Allowing Students to Choose Third-Party Review Centers in the Philippines: A Complete Legal Guide (2025)
1 | Why the Issue Matters
Passing a Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) licensure or the Bar examination is often the final hurdle between graduation and practice. Because a booming review-center industry has grown around that hurdle, Congress, regulators and the courts have had to draw a clear line between:
- the academic freedom of higher-education institutions (HEIs) to run legitimate in-house review classes, and
- the individual right of every examinee to choose–or reject–any third-party review provider.
The rules have evolved quickly over the last two decades, and the penalty for non-compliance now ranges from hefty fines to imprisonment and withdrawal of an official’s professional license.
2 | Constitutional & Primary Statutes
| Key Source | Core Principle | Status | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Art. XIV §5(2) 1987 Constitution | Guarantees academic freedom of HEIs and allows reasonable State regulation in the public interest | In force | – |
| Republic Act 7722 (“Higher Education Act of 1994”) | Creates CHED; limits it to policy, regulatory and developmental functions | In force | ([PDF] Republic Act 7722 - Higher Education Act of 1994) |
| Republic Act 10609 (2013) – Protection of Students’ Right to Enroll in Review Centers Act | Makes it a crime for an HEI to force, coerce, or financially penalize students for not enrolling in a specific review center; gives CHED power to enforce | In force | |
| Republic Act 11984 (2024) – “No Permit, No Exam Prohibition Act” | Requires all educational institutions to let disadvantaged students take exams even with unpaid fees; complements R.A. 10609 by curbing records-withholding tactics | In force | (Republic Act No. 11984 - LawPhil) |
3 | Regulatory Timeline
| Year | Milestone | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Executive Order 566 directs CHED to regulate all review centers after the nursing‐board leak | Basis for CHED CMO 49 s. 2006 (comprehensive IRR) (Executive Order No. 566 - LawPhil, [ |
CHED Memorandum Order No. 049-06 Implementing Rules and Regulations Governing the Establishment and Operation of Review Centers and Similar Entities
](https://legaldex.com/laws/implementing-rules-and-regulations-governing-the-establishment-and-operation-of)) || 2009 | Supreme Court: Review Center Association v. Ermita, G.R. 180046 | EO 566 & CMO 30 s. 2007 declared unconstitutional for over-expanding CHED’s mandate beyond R.A. 7722 (G.R. No. 180046. April 02, 2009 (Case Brief / Digest) - Batas.org) | | 2013 | R.A. 10609 enacted | Provides explicit legislative basis; overrides the constitutional flaw found in 2009 | | 2017 → 2023 | CHED issues activity-specific guidelines (e.g., CMO 63 s. 2017 on off-campus activities) and finalizes the IRR of R.A. 10609 (released via FOI, 2023) | Re-anchors CHED supervision on a solid statutory footing (Implementing Rules and Regulations of REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10609) | | 2024–2025 | Enforcement drive + DepEd reiterates “no collection” rule for basic-education learners, closing another loophole schools used to disguise compulsory review fees | (DepEd reminds schools to adhere to ‘no collection policy’ | Department of Education) |
4 | What R.A. 10609 Actually Prohibits
- Compelling enrollment in a review center that is not part of the approved curriculum.
- Making such off-curricular review a graduation prerequisite.
- Bundling transportation, board or lodging fees with a “mandatory” review package.
- Withholding transcripts, diplomas or clearance to force students to sign up.
Penalty: prisión correccional (6 months + 1 day to 6 years), a ₱750 000 fine, suspension from office, and revocation of the official’s professional license. CHED may impose parallel administrative sanctions.
5 | CHED Rules for Higher-Education Institutions
| Topic | Current Rule (2025) | Legal Hook |
|---|---|---|
| Curricular vs. Non-curricular review | HEIs may keep credited review subjects inside their curriculum. Anything outside is voluntary and must allow free choice of provider. | CMO 49 s. 2006 §6.2 ([ |
CHED Memorandum Order No. 049-06 Implementing Rules and Regulations Governing the Establishment and Operation of Review Centers and Similar Entities
](https://legaldex.com/laws/implementing-rules-and-regulations-governing-the-establishment-and-operation-of)) || Fee collection | Review-center fees cannot be embedded in tuition or collected as a pre-graduation requirement; SUCs covered by R.A. 10931 cannot charge for off-campus reviews. | R.A. 10609; R.A. 10931 | | Advertising | An HEI (or its faculty) may not advertise itself as “required” or “exclusive” review provider. | CMO 49 s. 2006 §6.4 | | Complaints | Students file first with the CHED Regional Office (Student Development & Services). Whistle-blowers are protected under the CHED Citizen’s Charter. | CHED Citizen’s Charter 2022 p. 10 ff. ([PDF] COMMISSION ON HIGHER EDUCATION - chedro3) |
6 | PRC & Other Sector-Specific Rules
- PRC accreditation is required only when the review program is claimed to give CPD units or specialty credits (e.g., dentistry, accounting). (Accreditation of Specialty Society/Organization and Other Specialty Categories | Professional Regulation Commission)
- PRC disclaims ownership of any review material and warns examinees against “leakage” scams. (Professional Regulation Commission: Home)
7 | Basic-Education (DepEd) Context
While R.A. 10609 covers only HEIs, DepEd bars all public and private basic-ed schools from collecting any fee—including review fees—during enrolment or the school year, unless expressly allowed. DepEd Memorandum 41 s. 2024 reiterates the “No Collection Policy.” (DepEd reminds schools to adhere to ‘no collection policy’ | Department of Education)
8 | Complementary Law: R.A. 11984 (2024)
If a school tries to use unpaid tuition to stop a graduating student from taking a licensure exam or Bar review, the No Permit, No Exam Prohibition Act now requires the school to let the student proceed once he or she secures a DSWD “disadvantaged” certificate. Schools may still pursue legal collection, but not through academic coercion. (Republic Act No. 11984 - LawPhil)
9 | Key Jurisprudence
| Case | Take-away |
|---|---|
| Review Center Ass’n v. Ermita (2009) | The President cannot expand CHED powers by executive order alone; must be by statute. (G.R. No. 180046. April 02, 2009 (Case Brief / Digest) - Batas.org) |
| University of the East v. Jader (2000) | Withholding records that bar a graduate from taking the Bar may give rise to damages; underscores why R.A. 10609 also bans records-withholding. (Parents' Concerns Over Additional Review Fees in Private Schools) |
10 | Compliance Checklist (for HEIs & Review-center Operators)
- Verify that any off-campus review offering is strictly voluntary.
- Disclose all fees separately; never bundle them with tuition or graduation clearance.
- Issue receipts in the review center’s own name; never in the HEI’s trust fund.
- Provide waiver forms making it clear that students may attend any CHED-registered or PRC-accredited review provider.
- Publish grievance channels (CHED RO email/phone) in student handbooks.
- Data-privacy Check: secure consent before sharing student lists with third-party centers.
- Annual audit of review-center revenues to avoid COA disallowance in SUCs.
11 | Open Issues & Future Directions (2025 +)
- CHED IRR gaps. The 2023 IRR of R.A. 10609 is still silent on online/AI-assisted review providers—expect a supplement soon.
- Digital Platform Regulation. Senate Bills 1491 & 2025 (pending) propose PRC registration for fully online review apps.
- Enforcement bandwidth. CHED regional offices report only 11 formal complaints (2023), suggesting under-reporting rather than compliance.
- Integration vs. Autonomy. Some professional councils argue that embedded review subjects dilute curricular depth; the debate may resurface when the K-12 “porous curriculum” is amended (House Bill 9983, approved on 2nd reading in Jan 2025).
12 | Take-aways for Students
- You can always walk away. If a dean, registrar or faculty adviser insists on a “required” external review, cite R.A. 10609 and ask for their written basis.
- Keep documentation. Screenshot emails, advisories or fee schedules; they are evidence in a CHED complaint or a DTI consumer case.
- Check accreditation. Before paying, verify that the review center is CHED-registered (for board review) or PRC-accredited (for CPD).
When in doubt, contact CHED’s 24-hour 8888 hotline or the regional Student Development & Services Unit.
(Updated 9 May 2025, Asia/Manila)