In adherence to the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) Resolution No. 1408, PRC announced through their official website on Aug. 22 that the 2021 Licensure Examination for Architects (LEA) in the National Capital Region (NCR) has been cancelled.

The said cancellation of the annual licensure examination expected on Aug. 27 and 29, 2021 was in pursuant to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) Resolution No. 134 dated last Aug. 19, 2021, placing NCR under Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) due to the continuous COVID-19 concerns.

Nonetheless, the scheduled LEA in Baguio, Cebu, Koronadal, Iloilo, Legaspi, Lucena, Pampanga, Tacloban, and Zamboanga will proceed as scheduled. NCR examinees may take the succeeding licensure exams without their examination fees being forfeited.

In an official statement, the Benilde Architecture (BenArch) Program Office empathized with the PRC’s decision to reschedule the examination, noting that “the dangers still present caused by the Delta variant of COVID-19 are proving to be too much of a risk for us to proceed with this year's LEA.”

In response, BenArch’s Program Head Ar. Harvey Vasquez ensures students that while the exams in NCR are postponed, a preparatory course for the Philippine and foreign LEA candidates will be piloted through the “Benilde Architecture Licensure Exam (ALE) Review + Refresher Program,” which would be offered either through blended learning or as a full online program.

The full course program and the refresher course schedule for the 2021 ALE batch will be announced by the Professional Regulatory Board of Architecture.

PRC also cancelled licensure exams for social workers, as well as the “Special Professional Licensure Examination (SPLE)” for OFWs.