Manila, 19 December 2016 – The Professional Regulatory Commission and the Professional Regulatory Council (PRB) are continuously working with their professional qualifications agency (PQA) counterpart in other ASEAN countries in the hope of forging a Memorandum of Understanding and working relationship for the mutual recognition of professional qualifications. Supplement to ASEAN MRAs; Mutual recognition of professional qualifications (MRPQ) is a Commission initiative to implement cooperation agreements for the mutual recognition of certificates and qualifications, firstly, through careful studies, in particular as regards perceived gaps in professional skills and the qualifications system in other ASEAN Member States, which are common goals of Filipino professionals. Secondly, the identification of areas with a specific orientation of different professions. Third, actual visits are carried out to identified foreign jurisdictions to conduct meetings with their colleagues, which include the consolidation and validation of research results, as well as the alignment and non-alignment of quality frameworks, which ultimately results in a signed instrument or document for the mutual recognition of local and international professionals. Over the past decade, ASEAN has signed Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) in seven professions, all aimed at facilitating professional mobility in the region. The report draws on the findings of nearly 400 ASEAN and member state representatives, private sector employers, training officials and others who participated in focus group discussions, meetings and surveys. Cooperation shall include the exchange of information on professional practice, in particular in the description of basic competences and the benchmarking of professional competences, standards and qualifications, from which similarities and differences are identified in order to fill the gaps identified. Rolando Enrique D. Domingo, Under Secretary of Health and Chief Executive Officer of the FDA Director General, stressed the importance of the FDA`s inclusion in the ASEAN Registry for industry and consumers.

For industry, inclusion will result in less duplication of controls, cost reductions, export facilitation, improved market access, improved industry reputation, transparency of inspection standards and consistency of inspections. Inclusion will also increase confidence in the quality of medicines for consumers, increase the reliability and quality of medicines, improve consumer safety and protection, improve the control of falsified medicines and improve access to affordable quality medicines. As an ASEAN MRA listed inspection service, (1) the GMP certificate issued by the FDA for pharmaceutical manufacturers and (2) the FDA`s GMP inspection reports are accepted by other national regulatory authorities listed under the ASEAN MRA for GMPs. The preparation of the ACS Master Plan 2025, adopted by ASEAN Leaders at the 27th ASEAN Summit on 22 November 2015 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, serves as a guide to its principles of its Member States of the 2016-2025 Annual Plan. It provides overall direction for strategic action to achieve its five core visions of (i) a highly integrated and cohesive economy; (ii) competitive, innovative and dynamic ASEAN; (iii) improving connectivity and sectoral cooperation; (iv) A resilient, inclusive, people-centred and people-centred ASEAN; and (v) A global ASEAN. Partnership agreements with the private sector, industry associations and the wider community at regional and national levels will also be actively sought and promoted to ensure an inclusive and participatory approach to the integration process. Institutions will be strengthened and improved approaches to monitoring and awareness-raising will also be developed to support the effective implementation of the Blueprint. Since the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community (ECA) in 2015, one of its main objectives is to ensure equal opportunities for economic growth and development in ASEAN Member States (AMS), it has become the third largest economy in Asia and the seventh largest in the world. Annex:->FDA Included in the ASEAN Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) asEAN, ASEAN Member States officially registered the Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the ASEAN Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) on Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) for Medicines at the 28th Working Group of the ASEAN Advisory Committee on Pharmaceutical Standards and Quality (ACCSQ-PPWG) in Indonesia on 19-20 December 2019. The approval was accepted following the FDA`s assessment by the ASEAN Expert Group and the successful establishment of the Agency`s technical competence for inclusion in the REGISTER of Recognized ASEAN Inspection Services. However, MRAs are not easy to operationalize. Despite progress in key areas, Member States face complex challenges towards full implementation.

The report is the latest in a project by the Asian Development Bank and the Migration Policy Institute to improve understanding of barriers to the free movement of professionals within ASEAN and support the development of strategies to overcome these barriers. USec Domingo also stressed that successful inclusion is “an important milestone and contribution by the FDA to the government`s strategy to expand economic opportunities in industry and services through Trabaho in Negosyo, as required by the Philippine Development Plan (PDP) 2017-2022, which is based on a long-term vision or AmBisyon Natin 2040." The Philippines is the fifth country listed under the ASEAN MRA for GMPs for pharmaceuticals, after the Health Sciences Authority of Singapore, the National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Authority of Malaysia, the Indonesian National Agency for Drug and Food Control and the Food and Drug Administration of Thailand. .