FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC } 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
1 
First Regular Session 
Introduced by SENATOR PANFILO M. LACSON 
0 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The medical profession is indeed one of the more important professions in society 
because they safeguard our people's health and well-being. The recent developments in 
the field of medicine and, more importantly, the contemporary problems being faced by 
our medical practitioners demand that a new law be enacted at the soonest time possible. 
It has been three decades since Congress enacted a legislation pertaining to the 
concerns of this country's physicians. The most recent, the Medical Act of 1959, was last 
amended in 1969. 
Recent developments in medical science and the unique challenges they impose 
on today's medical practitioners speak volumes of an urgent consensus on a visible 
change in our anachronistic response to health-related crises, risks and opportunities. 
A healthy population brings so much advantage to Philippine employers, saving 
them untold millions on insurance premiums while enhancing our productivity here and 
abroad. Given this unquestionable scenario, our commitment to protecting this basic 
resource should also be unquestionable. 
A cursory look at the current medical environment reveals two alarming trends: 
1. The use of obsolete, often inferior, equipment not only in hospitals but also in 
academic institutions and training facilities, and; 
2. The deteriorating methods of instruction used among medical students that have 
led to their dismal performances in board examinations. 
To make the system responsive to both the needs of the general populace and the 
medical community, a commitment has to be made to restore the foundations of our 
health care system, a system whose basic values have been chipped away with each 
medical equipment that are rusting comfortably in its obsolescence, with each student ill- 
equipped to meet the demands of a sick or healthy patient, with each doctor forced to 
leave the country out of frustration. 
This bill aims to grant broad, legislative persona to the modern transformation of the 
medical profession as well as the judicious disposal of its resources for the 
professionalization thereof. 
Specifically, this bill covers the following salient points: 
1. 
2. 
The standardization, upgrading and regulation of medicine courses including 
internship training 
The examination for registration and licensure of physicians 


3. 
The supervision, control and regulation of the practice of medicine 
4. 
The integration of the medical profession and 
5. 
The development of the professional competence of physicians through 
continuing professional education in accordance with the guidelines set by the 
professional regulation commission. 
Essentially, this proposed memure will encompass all stages of the medical 
profession from education and licensure of students enrolled in related and pertinent 
courses, to their professional growth and advancement, to their accreditation and strict 
compliance to international standards of practice. 
In order to ensure the implementation of this bill, two lead agencies shall be 
created - A Council on Medical Education and The Professional Regulatory Board on 
Medicine. 
The Council will determine and prescribe minimum standards for which the 
operations of medical colleges will be based on. These standards include those that 
involve student admissions and a medical college’s physical, manpower and training 
facilities. 
The Board, on the other hand, shall exercise executive/administrative, rule- 
making and quasi-judicial powers in carrying out the provisions of the proposed 
physician’s act. For instance, it will be charged with supervising and regulating the 
practice of medicine in this country. As such, it will be tasked to prepare the examination 
questions, prescribe the syllabi of the subjects and their relative weights for the licensure 
exams among other things. The board is also responsible for looking into conditions 
affecting the practice of medicine, adopt measures for the enhancement of the profession 
and the maintenance of high professional, technical and ethical standards. Tangent to this, 
the board can make recommendations for the opening or closure of a medicine program 
and it can also conduct ocular inspection of places where physicians practice their 
profession when the need arises. 
On a related note, this act stipulates that medical professionals are only allowed to 
administer drugs in life-threatening situations or in a situation where pharmacy services 
are not available. It is hoped that the debate concerning the terms ‘dispensing’ and 
‘administering’ is finally laid to rest. 
As we move forward to improving our health system, the Physicians Act 
represents an important signal to all Filipinos that significant changes can only be 
achieved through a series of laws consistent with our modern needs. 
In view thereof, passage of this bill is urgently sought. 
U e n a t o r  


FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC } 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
1 
First Regular Session 
1 
SENATE 
Senate Bill No. 4 6  
" 
Introduced by SENATOR LACSON 
AN ACT 
REGULATING THE EDUCATION AND LICENSURE OF PHYSICIANS 
AND THE PRATICE OF MEDICINE IN THE PHILIPPINES, REPEALING 
FOR THE PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO. 2382, AS AMENDED, AND FOR 
OTHER PURPOSES 
Be it enacted in the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines 
in Congress Assembled: 
ARTICLE I 
GENERAL PROVISIONS 
SECTION 1. Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Physicians Act of 2007. " 
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - The state recognizes the important role of 
physicians in nation building and, towards this end, promotes the sustained 
development of a reservoir of physicians whose competence has been determined by 
honest and credible physician licensure examinations and whose standards of 
professional service and practice are internationally recognized and considered world- 
class brought about by regulatory measures, programs and activities that foster 
professional growth and advancement. 
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 (e) the 
development of the professional competence of physicians through continuing 
professional education in accordance with the guidelines set by the Professional 
Regulation Commission (PRC). 
SEC. 4. Enforcement - For the purpose of implementing the provisions of this 
Act, there shall be created the following: Council on Medical Education, hereinafter 
referred to as the Council, under 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 PRC, hereinafter referred to as the Commission. 


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ARTICLE II 
COUNCa ON lMEDICAL EDUCATION 
SEC. 5. Composition ofthe Council on’Medica1 Education - There shall be created a 
Council on Medical Education which shall be composed of the following: 
(a) The chairman ofthe CHED or hidher duly authorized representative as chairman; 
(b) The secretary of the Department of Health or hidher duly authorized representative as 
member; 
(c) The chairman of the Professional Regulatory Board For Medicine or hidher duly 
authorized representative as member; 
(d) The president of the Philippine Medical Association or hidher authorized 
representative as member; and 
(e) The president of the Association of Philippine Medical Colleges or hidher duly 
authorized representative as member. 
SEC. 6. Compensation and DavelExpenses. - The Chairman, Members and Secretary 
of the Council shall receive reasonable per diems fur every meeting attended: Provided, That, 
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 d e s  
and regulations. 
SEC. 7. Functions and Duties. - The Council on Medical Education,shaIl 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; 
(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 instrucXion purposes, operating 
and delivery rooms, facilities for out-patient services and others used for didactic and 
practical instruction in accordance with modern trends; 
(0) To determine and prescribe the minimum number and the minimum qualifications of 
teaching personnel including student-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 prescribe admission and graduation requirements other than those 
prescribed in this Act: Provided, That, only exceptional students shall be enrolled in the 
innovative curriculum; 
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(f) 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 
(g) To promulgate, prescribe and enforce the necessary d e s  and regulations for the proper 
SEC. 8. Minimum Required Course. - Students seeking admission to a medical course 
implementation ofthe foregoing functions. 
must have a bachelor’s degree in science or arts. 
The medical course leading to the degree of Doctor of 
Medicine shall be 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 authoriied to modify, rearrange, add, recluster, and revise the abovementioned 
subjects as the needs and demands ofprogress in the medical profession may require, 
SEC. 9, Admission Requfreinents. - 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: (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 
o&ring 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 preceding, other entrance requirements that may be deemed admissible. 
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. 
Every College of Medicine must keep complete records of enrollment, grades and graduates 
and must publish each year a catalogue 
giving 
the 
following information: (a) date of 
publication; (b) calendar of academic year; (c) faculty roll indicating whether on full or part 
time basis; (d) requirements for admission; (e) srading system; (i) requirements for promotion; 
(g) requirements for graduation; (h) curriculum and description of course by department; and (i) 
number of students enrolled in each class in the‘preceding year. 
ARTICLE XIT 
THli: PROIi’ESSXONAL REGULATORY BOARD FOR MFDICINE 
SEC. 10. Composition of NteBourd - There is hereby created a Professional Regulatory 
Board for Medicine, hereinafter referred to as the Board, under the administrative control and 
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supervision ofthe PRC, hereinafter referred to as the Cornmission, composed of a Chairman and 
six members to be appointed by the President of the Philippines from among three 
recommendeas for each position, chosen and ranked by the Commission from a list of five 
nominees for each position submitted by the integrated and accredited professional organization. 
The Board shall be organized not later than six months from the effectivity of this Act. 
SEC. 11. 
Powers and Dufim of the Board 
- The Board shall exercise 
executive/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; 
(b) Determine and evaluate the qualifications of the applioants for registration, with or 
without the physician licensure examination, and for issuance of special permits; 
(c) Prepare the examination questions in accordance with Sec. 23 hereof or the 
modifications thereof, prescribe the syllabi of the subjects and their relative weights for 
the ~icensure examinations; formulate or adopt test questions and deposit them in a test 
question bank; draw the test questions at 
random 
through process of 
computerization; conduct the examinations or conduct walk-in examination, if 
practicable; correct and rate the examination papers and submit the examination results 
to the Commission within the period provided for by the rules of the Commission; 
(d) 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; 
(e) Register successful examinees in the physician licensure examination and issue the 
(0 Issue speciaVtemporary permits to foreign physicians to practice medicine for specific 
corresponding certificates of registration; 
projects and for a specific duration oftime; 
(g) Look into the conditions affecting the practice of medicine, adopt measures for the 
enhancement of the profession and the maintenance of high professional, technical, and 
ethical standards, and recommend to’CNED the opening or closure of a program of 
Medicine and conduct ocular inspection of places where physicians practice their 
profession; 
(h) 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 
polices, orders, and issuances to cany out the provisions of this Act; 
(i) Investigate violations of the Act and the rules and regulations, code of ethics, 
administrative policies, orders and issuances promulgated by the Board. The rules on 
administrative investigation promulgated by the Commission shall govern in such 
investigation; 
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(IC) 
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; 
(I) 
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, Vicechairman or a Member of the Board with assistance of a PRC attorney; 
(m) 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 (15) days from receipt 
ofthe copy thereof. The decision of the Commission may be appealed to the Court of 
Appeals in accordance with the procedures provided jn the Rules of Court; 
(n) After due notice and hearing, cancel examination papers and/or bar any examinee from 
kture examination; refuse or defet hislher registration; reprimand the registrant with 
stern warning; suspend himher Erom the practice of the profession; revoke hidher 
certificate of registration; cancel special/temporary permit; remove Ris/her name from 
the roll of physicians for continuous non-payment of annual registration fees and non- 
compliance with Continuing Professional Education (CPB) requirements; reinstate or 
reenroll hidher name in the said roll; 
reissue or return hisher certificate of 
registration and professional identification card. 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 Cornmission within fifteen (15) 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; 
(0) Administer oaths in connection with the administration, implementation, or enforcement 
of this Act; 
(p) Prosecute or institute criminal action against any violator of this Act and/or the rules and 
regulations of the Board; 
(q) Adopt an official seal; 
(r) Coordinate with the Council of Medical Education in prescribing, amending and/or 
revising the courses; 
(s) Assist the Commission in the impIementation of its prescribed guidelines and criteria on 
the CPE For registered physicians; and 
(t) 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 the review, revision, and approval by the Commission; however, the Board's 
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decisions, resolutions or orders which are not interlocutory, rendered in an administrative case, 
shall be subject to review only if on appeal. 
SEC. 12. Qualtficafions of BoadMembers. 
Each Board member must, at the time of 
hidher appointment: 
(a) Be a natural born Filipino citizen and a resident of the Philippines for at least ten (10) 
(b) Be at least forty (40) years old; 
(c) Be a physician who is a holder of a valid certificate of 
consecutive years; 
registration and a valid 
professional identification card; 
(d) Be a practitioner for at least ten (10) years; 
(e) Be a bona $de 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 member in a college of medicine; 
(h) At the time of appointment, must not be a member of the faculty in an institute, school 
or college of medicine, and not have any pecuniary interest, direct or indirect, in an 
institution which offers and operates the course of degree of Doctor of Medicine; and 
not be connected with a review center/ school/ group or association where review 
classes or lectures in preparation for the Physician Licensure Examination are being 
offered or conducted; and 
(i) Not be an officer of the accredited organization of physicians or the integrated and 
accredited national organization of registered physicians at the time of appointment. 
SEC. 13. Term of Office. - The members of the Board shall hold office @om the date of 
their appointment for R term of three years or until their successors shall have been appointed 
and qualified. They may, however, be reappointed for another term aAer 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 hidher duties. The incumbents whose terms have not 
yet expired or who are serving in a 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. Compensafion of Board Members. - The chairman and members of the Board 
shall receive compensation and allowances comparable to the compensation and allowances 
received by the chairman and members of existing regulatory boards under the Commission as 
provided for by the General Appropriations Act. 
SEC. 15. Suapension or Removal of Bo& Member. - The President of the Philippines, 
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upon the recommendation of the Commission after giving the concerned member an opportunity 
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to defend himselflherself in a proper administrative investigation to be conducted by the 
Commission, may suspend or remove any member ofthe Board, on the followitlg grounds: 
(a) Neglect of duty or incompetence; 
(b) Unprofessional, unethical or dishonorable conduct; 
(c) Manipulation or rigging of the physician licensure examination 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 ofcriminal offenses involving moral turpitude. 
SEC. 16. Administrative Management, Custody of Records, Secretariat and Support 
Services. - The Board shall be under the administrative and executive management of the 
Commission, with the Commission Chairman as the Chief Executive Officer thereof. All 
records of the Board shall be under the custody of the Commission. 
The Commission shall designate the Secretluy 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 accdmplishments on programs, projects, and activities 
for the previous calendar year together with its appropriate recommendations on issues or 
problems affecting the practice of medicine, to be submitted to the Commission. 
ARTICLE IV 
EXAMINATION, REGISTRATION AND LICENSURE 
SEC. 18. Prerequisite to the Proctice of Medicine. - No person shall engage in the 
practice ofMedicine in the Philippines unless he/she holds: 
(a) A valid certificate of registration and professional identification card, 
(b) A valid specialhnporary permit issued by the Board subject to approval by the 
Commission, or unless helshe is exempted by this Act from holding any of the foregoing 
licenses. 
SEC. 19. &arninntions 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. Qualiflcations of Applicant for &amination. - Every applicant for examination 
shall establish to the satisfaction of the Board that hdshe has the following qualifications: 
(a) Hdshe is a 
counhy/state has reciprocity with the Philippines in the practice of Medicine; 
(b) He/she is mentally, emotionally and physically sound; 
(c) %/she has not been convicted in a final judgment by a court of any criminal offense 
citizen and resident of the Philippines or a foreign citizen whose 
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involving moral turpitude; 
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i (d) Hdshe is a 
holder of a degree of Doctor of Medicine conferred by a College of 
Medicine established in the Philippines and,duIy recognized by the CHED or of a degree 
canferred by a College of Medicine abroad and accredited by CHED as substantially 
equivalent to the degree of Doctor of Medicine offered by a Philippine College of Medicine; 
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 andSclieduh of Bumhtadonrrs, - The Board shall give 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 PRC Modernization Act of 2000. 
SEC. 22. 
Regisiration, Xssunnce of Certiyccnie of Registralion and Profasioona1 
IdentiJcation Card, and Non-Regis#rufion. - All successf%l examinees, upon compliance with 
all legal requirements and payment of fees prescribed by the Commission, shall be registered 
and issued with certificates of registration and professional identification card. 
The certificate ofregistration shall bear the registration number and date of issuance and the 
signatures ofthe Commission chairperson and the members ofthe Board stamped with the seal 
of the Commission and the Board, certifying that the name of the person stated therein appears 
in the RegistryIRoll of Physicians under the custody of the Commission; that hehhe has met or 
complied with all the legal requirements for registration as a physician; that hdshe is entitled to 
exercise all the privileges appurtenant to the practice of hidher profession: Provided, That, 
helshe does not violate this Act, the Rules and Regulations, Code of Ethics for Physicians, 
Code of TechnicaVProfessional Standards and other regulatory policies of the Commission and 
Board. 
The profesessional identification card duly signed by the chairperson of the Commission shall 
bear the name of the registered physician, hidher registration number and date of issuance, and 
its date of expify, and shall be evidence that he/she can lawfully practice hidher profession.. 
A successful examinee who bas been convicted in fial judgment by a court of 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 registered. 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 tp the Court of Appeals. The facts and the reasons for 
rebat to register shall be in writing, communicated to the examinee, and duly incorporated in 
the records ofthe Commission, 
SEC. 23. Scope of Examination. - The Physician Licensure Examinations shalt cover the 
following individual or combined/clustered subjects With equal weights for each one final 
examination aRer completion of internship: (1) Anatomy; (2) Physiology; (3) Biochemistry and 
Molecular Biology; (4) Pharmacology and Therapeutics; (5) Microbiology and Parasitology; 
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(6) Medicine; (7) Pediatrics and Nutrition; (8) Pathology; (9) Obstetrics and Gynecology; (1 0) 
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 irnpbrtant need arises to conform to technological and modem changes, 
the Board may recluster, rearrange, modify the foregoing subjects, add or exclude any subject, 
or prescribe the number of final examination (s) per year in consultation with the Council and 
after approval by the Commission. The Board Resolution thereon shall be officially published in 
the O$?ciul Gazette or in major daily newspapers of general circulation and also circularized and 
disseminated to all colleges of Medicine. 
Each of the thirteen (13) subjects shall have its syllabus or table ofspecification. The Board 
shall apply the syllabi only after necessary consultation with the concerned academe, approval by 
the Commission, publication of its Board Resolution pursuant to legal requirements, 
dissemination to all colleges of Medicine, and after a lapse of at least three months from its 
effectivity. Each syllabus shall be subject to modification or amendment, as the need arises. 
SEC. 24. Rating in fhe Ejcamination. - 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 (50%). 
SEC. 25, Reports and Publication of the Results of Examination, - The Board 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 without indication of their respective schooldcolleges, and 
names of the 
schools/colleges 
obtaining top percentages 'of successf'ul graduate 
examinees shall be 
published by the Commission in a major daily newspaper of general circulation. 
the 
The Report of Rating of every examinee shall be mailed to hidher given 
address using 
the mailing envelope hdshe submitted during the examination. 
SEC. 26. Oath. - All successful examinees shall be required to take their oath before the 
Board or any oficial authorized by the Commission to administer oath before they are issued 
their certificates of registration and professional identification card or before they start the 
practice of their profession. 
ARTICLE V 
REGULATIQN OF THE PRACTICE OF THE MEDICAL PROFESSION 
SEC. 27. Acts Constiiuting Practice of Medicine. - A person shall be considered ae 
engaged in the practice of Medicine if hdshe shall: 
(a) For compensation, fee, salary or reward in any form paid to hidher directly or through 
another, 
even without the same, physically examine any person and diagnose, treat, 
operate or prescribe any remedy for human disease, injury, deformity, physical, 
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mental, psychical condition or any ailment, real or imaginary, regardless of the nature of 
the remedy for treatment administered, prescribed or recommended; or 
(b) By means of signs, cards, advertiserneb, written or printed matter; or through 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 psychical condition; 
c) Administer drugs in life threatening situations or where pharmacy services are not 
accessible; 
(d) Use M.D. 
aRer hisher name; 
(e) Teach, lecture or conduct review on subjects on the medical degree or in the physicians 
licensure examination; or 
(9 Be a holder ofa speciautemporary permit. 
SEC. 28. Revocation Of the C&&ate 
of RegiWratiOrr - The Board shall have the 
power, upon proper notice and hearing, to revoke the certificate of registration of a physician, 
suspend hidher from the practice of hidher profession or reprimand hidher, or to cancel the 
specialltemporary permit issued to a foreign physician, for any of the following grounds/causes: 
(a) Final conviction by a court of competent jurisdiction of any criminal offense involving 
(b) Immoral or dishonorable conduct; 
(c) Insanity; 
(d) Praud in the acquisition of certificate of registration and professional identification card 
(e) Gross negligence, ignorance or incompetence in the practice of hidher profession, 
moral turpitude; 
or temporary/special permit; 
resulting in injury or death of the patient; 
(0 Addiction to alcoholic beverages, or to any habit-forming drug rendering himdher 
incompetent to practice hidher profession, 
(g) False, or extravagant, or unethical advertisements wherein things other thafi hisher 
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; 
&) Aiding or acting as dummy for unqualified or unregistered person to practice medicine; 
(1) Violation of any provision of the Code of Ethics for Physicians or the Code of 
Technical/Professional Standards as prescribed by the organization of physicians 
accredited by the Commission or by the integrated and accredited national organization 
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of physicians, and as adopted and promulgated by the 
the Commission; 
Board subject to approval by 
(rn)Practice of profession during the period of hidher suspension from the practice thereof; 
(n) Refisal to attend to a patient in dan5er of death if there is no risk to hislher life; 
(0) Expulsion or termination of membership in the integrated and accredited national 
organization of physicians; and 
(p) Violation of this Act, the Rules and Regulations and other policies of the Board and the 
SEC. 29. Rights of Respondents. - The respondent physician shall be entitled to be 
represented by counsel or be heard in person, to have a speedy and public hearing, to confront, 
and to cross-examine witness against hidher, and to all other rights guaranteed by the 
Constitution provided for in the Rules of Court. 
Commission issued pursuant to this Act. 
SEC. 30. AppeaIfwm Judgment - The decision of the Board shall automatically become 
final fjReen (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 CeriiJicate of Regishation and Profmsional 
Jdent@cation Card nnd Replacement of Lost Cer#icute or Professional Identification Curd - 
Mer two 
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 identification card to replace that which has 
been lost, destroyed or mutilated may be issued subject to the rules of the Commission. 
SEC. 32. Indication of Certificate of Registration and Professional T m  Receipt. - A 
registered physician shall indicate hidher certificate of registration number and its date of 
issuance, and the professional tax receipt number, date of issuance and expiry date, on the 
prescription and other documents he/she signs, uses or issues in connection with the practice of 
hidher profession. 
SEC. 33. VestedRights. - AI1 physicians registered at the time this law takes effect shall 
automatically be registered under the provisions hereof, subject however to the provisions herein 
set forth as to future requirements. 
SEC, 34. Persons Exempted from Holding Vulid G&@cate of Registrution or Special/ 
Temporary 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 
under training serving without any professional fee in any government or private hospital: 
Provided, naf, 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 
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dentistry; (c) any duly registered masseur or physiotherapist: Prwided, further, That, he/she 
applies massage or other physical means upon written order or prescription of a duly registered 
physician: Pmvided &rfhevmore, That, such application of massage of physical means shaIl 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 are 
not available; (0 any person who administers or recommends any household remedy as per 
classification of existing pharmacy laws; (g) any clinical psychologist, or mental hygienist, in 
the performance of hislher duties and regard to patients With psychiatric problems: Provided, 
JnalZy, That, such performance is done with the prescription and direct supervision of a duly 
registered physician; or (h) any prosthetist who fits artificial limbs under the supervision of a 
registered physician. 
SEC. 35. Integration of the Profession. 
The members of 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 Educafioa - The Board shall implement the continuing 
medical education among practicing physicians in consonance with the guidelines of the 
Continuing Professional Education of the Commission. Exemption fiom the CPE program may 
be applied for upon reaching the age of sixty-five (65). 
SEC. 37. AUTOh4ATIC REGISTRATION OF PHYSICL4NS. - All Physicians whose 
names shall appear in the RegistryRoWRoster 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 organization of registered physicians as its 
bona$de members pursuant to Section 35 of this Act. 
SEC. 38. Foreign Reciproci@. - 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 and be entitled to any of the privileges under this act. 


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ARTICLE V I  
PENAL PROVISIONS 
SEC. 39. Psnalties. - 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/special permit in accordance with the provisions of this Act, or any person 
presenting or attempting to use as hidher own the certificate of registration or temporary/special 
permit of another, or any person who shall ghe any false or forged evidence of my kind to the 
Board or to the Commission in obtaining a certificate of registration or temporary/ special 
permit, or any person who shall impersonate a registrant using the same name, or any registered 
physician who shall abet or assist the ilregd practice of a person who is not IawibHy qudified to 
practice medicine, or any person who shall attempt to use a revoked or 
suspended 
certificate of registration or professional identification card, or a cancelled specialltemporary 
permit, or any person who shall use or advertise any title of description tending to convey the 
impression that hehhe is a registered physician, or any person who shall violate any of the 
provisions of this Act and of the rules and regulations shall, upon conviction by the court, 
suffer the penalties ofimprisonment ofnot less than one year nor more than five years or a 
fine of not 
less than Pifiy Thousand Pesos (P50,OOO.OO) nor more than Two Hundred 
Thousand Pesos 
(P200,000.00), or both, upon discretion ofthe court. 
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 oFMedicine if the 
case so warrants until the necessary certificate therefore is secured. 
Medicine shall be punished for contempt of court. 
person from criminal prosecution and punishment as provided in the preceding section. 
Any such person who, after having been so enjoined, continues in the illegal practice of 
The said injunction shall not relieve the 
ARTICLE Yn 
FINAL PRO$fSIONS 
SEC. 41. Enforcement. - The Commissjon 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 d e s  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. 
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SEC. 42. ApprQpriatiuw. - The Chairpersons of the Commission on Higher Education 
and the Professional Regulation Commission 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 the Annual General Appropriations Act. 
SEC. 43. Impkmeiatimg Rules nndRegulntions. - Within ninety days from the effectivity 
ofthis Act, the Board, subject to the approval of the Commission, and in coordination with the 
accredited and integrated national organizatidn of registered physicians, shall prepare the 
necessary rules and regulm’ons, including a Code of Ethics for Physicians, to implement the 
provisions of this Act which shall take effect fifteen (15) days following publication in the 
Oflciul Gazette or a major newspaper of general circulation. 
SEC. 44. ZhwtsiitOry Provision. - The incumbent Board for Medicine shall continue to 
function in the interim until such time as the new Board shall have been constituted pursuant to 
this Act. 
SEC. 45. Separubili’ty Clause - If any clause, provision, paragraph’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, is hereby repealed. All other laws, 
decrees, executive orders, and other administrative issuances and parts thereof which are 
incongistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby modified, amended, superseded or 
repealed accordingly. 
SEC. 47. Effectid@. - This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days following the 
completion of its publication in the Ofjcciul Gazette or any major daily newspaper of general 
circulation in the Philippines. 
Approved, 
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