SENATOR Manuel ‘Lito’  Lapid on Monday filed a measure exempting qualified indigent Filipinos from paying licensure examination fees.

In filing his first bill in the 19th Congress, Lapid said with the passage of Republic Act 10687 or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, the youth have the chance to have a better future by acquiring a college degree for free.

However, Lapid said graduates need to pay fees to take professional licensure examinations.

“The fees range from P500 for civil service eligibility examinations with the Civil Service Commission to P600 for non-baccalaureate degree examinations with the Professional Regulatory Commission to P10,000 for the bar examinations,” he said in his explanatory note.

In many instances, graduates opt to delay taking the examinations to be able to save money, which diminishes the momentum they gained from the academe, making it more difficult for them to pass, the senator added.

“Malaking bagay po sa pamilyang Filipino na magkaroon ng professional sa kanilang hanay. Hindi lamang po ito pinagmumulan ng karagdagang kabuhayan para sa kanila, ito ay nagbibigay karangalan at pag-asa sa kanila para sa lalong mabuting kinabukasan,” Lapid said.

Under the bill, an examinee who wants to be exempted from the examination fee shall secure a certification from the Department of Social Welfare and Development that he/she is a qualified indigent.

Such certification shall be presented to the Professional Regulations Commission, the Civil Service Commission or the Supreme Court of the Philippines, as the case maybe, in lieu of the payment of examination fees.