Filipino working and living in the Middle East who will take board exams can now obtain it without going back in the Philippines.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed the Executive Order 835 which gives order to the Philippine Labor department through Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) to conduct special Professional Licensure Board Examinations for qualified Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and other countries in the Middle East that have diplomatic relations with the Philippines.

Under the EO 835, PRC will hold board examinations once a year starting December 2009. PRC will coordinate with the Department of Foreign Affairs, Philippine Bureau of Immigration, and the Philippine professional Organizations (PPO) in Saudi Arabia.

President Arroyo said that the mentioned agencies will work on the required permits from the host countries, the provision of the venue of examinations, and the travel documents for those who will give the board exams.

“The expenses for the holding of the special exams would be charged against the budget of PRC,” Arroyo added.

The Philippine government recognizes the important role of professionals in nation-building and the need to “maintain the reservoir of our professionals whose competence has been determined by honest and credible licensure examinations and whose standards of professional service and practice are internationally recognized and considered world-class," according to the President.

“It is the thrust of the national government to encourage qualified OFWs to take and pass the licensure board examinations abroad as it would greatly enhance their edge and competitiveness in the labor market, and it would spare them from expensive travel expenses and rigorous travel permits form their employers and/or host countries," she added.

There are more than a million OFWs working in the Middle East, majority of them in oil-rich Saudi Arabia. For this year, the board examinations will be conducted in Saudi Arabia.