Veterinary Medicine and Surgery

June 18, 1949

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 382

AN ACT TO REGULATE THE PRACTICE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE AND SURGERY IN THE PHILIPPINES

SECTION 1. That it shall be unlawful for any person to practice veterinary medicine and surgery in any of its branches, including veterinary dentistry, and excepting the castrating and spaying of animals and dehorning of cattle, in the Philippines who shall not have complied with the provisions of this Act.

SECTION 2. No person shall practice veterinary medicine and surgery, in any of its branches without a valid and existing license to do so. cd i

SECTION 3. A person shall be regarded as practicing veterinary medicine and surgery within the meaning of this Act who shall append or cause to be appended to his name the letters V.S., D.V.M., V.M.D., M.D.C., D.V.S., or the words "Veterinary," Veterinarian," "Veterinary surgeon," "Veterinary dentist," or any other initials or title implying qualifications to so practice, or who shall treat, operate on, or prescribe for any physical ailment in, or any physical injury to, or deformity of, any domestic animals, for which he shall receive any monetary compensation. The terms of this Act shall not apply to commissioned veterinarians in the United States or the Philippine Army.

SECTION 4. An accredited school of veterinary medicine and surgery within the meaning of this Act shall be (1) one approved by the Department of Education; (2) one requiring, among other things, that, as a prerequisite for admission, its students must have a four-year course in any public high school, or other secondary school accredited by the Department of Education; (3) one that requires for graduation a five-year course in veterinary medicine and surgery, teaching the subjects of anatomy and physiology of domestic animals, general and special pathology, veterinary materia medica and therapeutics, veterinary medicine and surgery, bacteriology, parasitology, chemistry, and such other subjects as are ordinarily included in the curricula of veterinary colleges and topics, knowledge of which is commonly and generally required of candidates for the decree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine by reputable veterinary colleges or universities. acd

SECTION 5. A person is qualified to receive a license (1) who is over twenty-one years of age; (2) who is of good moral character and temperate habits; (3) who is graduated from a four-year high school or secondary school approved by the Department of Education; (4) who was graduated from an accredited veterinary college; (5) who has passed an examination conducted by the Veterinary Examining Board to determine his fitness to receive a license; and (6) who is a citizen of the Philippines or who has made a declaration of intention to become a citizen and has filed a petition for naturalization within thirty days after becoming eligible to do so.

SECTION 6. A person who desires to obtain a license shall apply therefore to the Veterinary Examining Board. Each application shall contain and be accompanied by proof of particular qualifications required under oath and shall be accompanied by the examination fee.

SECTION 7. The Veterinary Examining Board shall consist of three reputable veterinarians appointed by the President of the Republic upon recommendation of the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

SECTION 8. It shall be the duty of the Veterinary Examining Board to examine the applications, diplomas, affidavits and proof of all applicants, and when satisfied of the genuineness of the same, it shall examine all applicants for examination and shall issue a license to each person successfully passing the examination.

The Veterinary Examining Board may refuse to issue or may suspend, or revoke any license for any one or any combination of the following causes:

(1) The employment of fraud, misrepresentation or deception in obtaining such license;

(2) Conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude or conviction of a felony, in which case the record of such conviction shall be conclusive evidence;

(3) Chronic inebriety or habitual use of drugs;

(4) For having professional connection with or lending one's name to any illegal practitioner of veterinary medicine and the various branches thereof;

(5) Violation or attempting to violate, directly or indirectly, any of the provisions of this Act;

(6) Fraud or dishonesty in applying, treating or reporting on tuberculin or other biological tests;

(7) False or misleading advertising having for its purpose or intent deception or fraud;

(8) For failing to report, as required by law, or making false report of any contagious or infectious diseases.

SECTION 9. The members of the Veterinary Examining Board shall serve for a period of three years beginning from the date of their appointment. The members shall be appointed such that the term of office of one member shall terminate every year. Any vacancy shall be covered by an ad interim appointment for the rest of the term only.

SECTION 10. The President of the Republic will have the power to dismiss any member of the Board because of unprofessional conduct, inefficiency, dereliction of duty or any sufficient and justifiable reasons.

SECTION 11. The officers of the Veterinary Examining Board shall consist of a President and a secretary who shall be elected every year from among the members of said Board.

SECTION 12. Each member of the Veterinary Examining Board shall receive a compensation of ten pesos per candidate taking the examination for practice as a veterinarian.

SECTION 13. The secretary shall keep the minutes of the Board and a book of registration of all the veterinarians to whom a license has been issued, indicating their names, age, place of practice, the veterinary institution from which they graduated, the number of years of study, the degree or certificates they obtained, and shall furnish a duplicate copy of the minutes and the book of registration to the Bureau of Civil Service.

SECTION 14. The Veterinary Examining Board shall meet and hold examinations at least once a year, should there be any applicant for the examination. The subjects for this examination shall be the following: Anatomy, physiology, pathology, parasitology, materiamedica and therapeutics, bacteriology, medicine and surgery, and zootechnics.

The date, place and hours of the examinations shall be published in one or more newspapers at least, one week previously.

SECTION 15. There shall be paid to the Insular Treasurer the following fees; (a) For examination, thirty pesos; (b) For a license, ten pesos; (c) For certified statement that a licensee is licensed, ten pesos; (d) For issuance of duplicate license in case the original has been lost or destroyed, ten pesos: No fee shall be required for a second examination if taken within twelve months after failure in the first examination. The examination fee may be returned to the candidate if he withdraws before the examinations have started.

SECTION 16. The Veterinary Examining Board may reciprocate with other countries in the recognition and exchange of licenses upon a basis of equality of educational standard and mutual recognition, which standard shall not be lower than the requirements of this Act.

SECTION 17. Any person practicing veterinary and surgery or dentistry in the Philippines without a license, or who shall fail to comply with any of the terms of this Act, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor, and upon conviction shall be punished by a fine of not less than one hundred pesos nor more than two hundred pesos or by imprisonment for not less than thirty days nor more than six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment for each and every offense; and it shall be the duty of the Provincial or City Fiscals where such offense is committed to prosecute all persons violating the provisions of this Act, upon proper complaint being made. All fines collected under this Act shall be paid into the treasury of the province or city where the prosecution is held.

SECTION 18. Any person filing, or attempting to file, as his own, the diploma of another, or a forged or fictitious or a fraudulently obtained diploma or certificate, upon conviction shall be subject to such fine and imprisonment as are made and provided by the statutes for the crime of forgery.

SECTION 19. This Act shall take precedence above all existing rules and regulations regarding the practice of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery in the Philippines. casia

SECTION 20. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved: June 18, 1949

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 45, No. 8, p. 3187 in August 1949