The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) through Chairperson Teresita R. Manzala and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Director General Joel J. Villanueva, through Deputy Director General Teodoro C. Pascua, signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on May 29, 2012 for a Walk-In Examination System (WES) Testing Center at the Government Center in Rosales, Pangasinan.

The WES Testing Center will be housed at the TESDA Provincial Office in Carmay, Rosales, Pangasinan. The Center will initially conduct examinations to applicants from the maritime profession (Marine Deck and Marine Engineer Officers). It will later be expanded to serve other professions. With 65 seats, the WES Center can accommodate up to 195 examinees a week. The WES will also serve as processing center for the Online Application System which the PRC recently launched for faster and easier filing of applications for the various licensure examinations.

TESDA Sec. Villanueva lauded the partnership with PRC as the TESDA’s own contribution to the development of career opportunities for the hundreds of thousands of Filipino seafarers. Former Congressman Conrad M. Estrella III who championed the WES expansion at the Government Center, PRC Commissioner Jennifer Jardin-Manalili, and PRC Assistant Commissioner Aristogerson T. Gesmundo were on hand to witness the event.

The WES Testing Center is part of the PRC’s commitments to help implement the Labor and Employment Agenda of His Excellency Benigno Simeon Aquino III. It is one of a series of WES expansion nationwide to bring PRC’s licensure services closer to aspiring professionals and to provide more employment opportunities in the professional sector.