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Message from the PAP President
July 25, 2013
Dear PAP Members,
For almost three decades the PAP worked on a Psychology Law to protect the public and to allow psychologists to practice their profession amidst other licensed mental health professionals. The Philippine Psychology Act was signed into law in 2009 and our gratitude go to all those who were part of the efforts at getting the law passed. Last Friday July 19, 2013 was the induction of the first batch of psychologists and psychometricians who were granted licensure without examination. Our congratulations go to all 400 oath-takers! We would like to thank our Professional Regulatory Board (PRB) Dr. Miriam Cue and Dr. Emy Villar for making this event special. We wish to remind the rest of the PAP community that application for licensure without examination is only until May 21, 2015. According to the PRB, the examination for licensure will be done before the year ends.
PAP will be applying to be the Accredited Integrated Professional Organization (AIPO) to assist the PRB in implementing the Psychology Law. Yet as we are finding out, our law has its challenges and we are trying to navigate through these as best as we can. The Professional Regulatory Commission requires that all new officers of the AIPO are licensed. Thus our biggest challenge is balancing QUALITY, INCLUSION, and GROWTH - not just for those covered in the law but for the entire Psychology community in the country. The Board is currently exploring various options to ensure representation of the many specializations in Psychology and to prevent the marginalization of those whose practice is not covered by the law. We will also be asking the division officers not covered in the law to consult its members whether its practice areas should be regulated. Once we have done this, we will be reviewing the PAP constitution, certification and membership policies and processes to align these with the directions we set.
On October 23-26, 2013 we are holding our first joint international conference with the Asean Regional union of Psychological Societies (ARUPS). We would like to thank Dr. Allan Bernardo and Dr. Chee Leong Goh, Dr. Caring Tarroja, Dr. Mira Ofreneo, Mr. Jay Yacat, Dr. Ronnie Motilla, Dr. Sean Mansukhani who are part of the organization committee and committee chairs Dr Boboy Alianan, Dr. Ola Regala, Dr Paz Manaligod, Dr. Marge Alvarez, Dr. Grace Dalisay, Dr. Claudette Agnes, and Dr. Delia Belleza who are working very hard to make the upcoming conference a success. We are excited because we will have lined up both local and international speakers, presenters and workshop facilitators. On the first day of the conference, we will also be having free learning sessions on various topics. We will be opening up conference registration by August 1 so we hope you will join in yet another milestone!
Even as we are preparing for the PAP ARUPS conference, we are also beginning to prepare for PAPJA to be held on Jan 17 and 18, 2014 under the leadership of Mr. Hector Perez. Please inform your students to save the date!
Finally in terms of outreach and advocacy, the Psychology for Philippine Education program is underway with the pilot schools beginning their work with public schools. We will also be continuing to partner with Interaksyon for an advice column to make psychology more accessible to the public.
We thank you for your support and ask for your continuing involvement as we continue to build our discipline, organization and nation. We hope to see you all in October!
Cheers,
Maria Regina M. Hechanova
PAP President
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