The House of Representatives has approved on third and final reading the updated bill strengthening the local midwifery industry and repealing two old laws, one of which ran as long as 64 years ago.
With an overwhelming 186 votes, Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez lauded the passage of House Bill (HB) 10079, entitled “An Act Strengthening the Practice of Midwifery as a Profession in the Philippines” on Wednesday.
“This bill is equipped with provisions that will help existing midwives to gain more knowledge in the practice of their profession. This is a tribute to our midwives who have been serving our country for almost all their lives,” the bill’s main author, Bulacan Rep. Salvador Pleyto said.
The measure, if enacted into law, will repeal two old policies – the Philippine Midwifery Law (Republic Act 2664) enacted in June 1960 and the Philippine Midwifery Act of 1992 (Republic Act 7392), which is already 32 years old.
“Both laws have been enacted several decades ago. It is only but proper to repeal the said republic acts to adapt to the changing times,” the congressman of Bulacan province’s sixth district said.
HB 10079 provides for a “Board of Midwifery” which will be composed of four members and will be under the “direct supervision” of the Philippine Regulatory Commission that regulates almost all professions, especially the medical health industry, in the country.
The five-man “collegial body” will be headed by a chairperson, all of whom will be “appointed” by the incumbent or sitting President; whose chairperson shall enjoy a six-year term of office – “without reappointment.”
The Midwifery Board will “supervise and regulate” the practice of the profession; is authorized to “issue, suspend, or revoke certificates of registration” for the industry; and is allowed to “conduct hearings and investigations to resolve complaints” against midwives for malpractice, among other duties.
It can also issue subpoena ad testificandum (oral testimonies) and duces tecum (documentary evidence), as well as “punish with contempt persons obstructing, impeding, or otherwise interfering with the conduct of such proceedings upon application with the court,” the measure stated.
Persons found to be violating this bill, “subject to the approval of the PRC,” will upon conviction, suffer a fine of not less than P50,000 nor more than P100,000, or to be penalized for an imprisonment of not less than two years nor more than seven years, upon the court’s discretion.