House okays bill amending Medical Act of 1959

MANILA, Philippines – The lawmaker-daughter of Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay is urging her colleagues at the House of Representatives to pass her pet bill that aims to strengthen the medical industry and prevent humiliating incidents like the “rectal scandal” in Cebu City.

Makati Rep. Abigail Binay’s House Bill 1547, or the Physicians Act of 2007, which has been approved on third reading, seeks to replace the outdated Republic Act 2382 (Philippine Medical Act of 1959) by ensuring a community of honest, responsible and reliable medical practitioners.

“It pains me to see the whole medical community in such a shameful state right now,” she said. The neophyte lawmaker wants Filipino doctors to stay, amid hefty paychecks being offered by Britain, Canada and Japan.

“We need our doctors here. But more importantly, we need the best here and we should be able to keep them here,” Binay stressed. She added her bill will “strengthen and usher the medical sector of the country into the new millennium.”

Binay, a lawyer whose mother, former mayor Elenita Binay, is an obstetrician, said the old law is no longer applicable.

Among the amendments she introduced in her bill are the creation of a Council for Medical Education that will replace the original Board of Medical Education and will focus on the regulation and review of the medical curricula; creation of the Professional Regulatory Board of Medicine that will handle the examination and registration/licensing of medical practitioners; inclusion of a year of clinical internship and clerkship in the present 5-year medical course; introduction of new subjects to the medical curricula; institutionalization of the issuance of certifications of registrations and professional ID; addition of two subjects in the scope of examination for doctors: Molecular Biology and Neurology and Psychiatry; clarification of the passing rate for physicians; clarification of the scope and acts constituting the practice of medicine.