IRR on the completion of at least 100 hours of updating workshops and training programs before an applicant can avail registration without examination is not unfair, unreasonable, and inequitable.

(a) The requirement is not oppressive. The practice of psychology inherently entails the employment of current and eﬀective approaches well-adaptive to the dynamic, evolving, and complex facets of human behavior. Psychologists must be equipped with the latest trends, research, and modalities of doing therapy because it could happen that their approach to a given problem may have already gone obsolete or outdated, which could potentially be more harmful than helpful to the well-being of the patients.

(b) The requirement is not in conflict with the equal protection clause. Equal protection does not require absolute equality. It allows for reasonable classification which: (1) must rest on real and substantial distinctions; (2) must be germane to the purpose of the law; (3) must not be limited to existing conditions only; and (4) must apply equally to all members of the same class. In this case: (1) there is a real and substantive distinction between those who have a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and those who have graduated from advanced studies, Doctoral Degree and Master’s Degree in Psychology; (2) the distinction is also aligned to the policy of the law to regulate the practice of psychology and to protect the public from incompetent individuals oﬀering psychological services; (3) the classiﬁcation is not limited to existing conditions only since its purpose is to nurture competent and assiduous psychologists whose practices and services can sustainably achieve excellence and competitiveness in the future both in the domestic and global arena; and (4) the requirement applies indiscriminately to all holders of Bachelor’s Degree prior to the enactment of the law who intend to avail the exemption from licensure examinations.

(c) Section 16 (c) of the IRR of RA No. 10029 emanates from the valid exercise of police power. persons who desire to engage in the learned professions requiring scientiﬁc or technical knowledge may be subjected to reasonable and fair admission requirements. The practice of psychology which consists of the delivery of psychological services that involve the application of psychological principles and procedures to describe, understand, predict, and inﬂuence the behavior of individuals or groups, in order to assist in the attainment of optimal human growth and functioning. An applicant may be refused admission as a psychologist absent compliance with the conditions of the law and its IRR.

Administrative regulation is presumed valid, absent a clear and unequivocal constitutional breach.

dispositive

Petition denied.