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FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC ) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
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First Regular Session 
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S.No. . %I 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
There is no integrated medical professional organization. 
There exists the 
Philippine Medical Association, Inc. (PMA). PMA an organization of doctors licensed to 
practice medicine in the Philippines. 
The PMA is one of the most prestigious organizations in the Philippines, the 
umbrella organization of the medical profession of the country. It is duly registered with 
the Securities and Exchange Commission as a non-stock, non-profit organization and is 
the mother association of all medical organizations in the Philippines. It was founded on 
September 15, 1903, at a time when the country was under American rule. 
The 
Philippine Medical Association brings together the entire medical profession under one 
roof to serve as an authoritative source of information on health, disease and medical 
practice. It is responsible for the Training of Specialists through its Specialty Societies. It 
is responsible for the sustained excellent quality healthcare delivery through its 
continuing medical education, formulation of clinical practices, guidelines, directly or 
through the specialty societies. It polices its ranks through the rigid Code of Ethics of the 
medical profession. 
The PMA has eight specialty divisions such as Pathology, Radiology, 
Anesthesiology, Surgery, Physicians, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology and Family 
Medicine. All of these specialty divisions have several sub-specialty societies. There are 
28,000 physicians who are members of the PMA. Membership in the Philippine Medical 
Association is coursed through the Component Society. There are presently 118 
Component Societies, which is the basic unit of the Association, equitably distributed in 


all regions of the country. All provinces and cities in the Philippines have component 
societies, more popularly known as medical societies. A group of these medical societies 
form a region or regional conncil. The Board of Governors exercise control and 
supervision over the regional councils and the component societies. The Board of 
Governors has the power to realign regions and component societies and further the 
power to create new component society or delist existing one. 
Aside from its by-laws, duly registered with the Securities and Exchange 
Commission, the PMA has codes governing its affairs and the conduct of its members. 
Among its codes are the Administrative Code, the Code on Continuing Medical 
Education, Code of Ethics, the Election Code and Mutual Aid Code and Guidelines on 
Protocol and Procedures and Guidelines on Affiliate Societies. 
For the benefit of its members, the PMA and its specialty societies conduct 
periodically seminars, workshops and conventions educating its members on the latest 
medical technology and medicine. Its specialty societies determine who the specialists in 
several fields of medicine are. 
There is no other medical organization that possesses the breadth, composition, 
membership and nationwide coverage of the PMA. In almost all matters affecting health 
or the medical profession, the government seeks the advice of the PMA. This bill will 
put the PMA as a partner of the Government in the improvement of the health care 
delivery system to include the alleviation of the Exodus of Doctors to foreign lands. 
Further, this bill will rid the medical profession of so called misfits found to be 
The negligent acts of doctors led to a spate of incidents 
negligent in their practice. 
wherein patients either died, were maimed, scarred or suffered physical injuries. 
Under present laws, a patient has three options to remedy or punish such negligent 
acts, one is the filing of a criminal action under the Revised Penal Code under Article 365 
(reckless imprudence), the second is the filing of a civil case for the recovery of damages 


and the third is the filing of a case before the Professional Regulations Commission for 
the revocation of the license of the doctor. 
Patients might find the current options not suitable for his need because of: 
a) court or administrative actions are time consuming as the courts and the PRC are 
clogged with other cases 
b) filing of snch actions are financially burdensome on the patient. 
c) court or administrative actions are mired in technicalities especially those 
concerning evidence, the presentation and weighing of which must adhere to the 
strict technical rules of procedure and evidence 
This bill will provide a patient with a fourth option, that of filing a case with an 
integrated professional medical organization. If the bill is passed, the medical profession, 
just like the legal profession, will be integrated into one accredited organization. No 
doctor can practice his profession unless he becomes a member of such integrated 
professional organization. An aggrieved patient may now seek for the revocation of 
membership of the doctor from the integrated professional medical organization. The 
threat of revocation will carry a lot of weight since the livelihood of the doctor depends 
on his continued membership in the organization. 
This bill seeks to accredit acknowledge the Philippine Medical Association as the 
integrated professional medical organization and all physicians wanting to practice 
medicine will be required to become members of the PMA. If the hill is passed into a 
law, we will be creating a professional medical organization already in place without the 
government spending a single centavo, which can serve as an extension of the 
government in regulating the medical profession, maintaining the ethical conduct of the 
medical professionals and help in the continued delivery of quality health care. 


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FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC ) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
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First Regular Session 
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Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
AN ACT 
ACCREDITING THE PHILIPPINE MEDICAL ASSOCIATION AS THE 
INTEGRATED MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATION 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Be enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known and cited as the "Integrated 
Medical Professional Organization Act of 2007." 
SECTION 2. Exclusive Accreditation of the Philippine Medical Association. - 
The Philippine Medical Association, Inc. shall be the only Integrated Medical 
Professional Organization of the Philippines. 
SECTION 3. Membership. - All physicians duly registered by the Professional 
Regulations Commission shall become members of the Philippine Medical Association, 
Inc. Membership in good standing of the PMA shall be a condition precedent for his 
renewal of license and for the continuous practice of medicine. 
SECTION 4. Organization. - The organizational structure of the Philippine 
Medical Association, Inc. including the specialty divisions, specialty and sub-specialty 
societies and the component medical societies and as a non-stock, non-profit corporation 
duly registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission shall be retained. 
SECTION 5. Rules and Regulations. - The Philippine Medical Association shall 
prescribe rules and regulations to implement the integration of the medical profession 
including the various specialty divisions, the specialty and subspecialty societies and their 
training program, and the component and affiliate medical societies. 


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SECTION 6. 
Complaints. - The Philippine Medical Association shall hear 
complaints against its members. The Philippine Medical Association shall prescribe its 
rules to govern the conduct of its proceedings and the niles of its procedures. The rules 
shall be liberally construed and the technical rules of procedure on evidence shall not be 
strictly applied. 
SECTION 7. Grounds. - A person may file a verified complaint before the 
Philippine Medical Association against a PMA member based on the following grounds: 
a) gross negligence, ignorance or incompetence in the practice of hisher 
profession resulting to death, physical injury to a person 
b) conviction by a court of competent jurisdiction of any criminal offense 
involving moral turpitude; 
c) immoral or dishonorable conduct; 
d) insanity 
e) fiaud in the acquisition of the certificate of registration, and 
professional license or renewal thereof; 
f) addiction to alcoholic beverages or to any habit-forming drug 
rendering him or her incompetent to practice his or her profession; 
g) false or extravagant or unethical advertisement 
h) performing or aiding in any criminal abortion; 
i) laowingly issuing any false medical certificate; 
j) Issuing any statement or spreading any news or humor which is 
derogatory to the character and reputation of another physician without 
justifiable motive. 
k) Aiding or acting as a dummy of unqualified or unregistered person to 
practice medicine. 
1) Violation of the Code of Ethics of the PMA. 
SECTION 8. Penalties. - The Philippine Medical Association may impose 
penalties of reprimand, suspension or expulsion. All cases filed or pending under this act 
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shall not be discussed or taken in any forum until after the same shall have been decided 
with finality. 
SECTION 9. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The Philippine Medical 
Association shall promulgate the implementing rules and guidelines of this act within 60 
days after the enactment of this Act. 
SECTION 10. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part thereof, is held 
invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise 
affected shall remain valid and subsisting. 
SECTION 11. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, 
executive order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to, 
or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, modified or amended 
accordingly. 
SECTION 12. E’ectivity 
Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifreen (15) days 
after its publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved. 
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