Senate President Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III on Tuesday urged the Department of Health (DOH) to suspend its “No License, No Massage” order and work with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to come up with massage therapist requirements that are “inexpensive, accessible, and inclusive” so as not to deprive Filipinos of a viable alternative for employment.
Under DOH Administrative Order 2010-0034, no person is authorized to practice massage therapy in the Philippines without holding a valid certificate issued by the Committee of Examiners for massage therapy and approved by the Health Secretary.
To become a licensed massage therapist (LMT), one would be required to undergo six months of training before taking a licensing exam that is given only twice a year. The training program costs eight to 15 thousand pesos and is conducted only by DOH-accredited training centers.
Furthermore, only high school graduates are allowed to take the exams and become LMTs.
According to Pimentel, he understood where the DOH was coming from, “but imposing unreasonably restrictive requirements on LMTs could negatively impact an industry that employs thousands of our citizens, including Filipinos with disabilities.”
“It’s a painful reality that many of our people cannot afford to go to school and obtain their high school degrees. But that shouldn’t prevent them from getting employed,” Pimentel added.
The solon called on the DOH to work with TESDA so that it could improve the latter’s existing training system without making it more difficult for individuals to become massage therapists.
“TESDA already has training centers all around the country, while DOH-accredited training centers are very few. These TESDA training centers offer massage therapy courses for minimal fees, sometimes even for free,” Pimentel said, advising to acquire help from TESDA to improve their training so that a massage therapist only needs one license or certificate
Pimentel pointed out that the NCII certificate for massage therapist currently issued by the TESDA is recognized not only in the Philippines, but in other countries as well.
“It would be instructive for the DOH and TESDA to study how a country like Thailand–known worldwide for its massage industry–certifies its massage therapists. From what I understand Thai massage therapists only need to undergo 150 hours of massage training and attend a one-week seminar before becoming an accredited massage therapist. These are reasonable requirements,” Pimentel stresses. (Tina Joyce Laceda – PTV)
