THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
1 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
1 
Second Regular Session 
1 
Senate Bill No. - 
2125 
- 
v".-.-r-.-,. 
~~~~~~~/~~ 
BY : 
Introduced by Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
I n  the past several years, our country has been a witness to an exodus of Fiiipino 
medical practitioners going abroad to take on other professions, such as the nursing profession. 
A study by the National Institute of Health revealed that at least 3,500 doctors have left the 
country since the year 2000 to work as nurses. These figures were confirmed by the Philippine 
Overseas Employment Agency (POEA) in its annual report where they indicated that health care 
professionals continue to dominate the number of professionals leaving the Philippines every 
year. 
Compounding the personal economic considerations of each doctor who seek greener 
pasture abroad are the prevailing political instability and the apparent lack of commitment on 
the part of the government to prioritize the health care system in the country. Undeniably, the 
health sector continues to receive one of the lowest allocations under the annual appropriations 
of the government. 
According to a group called Health Alliance for Democracy, health care services in the 
Philippines are already operating at 3.5% of the GNP budget - below the 5% percent 
recommended by the World Health Organization. This could only mean that fewer people could 
afford to see the doctor or to pay for prescribed medicines. This also meant budget cuts for 
government-run hospitals, stoppage of various health programs and, ultimately, less income 
and resources for doctors and nurses. 
Unfortunately, the consequence of medical practitioners high-tailing it to another 
country for better opportunities has caused dire working conditions of the health care system 
they left behind. We have now started to feel the effects of dwindling professional health care 
providers as the decision by many doctors to become nurses has aggravated the doctor-to- 
population ratio. While the ideal ratio is one doctor for every 6,000 Filipinos, there is now one 
for every 26,000. Furthermore, reports from the Department of Health indicate that 42 towns 
in the country, belonging to the Sth and 6th income brackets of government, remained without a 
doctor. 
Thus, it is incumbent upon the government to take the necessary steps to revitalize, 
develop and sustain the practice of medicine here in the Philippines. Congress is now being 
urged to undertake a much-needed review of the Medical Act of 1959. Hence, this bill. 
This proposed measure seeks to enact a new Physicians Act that will govern the 
regulation of the education, licensing and the practice of medicine by physicians here in the 
Philippines. It is not only enough to address their economic concerns by increasing their pay 
and remuneration but as the government thus recognizes the very crucial role of physicians in 
the national health care system, it is also essential that an environment be provided for them 
where they can further cultivate and enhance their skills and expertise thereby upgrading the 
standards by which their practice shall be measured. 
I n  view of the foregoing, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought. I 


THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES) 
5 
Second Regular Session 
1 
Introduced by Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile 
AN ACT 
REGULATING THE EDUCATION AND LICENSURE OF PHYSICIANS AND THE 
PRACTICE OF MEDICINE I N  THE PHILIPPINES, REPEALING FOR THE 
PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO. 2382, AS AMENDED, AND FOR OTHER 
PURPOSES 
Be it enacted in the Senate and the House of Representa(7ves of f i e  Philppines in 
Congress assembled: 
ARTICLE I - GENERAL PROVISIONS 
SECTION 1. ?We. - This Act shall be known as the "PhysiciansAct of 2005" 
SEC. 2. 
Declaration uf Policy. - 
The State recognizes the vital role of 
physicians in nation-building and, 
towards this end, ' promotes the sustained 
development of a pool of physicians whose competence shall be certified through 
honest and credible licensure examinations and whose standards of professional service 
and practice shall be at par with internationally recognized ethics and conduct 
SEC. 3. Objectives, - This Act shall govern: 
(a) the standardization, upgrading, and regulation of medicine courses including 
internship training; 
(b) the examination for registration and licensure of Physicians; 
(c) the supervision, control and regulation of the practice of medicine; 
(d) the integration of the medical profession; and, 


2 
(e) the development of the professional competence of physicians through 
continuing professional education in accordance with the guidelines set by 
the Professional Regulation Commission. 
SEC. 4. Enforcement. - For the purpose of implementing the provisions of this 
Act, there shall be created the following: the Council on Medical Education, hereinafter 
referred to as the Council, uqder the administrative control and supervision of the 
Commission on Higher Education (CHED); and, the Professional Regulatory Board of 
Medicine, hereinafter referred to as the Board, under the administrative supervision and 
control of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC), hereinafter referred to as the 
Commission. 
ARTICLE I1 - COUNCIL ON MEDICAL EDUCATION 
SEC. 5. Composition of the Council on Medical Education, - There shall be 
created the Council on Medical Education which shall be composed of the following: 
(a) Chairman of the Commission on Higher Education, or his/her duly authorized 
representative, as Chairman; 
(b) the Secretary of the Department of Health, or his/her duly authorized 
representative, as member; 
(c) the Chairman of the Professional Regulatory Board For Medicine, or his/her duly 
authorized representative, as member; 
(d) the President of the Philippine Medical Association, or his/her authorized 
representative, as member; and, 
(e) the President of the Association of Philippine Medical Colleges, or his/her duly 
authorized representative, as member. 
SEC. 6. Functions and Duties, - The Council on Medical Education shall have 
the following functions and duties: 
(a) To determine and prescribe requirements for admission into a recognized 
College of Medicine in accordance with the guidelines issued by the CHED; 


3 
(b) To determine and prescribe requirements for minimum physical facilities of 
Colleges of Medicine, to wit: buildings, including hospitals, equipment and 
supplies, apparatus, instruments, appliances, laboratories, bed capacity for 
instruction purposes, operating and delivery rooms, facilities for out-patient 
services, and other equipment used for didactic and practical instruction in 
accordance with modern trends; 
(c) To determine and prescribe the minimum number and the minimum 
qualifications of teaching personnel including student-to-teacher ratio; 
(d) To determine and prescribe the minimum required curriculum including 
internship leading to the degree of Doctor of Medicine; 
(e) To authorize the implementation of innovative and medical curricula in a 
medical school that has exceptional faculty and instrumental facilities. Such an 
innovative curriculum may include admission and graduation requirements 
other than those prescribed in this Act: Provided, That only exceptional 
students shall be enrolled in the innovative curriculum; 
(9 To select, determine and approve hospitals or some departments of the 
hospitals for training which comply with the minimum specific physical facilities 
as provided in subparagraph (b) hereof; and, 
(9) To promulgate, prescribe and enforce the necessary rules and regulations for 
the proper implementation of the foregoing functions. 
SEC. 7. Compensation and Travel Expenses. - The Chairman, members and 
secretary of the Council shall receive reasonable per diems for every meeting 
attended: Provided, Tbac the number of meetings shall not exceed four times in a 
month. They shall likewise be entitled to travelling expenses in connection with their 
official duties. The grant of per diems and travelling expenses shall be at rates in 
accordance with existing accounting and auditing rules and regulations. 


4 
SEC. 8. Minimum Required Course- - Students seeking admission to a medical 
course must have a bachelor's degree in science or arts. 
The said medical course leading to the degree of Doctor of Medicine shall be for 
five (5) years inclusive of clinical clerkship and internship and shall consist of the 
following subjects: Anatomy and Histology; Physiology; Biochemistry and Molecular 
Biology; Pharmacology and Therapeutics; General Pathology; Clinical Pathology, 
Microbiology and Parasitology; Internal Medicine; Neurology and Psychiatry; Obstetrics 
and 
Gynecology; 
Pediatrics 
and 
Nutrition; 
Surgery, 
Ophthalmology 
and; 
Otorhinolaryngology; Preventive Medicine and Public Health; Legal Medicine, Medical 
Jurisprudence, Medical 
Ethics 
and Economics: 
Provided, That, the Council is 
authorized to modify, rearrange, add, recluster, and revise the above-mentioned 
subjects as the needs and the demands of development in the medical profession may 
require. 
SEC. 9. Admission Requirements. - The College of Medicine may admit any 
student who has not been convicted by final judgment by any court of any criminal 
offense involving moral turpitude and who presents the following: 
(a) a record showing completion of a bachelor's degree in science or arts; 
(b) a certificate of good moral character issued by two (2) former professors in the 
college offering the pre-medicine course(s); and, 
(c) an authenticated birth certificate. 
Nothing in this Act shall be construed to inhibit any College of Medicine from 
establishing, in addition to the requirements specified in the paragraph, other 
requirements that may be deemed necessary for admission. 
For the purpose of this Act, the term "College of Medicine" shall mean to include 
faculty of medicine, institute of medicine, school of medicine or other similar institution, 
offering a complete medical course leading to the degree of Doctor of Medicine or its 
equivalent course obtained abroad. 


5 
Every College of Medicine must keep complete records of enrollment, grades, 
graduates and must publish each year a catalogue stating the following information: 
(1) date of publication; 
(2) calendar of academic year; 
(3) faculty roll indicating whether on full or part time basis; 
(4) requirements for admission; 
(5) grading system; 
(6) requirements for promotion; 
(7) requirements for graduation; 
(8) curriculum and description of course by department; and, 
(9) number of students enrolled in each class in the preceding year. 
ARTICLE I11 
THE PROFESSIONAL REGULATORY BOARD FOR MEDICINE 
SEC. 10. Composition of the Board. - There is hereby created a Professional 
Regulatory Board for Medicine, hereinafter referred to as the Board, under the 
administrative control and supervision of the Professional Regulation Commission, 
hereinafter referred to as the Commission. 
The Board shall be composed of a 
Chairman and six (6) members to be appointed by the President of the Philippines from 
among three (3) recommendees for each position, chosen and ranked by the 
Commission from a list of five (5) nominees for each position submitted by the 
integrated and accredited professional organization. The Board shall be organized not 
later than six (6) months from the effectivity of this Act. 
SEC. 11. Powers and Duties of the Board. - The Board shall exercise 
executive or administrative, rule-making and quasi-judicial powers in carrying out the 
provisions of this Act. It shall be vested with the following specific powers, functions, 
duties and responsibilities: 
(a) Supervise and regulate the practice of medicine in .the Philippines; 


6 
(b) Determine and evaluate the qualifications of the applicants for registration, with 
or without the Physician Licensure Examination, and for the purpose of the 
issuance of special permits; 
(c) Undertake the necessary preparations for the conduct of the Physician Licensure 
Examination, in relation to Section 19 hereof such as prescribing the syllabi of 
the subjects and their relative weights for the licensure examinations; 
formulating, modifying or adopting test questions and depositing them in a test 
question bank; drawing the test questions at random through a computerized 
process; 
(d) Conduct walk-in examinations, if practicable; 
(e) Correct and rate the examinations papers and submit the examination results to 
the Commission within the period provided for by the rules of the Commission; 
(9 Prescribe, amend or revise the requirements for the subjects in the Physician 
Licensure Examination and their relative weights subject to the approval of the 
Commission; 
(9) Register successful examinees in the physician licensure examination and issue 
the corresponding certificates of registration; 
(h) Issue special or temporary permits to foreign physicians with highly specialized 
skills which no Filipino possesses, as certified by the Department of Health and 
the Department of Labor, to practice medicine for specific projects and for a 
specific duration of time; 
(i) Look into the conditions affecting the practice of medicine, adopt measures for 
the enhancement of the profession and the maintenance of a high professional, 
technical, and ethical standards; 
(j) Recommend to CHED the opening or closure of a program of Medicine and 
conduct ocular inspection of places where physicians practice their profession; 


7 
(k) Monitor the performance OF the medical schools and their compliance with the 
rules and regulations of the Council on Medical Education; 
(I) Promulgate rules and regulations, and a Code of Ethics for Physicians, 
administrative policies, orders, and issuances to carry out the provisions of this 
Act; 
(m) Investigate violations of the Act and the rules and regulations, Code of Ethics, 
administrative policies, orders and issuances promulgated by the Board: 
Provided that, the rules on administrative investigation promulgated by the 
Commission shall govern such investigation; 
(n)Issue subpoena or subpoena duces tecum to secure the attendance of 
respondents or witnesses or the production of documents relative to the 
investigation conducted by the Board; 
(0) Delegate to the Chairman, Vice-chairman, Member of the Board, or a 
Commission Attorney the hearing of an administrative case. 
If the case is 
technical in nature or concerns strictly the practice of the profession, the 
investigation shall be presided by the Chairman, Vice-chairman or a Member of 
the Board with assistance of a PRC attorney; 
(p) Render decision, order or resolution on preliminary investigation or inquiry 
against violators of this Act, Rules and Regulations or any policy on undocketed 
cases and on docketed administrative cases against examinees or registrants 
which shall become final and executory unless appealed to the Commission 
within fifteen days from receipt of the copy thereof; 
(4) After due notice and hearing, cancel examination papers and/or bar any 
examinee who shall be found to have violated provision or provisions of this Act 
from future examinations; refuse or defer his registration; reprimand the 
registrant with stern warning; suspend him/her from the practice of the 
profession; revoke his/her certificate of registration; cancel special or temporary 


8 
permit; remove hisjher name from the roll of physicians for continuous non- 
payment of annual registration fees and non-compliance with Continuing 
Professional Education (CPE) requirements; 
(r) After due consideration, notice, hearing and deliberation, reinstate or re-enroll 
his name in the said roll and reissue or return his/her certificate of registration 
and professional identification card pursuant to Section 31 hereof; 
(s) Administer oaths in connection with the administration, implementation, or 
enforcement of this Act; 
(t) Prosecute or institute criminal action against any violator of this Act and/or the 
rules and regulations of the Board; 
(u) Adopt an official seal; 
(v) Coordinate with the Council of Medical Education in prescribing, amending 
and/or revising the courses; 
(w)Assist the Commission in the implementation of its prescribed guidelines and 
criteria on the Continuing Professional Education for registered/licensed 
physicians; and 
(x) Perform such other functions and duties as may be necessary to effectively 
implement this Act. 
The policies, resolutions, and rules and regulations, issued or promulgated by the 
Board shall be subject to thp review, revision, and approval by the Commission: 
Provided, however, that the Board's decisions, resolutions or orders which are not 
interlocutory, rendered in an administrative case, shall be subject to review only if on 
appeal. 
SEC. 12. Qua/ifications of Board Members. - Each member of the Board 
must, at the time of his/her appointment: 
(a) Be a natural born Filipino citizen and a resident of the Philippines for at least 
ten (10) consecutive years; 


9 
(b) Be at least forty (40) years old; 
(c) Be a physician who is a holder of a valid certificate of 
professional identification card; 
registration and a valid 
(d) Be a medical practitioner for at least ten (10) years; 
(e) Be a bonafide member of the integrated and accredited national organization of 
Physicians; 
(f) Have not been convicted by final judgment by a competent court of a criminal 
offense involving moral turpitude; 
(9) Have at least two (2) years experience as faculty members in a college of 
medicine; 
(h) Not be a member of the faculty in an institute, school or college of medicine or 
not have a pecuniary interest, direct or indirect, in the institution which offers 
and operates the course or degree of Doctor of Medicine; 
(i) Not be connected with a review center or school or group or association where 
review classes or lectures in preparation for the Physician Licensure 
Examination are being 
conducted, at the time of appointment; 
and, 
offered or 
Q) Not be an officer of the accredited organization of physicians or the integrated 
and accredited national organization of registered and licensed physicians at 
the time of appointment. 
SEC. 13. Term of Offip, - The Members of the Board shall hold office from the 
date of their appointment for a term of three (3) years or until their successors shall 
have been appointed. They may, however, be reappointed for another term after 
expiry of their first term. 
Appointments to fill up vacancies created by causes other 
than through expiration of regular terms shall be for the unexpired period only. 
Each 
member shall take an oath of office before entering upon the performance of his/her 
duties. The incumbents whose terms have not yet expired or who are serving in a 


10 
holdover capacity at the effectivity of this Act shall be allowed to serve the unexpired 
portions of their terms and may be appointed under this Act. 
SEC. 14. Compensation of Board Members. - The Chairman and Members of 
the Board shall receive compensation and allowances comparable to the compensation 
and allowances received by the chairmen and members of existing regulatory boards 
under the Commission as provided for under the General Appropriations Act. 
SEC. 15. Suspension or Removal of Board Member. - The President of the 
Philippines, upon the recommendation of the Commission after giving the concerned 
member an opportunity to defend himself/herself in a proper administrative 
investigation to be conducted by the Commission, may suspend or remove any member 
of the Board on the following grounds: 
(a) Neglect of duty or incompetence; 
(b) Unprofessional, unethical or dishonorable conduct; 
(c) Manipulation or rigging of the Physician Licensure Examination's results, 
providing secret information, or disclosure of the examination questions prior to 
the conduct of the said examination, or tampering of the grades therein; or 
(d) Final conviction by the court of criminal offenses involving moral turpitude. 
S EC. 16. Administrative Management, Custody of Records, Secretariat 
andsupport Services, - The Board shall be under the administrative and executive 
management of the Commission, with the Chairman of the Commission as the Chief 
Executive Officer thereof. All records of the Board shall be under the custody of the 
Commission. 
The Commission shall designate the Secretary of the Board and shall provide the 
Secretariat and other support services to implement the provisions of this Act. 
SEC. 17, Annual Report, - The Board shall, on or before the end of January of 
the following year, submit its annual report of accomplishments on programs, projects, 
and activities undertaken during the previous calendar year together with its 


11 
appropriate recommendations on issues or problems affecting the practice of medicine, 
to be submitted to the Commission. 
ARTICLE I V  
EXAMINATION, REGISTRATION AND LICENSURE 
SEC. 18. Prerequisite to the Practice of Medicine, - 
No person shall 
engage in the practice of Medicine in the Philippines unless he/she holds: 
(a) a valid certificate of registration and a professional identification card; 
(b) a valid special or temporary permit issued by the Board subject to approval by 
the Commission, or unless he/she is exempted by this Act from holding any of the 
foregoing licenses. 
SEC. 19. €xamnations Required. - All applicants’ for registration, before they 
can be issued a certificate of registration and professional identification card as a 
physician, shall be required to pass a written licensure examination for physicians as 
provided for in this Act, subject to the payment of the fees prescribed by the 
Commission. 
SEC. 20. Qualifications for €xamination, - Every applicant for examination 
shall establish to the satisfaction of the Board that he/she has the following 
qualifications: 
(a) He/she is a citizen and resident of the Philippines; Provided, that in cases of a 
foreign citizen, he or she must first comply with the provisions of Section 38 of this 
Act; 
(b) He/she is mentally, emotionally and physically sound; 
(c) He/she has not been convicted in a final judgment by a court for any criminal 
offense involving moral turpitude; 
(d) He/she is a holder of a degree of Doctor of Medicine conferred by a College of 
Medicine established in the Philippines and duly recognized by CHED or of a degree 
conferred by a College of Medicine abroad and accredited by CHED as substantially 


equivalent to the degree of Doctor of Medicine offered by a College of Medicine here 
in the Philippines; and, 
(e) He/she has completed one year of post-graduate internship in a Philippine 
hospital or training abroad accredited as equivalent to such internship by the Board, 
SEC. 21. Venues and Schedule of €xaminations - The Board shall conduct 
examinations for the registration of Physicians at least once a year in such places and 
dates as the Commission may designate in accordance with the provisions of Republic 
Act No. 8981, 
otherwise known as the Professional Regulation Commission 
Modernization Act of 2000. 
SEC. 22. 
Registration, Issuance of Ceriificate of Registration and 
Professional Identification Card, and Non-registration. 
- 
All successful 
examinees, upon compliance with all the legal requirements and payment of fees 
prescribed by the Commission, shall be registered and issued certificates of registration 
and professional identification cards by the Commission. 
The certificate of registration shall bear the registration number and date of 
issuance and the signatures of the Chairperson and the members of the Board, 
stamped with the seal of the Commission and the Board, certifying that the name of 
the person stated therein appears in the Registry or Roll of Physicians under the 
custody of the Commission; that he or she has met or complied with all the legal 
requirements for registration as a physician; that he or she is entitled to exercise all the 
privileges appurtenant to the practice of his or her profession; Provided, That, he/she 
does not violate this Act, 
its implementing rules and regulations, Code of Ethics for 
Physicians, Code of Technical or Professional Standards and other regulatory policies of 
the Commission and the Board. 
The Professional Identification Card duly signed by the Chairperson of the 
Commission shall bear the name of the registered physician, his/her registration 


13 
number, the date of issuance, its date of expiry, and shall be evidence that he/she can 
lawfully practice his/her profession. 
A successful examinee who has been convicted in final judgment by a court for a 
criminal offense on moral turpitude, found guilty by the Board for dishonorable or 
immoral conduct, or declared by the court to be of unsound mind shall not be included 
in the Registry. The decision of the Board, finding the examinee guilty for dishonorable 
or immoral conduct, may be appealed by the examinee to the Commission and/or to 
the Court of Appeals. The facts and the reasons for refusal to register shall be in 
writing, communicated to the examinee, and duly incorporated in the records of the 
Commission. 
SEC. 23. Scope of Examination. - The Physician Licensure Examinations shall 
cover the following individual or combined/clustered subjects with equal weights for 
each one final examination after completion of internship: (1) Anatomy; 
(2) 
Physiology; (3) Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; 
(4) Pharmacology and 
Therapeutics; 
(5) Microbiology and Parasitology; (6) Medicine; 
(7) Pediatrics and 
Nutrition; 
(8) Pathology; 
(9) Obstetrics and Gynecology; 
(10) Surgery, 
Ophthalmology, Otolaryngology and Otorhinotoryngology (1 1) Preventive Medicine and 
Public Health; (12) Legal Medicine, Code of Ethics for Physicians, and Jurisprudence on 
the Practice of Medicine; and (13) Neurology and Psychiatry. 
When an urgent and important need arises to conform to technological and modern 
changes, the Board may recluster, rearrange, modify the foregoing subjects, add to or 
exclude any subject, or prescribe the number of final examination(s) to be conducted 
every year, in consultation with the Council and with approval by the Commission. The 
Board Resolution thereon shall be officially published in the Officia/ Gazette or 
newspapers of general circulation and also circularized and disseminated to all 
of Medicine. 


14 
Each of the thirteen (13) subjects shall have its syllabus or table of specification, 
The Board shall apply the syllabi only after necessar! consultation with the concerned 
members of the academe, approval by the Commission, publication of its Board 
Resolution pursuant to legal requirements, dissemination to all Colleges of Medicine, 
and a lapse of at least three (3) months from its effectivity. Each syllabus shall be 
subject to modification or amendment, as the need arises. 
SEC. 24. 
Rating in the €xamination, - To pass the Physician Licensure 
Examination, an examinee must obtain a general weighted average rating in all thirteen 
(13) subjects of no less than seventy-five per cent (75%) with no rating in any subject 
below fifty per cent (500/,). 
SEC. 25. Reports and Publication of the Results of Examination. - The 
Boai-d shall report the rating of each examinee to the Commission within ten (10) days 
from the last day of examination. The official results of the examination, containing the 
list of topnotcher examinees, and the names of the schools or colleges obtaining top 
percentages of successful graduate examinees shall be published by the Commission in 
a newspaper of general circulation. 
The Report of Rating of every examinee shall be mailed to his given address using 
the mailing envelope he submitted during the examination. 
SEC. 26, Oath, - All successful examinees shall be required to take their oath 
before the Board, or any official authorized by the Commission to administer oath, prior 
to the issuance of their certificates of registration and professional identification card or 
before they start the practice of their profession. 
ARTICLE V 
REGULATION OF THE PRACTICE OF THE MEDICAL PROFESSION 
SEC. 27. Acts Constituting the Practice of Medicine, - A person shall be 
considered as engaged in the practice of Medicine: 


15 
(a) for compensation, fee, salary or reward in any form paid to him directly or 
through another, physically examine any person and diagnose, treat, operate or 
prescribe any remedy for human disease, injury, deformity, physical, mental, 
psychical condition or any ailment, real or imaginary, regardless of the nature 
of the remedy for treatment administered, prescribed or recommended; 
(b) by means of signs, cards, advertisements, written 
or 
printed matter; 
or 
through the radio, television or any other means of communication, either offer 
or undertake by any means or method to diagnose, treat, operate or prescribe 
any remedy for any human disease, injury, deformity, physical, mental or 
psychological condition; 
(c) administer medical aid or treatment in life threatening situations where 
pharmacy services are not accessible; 
(d) use M.D. after his/her name; 
(e) teach, lecture or conduct review classes on subjects on the medical degree or in 
the Physicians Licensure Examination; or 
(9 be a holder of a special/temporary permit. 
SEC. 28. Suspension or Revocation of the Certificate of Registration. - 
The Board shall have the power, upon proper notice and hearing, to revoke the 
certificate of registration of a physician, suspend him/her from the practice of hidher 
profession or, incase of a foreign physician, reprimand him/her of a cancellation of the 
special or temporary permit issued thereto, for any of the following grounds or causes: 
(a) Final conviction by a court of competent jurisdiction of any criminal offense 
involving moral turpitude; 
(b) Immoral or dishonorable conduct; 
(c) Insanity; 
I' 
(d) Fraud in the acquisition of certificate of registration and professional 
identification card or temporary or special permit; 


16 
(e) Gross negligence, ignorance or incompetence in the practice of his/her 
profession, resulting in an injury or death of the patient; 
(f) Addiction to alcoholic beverages, or to any habit-forming drug rendering him/her 
incompetent to practice his/her profession, 
(9) False or extravagant or unethical advertisements wherein other things than his 
name, profession, limitation of practice, clinic hours, office and home address 
are mentioned; 
(h) Performance of, or aiding in, any criminal abortion; 
(i) Issuance of any false medical certificate; 
(j) Issuance of any statement or spreading any news or rumor which is derogatory 
to the character and reputation of another physician without justifiable move; 
(k) The aiding or acting as dummy for unqualified or unregistered person to practice 
medicine; 
(I) Violation of any provision of the Code of Ethics for Physicians or the Code of 
Technical or Professional Standards as prescribed by the organization of 
physicians accredited by the Commission or by the integrated and accredited 
national organization of physicians, and adopted and promulgated by the 
Board subject to the approval of the Commission; 
(m) The practice of profession during the period of his suspension from the practice 
thereof; 
(n)Refusal to attend to a patient in danger of death if there is no risk to his own 
life; 
(0) Expulsion or termination of membership in the integrated and accredited 
national organization of physicians; and 
(p)Violation of this Act, its implementing rules and regulations and other policies 
the Board and the Commission issued pursuant to this Act. 


17 
A decision of suspension, revocation of the certificate of registration or removal 
from the roll by the Board as provided herein may be appealed initially to the 
Commission within fifteen days from receipt thereof. The decision of the Commission 
may be appealed to the Court of Appeals in accordance with the procedures provided in 
the Rules of Court. 
SEC. 29. Rights of Respondents. - The respondent physician shall be entitled 
to be represented by a counsel or be heard in person, to have a speedy and public 
hearing, to confront, and to cross-examine witness or witnesses testifying against him, 
and to all other rights guaranteed by the Constitution provided for in the Rules of Court. 
SEC. 
30. Appeals from Judgment, - 
The decision of the Board shall 
automatically become final fifteen (15) days after the date of its promulgation unless 
the respondent, during the same period, has appealed the said decision of the 
Commission. If the final decision is not satisfactory, the respondent may appeal the 
decision to the Court of Appeals. 
SEC. 
31. 
Reissuance of Revoked Certificate of Registration and 
Professional License and Replacement of Lost Certificate or Professional 
License, - After two (2) years and after due consultation with the integrated and 
accredited national organization of physicians, the Board may order the reinstatement 
of any physician whose certificate of registration has been revoked, if the respondent 
has acted in an exemplary manner in the community. 
A new certificate of registration or professional license may be issued to a physician 
who has lost, destroyed or mutilated, subject to the rules of the Commission. 
SEC. 32. Indication of Certificate or Registration and Professional Tax 
Receipt, - A registered physician shall indicate his/her certificate of registration 
number, date of issuance, the expiry date, and the professional tax receipt number on 
the prescription and other documents he/she signs, uses or issues in connection with 
the practice of his/her profession. 


18 
SEC. 33. Vested Rights, - 
All physicians registered at the time this law takes 
effect shall automatically be registered under the provisions hereof, subject however to 
future requirements set forth hereunder. 
SEC. 
34. 
Persons Exempted from Holding Valid Certificate of 
Registration or Special Teniporary Permit, - The preceding section shall not be 
construed to affect the following: 
(a) any medical student duly enrolled in an approved medical college or school, or 
any graduate who is under training, or who is serving without any professional 
fee in any government or private hospital: Provided, That, he/she renders such 
service under the direct supervision and control of a registered physician; 
(b) any legally registered dentist engaged exclusively in the practice of dentistry; 
(c) any duly registered masseur or physiotherapist: Provided, that he/she applies 
massage or other physical means upon written order or prescription of a duly 
registered/licensed physician: 
Provided, further, that such application of 
massage of physical means shall be limited to physical or muscular 
development; 
(d) any duly registered optometrist who mechanically fits or sells lenses, artificial 
eyes, limbs, or other similar appliances or who is engaged in the mechanical 
examination of the eyes for 
the 
purpose of constructing or adjusting 
eyeglasses, spectacles and lenses; 
(e) any person who renders any service gratuitously in cases of emergency, or in 
places where the services of a duly registered physician, nurse or midwife 
not available; 
(9 any person who administers or recommends any household remedy #per 
classification of existing pharmacy laws; 
(9) any clinical psychologist, or mental hygienist, in the performance of his/her 
duties, with regard to patients with psychiatric problems: Provided, that such 


19 
performance is done with the prescription and direct supervision of a duly 
registered/licensed physician; and, 
(h)a prosthetist who fits artificial limbs under the supervision of a registered 
physicians. 
SEC. 35. Integration of the Professionn. - The profession shall be integrated 
into one national organization of registered physicians to be duly recognized and 
accredited by the Board subject to approval by the Commission. A physician duly 
registered by the Board and the Commission shall automatically become a member of 
the said organization and shall receive the benefits and privileges appurtenant thereto 
upon payment of required fees and dues. Membership in the integrated organization 
shall not be a bar to membership in any other association of physicians. 
SEC. 36. Continuing Medical Education. - The Board shall implement the 
continuing medical education among practicing physicians in consonance with the 
guidelines of the Continuing Professional Education (CPE) 
of the Commission. 
Exemption from the CPE program may be applied for upon reaching the age of 65. 
SEC. 37. Automatic Registration of Physicians, - All physicians whose 
names shall appear in the Registry or Roll or Roster of Physicians at the time of the 
effectivity of this Act shall automatically be registered by the Board and the Commission 
as physicians and thereafter by the integrated and accredited national prganization of 
registered and licensed physicians as its bona fide members pursuant to Section 35 of 
this Act. 
SEC. 38. Foreign Reciprocify, - Unless the country of which he/she is a subject 
or citizen specifically permits Filipino physicians to practice within its territorial limits on 
the same basis as the subject or citizen of such foreign state or country under 
reciprocity and under international agreements, no foreigner shall be admitted to the 
examination and be given a certificate of registration to practice as a physician nd be 
f 
entitled to any of the privileges under this Act. 


20 
ARTICLE V I  
PENAL PROVISIONS 
SEC. 39. Pefla/fies - The penalties of imprisonment of not less than one (1) 
year but not more than five (5) years or a fine of not less than Fifty Thousand Pesos 
(P50,OOO.OO) but not more than Two Hundred Thousand Pesos (P200,000.00), or both, 
upon discretion of the court, shall be imposed upon any of the following: 
a) Any person who shall practice or offer to practice medicine in the Philippines 
without a valid certificate of registration and a valid professional identification 
card or a valid temporary or special permit in accordance with the provision of 
this Act; 
b) Any person presenting or attempting to use as his/her own the certificate of 
registration or temporary or special permit of another; 
c) Any person who shall give any false or forged evidence of any kind to the Board 
or to the Commission in obtaining a certificate of registration or temporary or 
special permit; 
d) Any person who shall /mpersonate a registrant using the same name; 
e) Any registered or licensed physician who shall abet or assist the illegal practice 
of a person who is not lawfully qualified to practice medicine; 
f) Any person who shall attempt to use a revoked or suspended certificate 
of registration or professional identification card or a cancelled special or 
temporary permit; 
g) Any person who shall use or advertise any title of description tending to convey 
the impression that he is a registered licensed physician; 
h) Any person who shall violate any of the provisions of thi# 
and 
its 
implementing rules and regulations. 


21 
SEC. 40. Injunctions - The Board may file an action to enjoin any person 
illegally practicing Medicine from the performance of any act constituting the practice of 
Medicine if the case so warrants until the necessary certificate therefore is secured, 
Any such person who, after having been so enjoined, continues on the illegal 
practice of Medicine shall be punished for contempt of court. 
The said injunction shall 
not relieve the person from criminal prosecution and punishment as provided in the 
preceding section. 
ARTICLE VI1 
FINAL PROVISIONS 
SEC. 41. Enforcement. - The Commission shall be the enforcement agency of 
the Board. As such, the Commission shall implement the concerned provisions of this 
Act, enforce its implementing rules and regulations as adopted by the Board, assist the 
Board in the investigation of complaints against violators of this Act, its implementing 
rules and regulations, Code of Ethics for Physicians and other policies of the Board. 
The Commission or the Board shall call upon or request any department, 
instrumentality, office, bureau, institution or agency of the government, including local 
government units to render such assistance as it may require, or to coordinate or 
cooperate in order to carry out, enforce or implement the professional regulatory 
policies of the Government or any program or activity it may undertake. 
SEC. 42. Appropriations, - The Chairpersons of CHED and the PRC shall 
immediately include in their programs the implementation of this Act, the funding of 
which shall be charged against their current year’s appropriations and thereafter in 
their annual appropriations. 
SEC. 43. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within ninety days from 
the effectivity of this Act, the Board, subject to the approval of the Commission, and in 
coordination with the accredited and integrated national organization of registered and 


LL 
licensed physicians, shall prepare the necessary rules and regulations, including a Code 
of Ethics for Physicians, to implement the provisions of this Act. 
SEC. 44. 
Transitory Provision- - The incumbent Board shall continue to 
function in the interim until such time as the new Board shall have been constituted 
pursuant to this Act. 
SEC. 45. Separability Clause, - If 
any clause, provisions, paragraphs or part 
hereof shall be declared unconstitutional or invalid, such judgment shall not affect, 
invalidate, impair any other part thereof, but such judgment shall be merely confined to 
the clause, provision, paragraph or part directly involved in the controversy in which 
such judgment has been rendered. 
SEC. 46. Repealing Clause. - Republic Act No. 2382 known as "The Medical 
Act of 1959" as amended by Republic Act Nos. 4224 and 5946, all laws amending the 
said Act, and all other laws, decrees, executive orders, and other administrative 
issuances and parts thereof which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are 
hereby modified, amended, superseded or repealed accordingly. 
SEC. 
47. 
Effectivity, - This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days 
following the completion of its publication in the Offcia/ Gazette or any major daily 
/ 
Approved 
,