Republic Act No. 1998

As used in this Act, the term—

No person shall practice or attempt to practice optometry, as defined in this Act, without holding a valid certificate of registration as optometrist issued to him by the Board of Examiners in Optometry herein created and in accordance with the provisions hereof: Provided, That valid certificates of registration as optometrists shall be issued to optometrists of good moral character now registered in accordance with the provisions of chapter thirty-three of the Revised Administrative Code, who shall, by application within a period of one year from the effectivity of this Act, be exempt from the provisions of sections eleven, twelve and twenty-three of this Act: Provided, further, That registration shall not be required of optometrists in the service of the United States Armed Forces stationed in the Philippines while rendering services as such for members of the said armed forces, nor of regularly licensed and duly registered physicians in the Philippines as certified by the Philippine Board of Medical Examiners.

There is created a new Board of Examiners in Optometry, hereinafter referred to as the Board, which shall be organized within thirty days from the date of effectivity of this Act, and which shall be composed of three members, one to be designated as chairman, all to be appointed by the President of the Philippines, upon the recommendation of the Commissioner of Civil Service, among such optometrists of recognized standing and possessing the qualifications prescribed in section five as certified to by a bona fide organization of optometrists as academically and morally qualified and as having practiced for at least ten years. Each member of the Board shall qualify by taking the proper oath of office before entering upon the performance of his duties.

The Board is vested with authority and required, conformably with the provisions of this Act, to—

Each member of the Board shall, at the time of his appointment:

The members of the Board shall hold office for a term of three years after appointment and until their successors shall have been appointed and shall have qualified: Provided, That the first appointees to the Board shall hold office for the following terms: the Chairman for three years, one member for two years, and one member for one year. Interim vacancies in the Board shall be filled for the unexpired term only.

Any member of the Board may be removed by the President of the Philippines for neglect of duty, incompetency, malpractice, or unprofessional, unethical, immoral or dishonorable conduct, after having been given opportunity to defend himself in a proper administrative investigation: Provided, That during the process of investigation, the President shall have the power to suspend such member under investigation and appoint a temporary member in his place.

The Commissioner of Civil Service shall be the executive officer of the Board, and shall conduct the examinations given by it according to the rules and regulations promulgated by him and approved by the President of the Philippines. The secretary of the Board of Examiners appointed in accordance with section ten of Act Numbered Four thousand seven, as amended by Republic Act Numbered Five hundred forty-six, shall also be the secretary of the Board. All the records of the Board, including examination papers, minutes of deliberations and records of administrative proceedings and investigations, shall be kept by the Bureau of Civil Service.

The members of the Board shall each receive as compensation the sum of ten pesos for each applicant examined. Any optometrist in the service of the Government of the Philippines appointed as member of the Board shall receive the compensation herein provided in addition to his salary.

Subject to the approval of the President of the Philippines and with the advice of the Commissioner of Civil Service, the Board shall set ethical and professional standards for the practice of optometry and prescribe collegiate courses therefor and, in general, adopt such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act.

Every applicant for registration as optometrist shall undergo a technical examination as provided in this Act. Examinations for the practice of optometry in the Philippines shall be given once a year in July on such working days and places as the Bureau of Civil Service may designate and shall be governed by Civil Service rules and regulations. To each applicant for examination having the necessary qualifications, written or printed notice thereof shall be mailed at least fifteen days prior to the date of the first day of the examination.

Every applicant for examination under this Act shall, prior to the date thereof, furnish to the Board satisfactory proof that—

The examination shall comprise all the subjects of optometry and other auxiliary subjects mentioned in the preceding section.

The Board shall, within one hundred twenty days after the date of completion of the examination, report the result thereof to the Commissioner of Civil Service, who shall, with his recommendation, submit such result to the President of the Philippines for approval.

All successful examinees shall be required to take a professional oath before the Board or before any person authorized to administer oaths, prior to entering upon the practice of optometry in the Philippines.

An applicant who, for the third time, fails to pass the prescribed examination shall not be allowed to take the next succeeding examination until and after he has taken a review course.

Every applicant who has satisfactorily passed the required examination, shall, upon payment of the registration fee, receive a certificate of registration as optometrist: Provided, That no such certificate shall be issued to any applicant who has not attained the age of twenty-one years. All certificates shall be signed by the members of the Board and attested by its secretary.

The Board shall charge for each applicant for examination the sum of forty pesos; for each certificate of registration, thirty pesos; and for each duplicate registration certificate, five pesos. All such fees shall be paid to the disbursing officer of the Bureau of Civil Service, and such officer shall pay from the receipts thereof all the authorized expenses of the Board, including the compensation of its members: Provided, That one-half of the examination fee shall be refunded to the applicant if his application is disapproved.

The Board shall refuse to issue a certificate of registration to any person convicted by a court of competent jurisdiction of any criminal offense involving moral turpitude, and to any person guilty of immoral or dishonorable conduct, or of unsound mind, or incurable infectious disease, and in such cases shall give to the applicant a written statement setting forth the reason for its action, which statement shall be incorporated in the record of the Board.

The Board may, after giving proper notice and hearing to the party concerned, revoke or suspend a certificate of registration for the causes mentioned in the next preceding section, or for unprofessional conduct, malpractice, incompetency or serious ignorance or malicious negligence in the practice of optometry; or for making use of fraud, deceit, or false statements to obtain a certificate of registration; or for habitual use of intoxicating liquors, drugs or medicines causing him to become incompetent to practice optometry; or for the employment of persons who are not duly authorized to do the work that under this Act can be done only by persons who have certificates of registration to practice optometry in the Philippines; or for the employment of deceit or any other fraud with the public in general or some client in particular for the purpose of extending his clientele; or for making false advertisements, radio announcements and other similar means of calling the attention of the public; or for publishing or circulating exaggerated, fraudulent or deceitful allegations regarding his professional attainments, skill, or knowledge, or the methods and technique employed by him.

The revocation or suspension of a certificate made by the Board shall be subject to appeal to the President of the Philippines whose decision shall be final.

The Board may, upon application and for reasons deemed proper and sufficient, reinstate any suspended registration certificate, or issue another certificate in lieu of one previously revoked, and in so doing, it may, in its discretion, exempt the applicant from taking another examination.

A new certificate to replace any certificate lost, destroyed or mutilated may be issued subject to the rules of the Board.

Except as exempted in section two, no foreigner shall be admitted to the examination as optometrist under this Act, unless he proves in the manner provided by the Rules of Court that, by specific provision of law, the country of which he is a citizen, subject, or national, either admits Filipino citizens to the practice of optometry without restriction, or allows them to practice optometry after an examination on terms of strict and absolute equality with citizens, subjects, or nationals of said country, including the unconditional recognition of prerequisite degrees issued by institutions of learning duly recognized by the Government of the Philippines.

The Board shall make an annual report to the President of the Philippines after the close of each fiscal year, giving a detailed account of its proceedings during the year and making such recommendations as it may deem proper.

A roster of optometrists shall be prepared annually by the secretary of the Board, commencing on the year following that in which this Act shall become effective.1avvphi1 This roster shall contain the name and address of each of the registered optometrists, date of registration or issuance of certificate, and other data which in the opinion of the Board may appear pertinent. The roster shall be open for public inspection, and copies thereof shall be mailed to each person included therein, placed on file in the Office of the President of the Philippines, and furnished to all Department Heads, to mayors of all chartered cities, to the Bureau of Health, and to such other bureaus or government agencies, and provincial and municipal authorities as may be deemed necessary, and to the public upon request.

No person shall collect or cause to be collected any fee for optometric services rendered by him unless he is an optometrist registered under this Act.

The following shall be punished by a fine of not less than five hundred pesos nor more than two thousand pesos, or imprisonment for not less than one month nor more than two years, or both, in the discretion of the court:

If any provision of this Act or the application of such provision to any person or circumstance is declared invalid, the remainder of the Act or the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected by such declaration.

Chapter thirty-three and section two thousand six hundred eighty of the Administrative Code, as amended, and all Acts, executive orders, rules and regulations, or part thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are repealed or modified accordingly.

This Act shall take effect upon its approval, except section two and section twenty-seven (a), (b), (d), (e) and (f ) which shall take effect one year thereafter.