to be the centers of education, research and development. Philippines The Commission on Higher Education (Filipino: Komisyon sa Mas Mataas na Edukasyon/Komisyon sa Lalong Mataas na Edukasyon)[2] of the Philippines, abbreviated as CHED, is a government agency attached to the Office of the President of the Philippines for administrative purposes. It covers both public and private higher education institutions as well as degree-granting programs in all post-secondary educational institutions in the country. Federation of Accrediting Agencies of the Philippines (FAAP), was established in 1977 and is authorized by the Philippine Commission on Higher Education (CHED) to certify the quality levels of accredited programs at the tertiary level, for the purpose of granting progressive deregulation and other benefits Portugal The Portuguese Agência de Acreditação (state-managed Accreditation Agency) for higher education is, since 2007, responsible for the publication of the national ranking of higher education institutions and degrees. Within the Bologna process a state agency was set up by the Portuguese Government to offer central and regulated accreditation. Previously, Portugal had used a system of professional accreditation and degree recognition by sector, with a number of associations, Unions and Professional Orders (Ordens Profissionais): the Ordem dos Médicos (for medical doctors), the Ordem dos Engenheiros (for engineers) and the Portuguese Bar Association (for lawyers). The Sindicato dos Engenheiros Técnicos (for technical engineers), was created as the professional association of technical engineers, who were not full chartered engineers, having as mandatory qualification a simple short-cycle 3-year bachelor's degree (bacharelato) awarded by the Portuguese polytechnical institutes and now discontinued since the mid-2000s. The Associação de Técnicos de Contas (for accounting technicians), the Câmara de Revisores Oficiais de Contas (for financial auditors, similar to Chartered Accountants) and the Sindicato dos Enfermeiros (for nurses) are examples of organizations which were oriented towards professions that at least until the 1990s did not demand a specific academic degree. For example, to be member of the Câmara de Revisores Oficiais de Contas (for financial auditors), candidates needed to have two years of experience and must have a degree in a range of possible area (Economics, Finance, Business Administration, Accounting or Law). Like in other similar international associations (Chartered Accountant), the Câmara de Revisores Oficiais de Contas have very selective examinations. Some organizations (starting as Associations or Unions) were upgraded later into Ordens like, for example, the Ordem dos Farmacêuticos (for pharmacists), the Ordem dos Arquitectos (for architects), the Ordem dos