How to Be a Massage Therapist in the Philippines

Over the last few years, more people are having their bodies massaged, especially when they’re stressed or suffering from a certain ailment. This means that the demand for a massage therapist is particularly high in many parts of the world, including the Philippines.

However, to practice massage therapy in the Philippines requires not only education but also a certification and a license. In fact, by 2017, all therapists should already hold a license before they can be hired for the job.

Interested? Here’s how to do it:

 

Requirements

To qualify for the exam, you need the following:

  • Filipino citizenship
  • At least 18 years old by the time of the examination
  • High school graduate
  • Good moral character certificate from the barangay captain where the applicant resides
  • National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) clearance
  • Medical certificate from a government physician stating the examinees is mentally and physically fit to take the test
  • A certificate of training from the Department of Health (DOH)
  • 3 copies of passport-size photos taken not later than 6 months before application

DOH has partnered with Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) to provide massage therapy courses. In the Visayas, one of the leading training centers is Center for Healthcare Professions (CHP) Cebu.

CHP Cebu’s massage therapy course can be completed in 560 hours. With this program, you will learn:

  • Anatomy and physiology
  • Physiology
  • Pathology and microbiology
  • Introduction to massage therapy
  • Massage therapy application
  • Practice of massage therapy

 

Submission

The Department of Health through the regulatory body Committee of Examinees for Massage Therapy (CEMT) will announce the schedule of the examination, which is usually during the first week of June and December, as well as its corresponding fee. It’s very important that your requirements and application form, along with the fee, are submitted to the DOH office at least two weeks before the examination.

 

Examination

The exam is composed of two parts: theoretical and practical.

The theoretical exam is given first and covers basic questions related to your massage therapy training. Remember: you cannot proceed to the practical exam if you have not passed this level. To pass, you need to get at least 75% average grade.

The practical exam is more comprehensive and is made up of three different parts, which includes an oral test. It should be taken anytime but not more than a month after you’ve received the official announcement of passing the theoretical exam. The passing grade in this level is 75%.

To receive a certificate of registration, you should have at least the passing score for both exams.

 

Continuing Education

To enable to practice your profession, you should obtain a continuing education and renew your license, which occurs every three years.

 

Scope

The massage therapy certificate of registration offered in the Philippines is applicable only to Swedish massage. There are different requirements if you want to practice hilot and other types of massages, as well as work as a spa therapist.

Regardless, there’s no better time to become a full-fledged massage therapists than today. Contact Center for Healthcare Professions Cebu now for more information about the training.

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Disaster Preparedness and Management: How CHP Cebu Can Help in the Effort

Philippines, sadly, is one of the most disaster-prone areas in the world for a variety of reasons:

  • We are found within the Pacific Ring of Fire, which means we are already vulnerable in two things: earthquakes and volcano eruptions. One of the most significant, the eruption of Mount Pinatubo, was so catastrophic it changed climate temperature.
  • Many of the towns are found in low-lying areas. As climate change and global warming increase the level of water, these areas are threatened by floods and even disappearance.
  • A lot of the Filipinos are poor. In the first six months of 2012, about 28 percent were already in the poverty line with many earning only 16,000 pesos a year or less than 2,000 pesos a month.

But one of the biggest reasons is our lack of disaster preparation and management.

The truth about natural disasters is this: nothing can stop them from happening. No one can change weather patterns in the Pacific Ocean or stop the movements of the tectonic plates. However, the impact of these disasters can be mitigated if there’s only careful and advanced planning and training.

To promote this line of thinking, the Philippines has enacted Republic Act 10121 otherwise known as Philippine Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act of 2010.

One of its provisions is to require local government units (LGUs) to allocate 5 percent of its expected revenues from regular sources as a calamity or disaster fund. The amount is then divided into two: 70 percent is for equipment, preparedness, response, recovery, and rehabilitation while 30 percent is for quick response (or standby fund).

A 5 percent allocation sounds small, but considering that cities may earn in billions or hundreds of millions, it means that a calamity fund may be worth millions as well. Nevertheless, money is still a finite resource, which should be used wisely.

Here’s How CHP Cebu Can Help

The Center for Healthcare Professions (CHP) Cebu can be a strategic partner for these LGUs in disaster preparedness and management by doing what we do best, and that is to train people. CHP offers a variety of courses that can be extremely helpful in times of natural disasters such as:

By taking these courses from CHP Cebu, LGUs can now:

  • Augment their number of volunteers and personnel, who have the competency and skill to help save lives in times of disasters
  • Tap their own local manpower to save costs and speed up disaster response and recovery
  • Make more people proactive when it comes to disaster preparedness
  • Use these professionals to disseminate more information about how to prepare in times of disaster
  • Have more health care professionals ready especially since natural disasters can also increase the risk of injury and disease

LGUs and CHP Cebu can also work together to identify people who are more ideal to be trained for a specific course. This person may then be further taught to provide at least basic training to the rest of the members of the community.

When it comes to disaster preparedness and management, it’s a team effort. We at CHP Cebu would like to be part of that team.

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