Amending R.A. No. 5527 As Amended (Philippine Medical Technology Act of 1969)

June 11, 1978

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1534

FURTHER AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 5527 AS AMENDED BY PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 498 OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE PHILIPPINE MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY ACT OF 1969

WHEREAS, Presidential Decree No. 498 amended certain sections of Republic Act No. 5527 otherwise known as the Philippine Medical Technology Act of 1969;

WHEREAS, in the implementation of said decree, certain sections thereof have been found to hamper or render ineffective certain functions and duties of the Department of Education and Culture and the Department of Health; and cdt

WHEREAS, the aforesaid Decree contains provisions which prejudice the practice of anatomic and clinical pathology by qualified physicians thus negating one of the primary objectives of the original Medical Act of 1969.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby order and decree:

SECTION 1.  Section 3 of Republic Act No. 5527 as amended by Presidential Decree No. 498 is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 3.  Council of Medical Technology Education; Its Composition. — There is hereby established a Council of Medical Technology Education hereafter referred to as the Council, which shall be composed of the Director of Higher Education as Chairman; the Chairman of the Professional Regulation Commission as Vice-Chairman; and the Director of the Bureau of Research and Laboratories of the Department of Health, the Chairman and two (2) members of the Board of Medical Technology, a representative of the Deans of Schools of Medical Technology and Public Health, and the Presidents of the Philippine Society of Pathologists and the Philippine Association of Medical Technologists, as members."

SECTION 2.  Paragraph 3, Section 8 of Republic Act No. 5527 as amended is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 8.  Qualification of Examiners. — No person shall be appointed as a member of the Medical Technology Board unless he or she: . . . is a qualified Pathologist, or a duly registered Medical Technologist, of the Philippines with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Medical Technology/Bachelor of Science in Hygiene/Public Health; . . ."

SECTION 3.  Subparagraphs (g) and (i) of Section 11 of Republic Act No. 5527 as amended, are hereby repealed. cdt

SECTION 4.  Section 13 of Republic Act No. 5527 as amended, is hereby further amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 13.  Accreditation of Schools of Medical Technology and of Training Laboratories. — The Department of Education and Culture shall approve schools of Medical Technology in accordance with the provisions of this Act, as amended, in conjunction with the Board of Medical Technology. The Department of Health through the Bureau of Research and Laboratories shall approve laboratories for accreditation as training laboratories for medical technology students or post-graduate trainees in conjunction with the Board of Medical Technology. The laboratories shall show satisfactory evidence that they possess qualified personnel and are properly equipped to carry out laboratory procedures commonly required in the following fields: Clinical Chemistry, Microbiology, Serology, Parasitology, Hematology, Blood Banking, Clinical Microscopy, and Histopathologic techniques, and that the scope of activities of said laboratories offer sufficient training in said laboratory procedures."

SECTION 5.  Section 12 of Presidential Decree No. 498 is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Sec. 12.  Repealing Clause. — All those Executive Order, Decrees, Rules and Regulations, or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Decree are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly: Provided, however, That nothing in this Decree shall be construed as repealing or amending any portion of the Medical Act of 1959 (Republic Act No. 2382, as amended by Republic Act No. 4224), and the Clinical Laboratory Act of 1966 (Republic Act No. 4688), and the Blood Banking Law of 1956 (Republic Act No. 1517), and the Rules and Regulations issued pursuant to these laws."

SECTION 6.  This Decree shall take effect immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 11th day of June, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Seventy-Eight. cd i

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 74 No. 41, 8094-174 Supp., on October 9, 1978.

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 74 No. 44, 8651-89 Supp., on October 30, 1978.