Estate and Donor Tax Regulations under RA 7499

Board of Midwifery creation

Section 2 establishes a Board of Midwifery, placed under the direct supervision of the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).
Section 2 provides that the Board is a collegial body composed of a chairman and four (4) members appointed by the President of the Philippines.
Section 2 requires the President to appoint from recommendees submitted through the Commissioner of the PRC.
Section 2 requires nomination sources as follows: three (3) registered midwives from the association of midwives, one (1) obstetrician from the association of obstetricians, and one (1) registered nurse-midwife from the association of midwives.
Section 2 requires the nominating associations to be accredited in accordance with Presidential Decree No. 223.

Board member qualifications and disqualifications

Section 3 requires each Board member, at appointment, to be a citizen and resident of the Philippines.
Section 3 requires each Board member to be of good moral character.
Section 3 requires each Board member to be at least thirty (30) years of age.
Section 3 prohibits Board members, while serving, from being members of the faculty (full time, part time, or lecturer) of any school, college, or university where a regular course in midwifery is taught, and prohibits any pecuniary interest in such institution during the term.

Board chairman and member-specific requirements

Section 3 requires the chairman, at appointment, to be a registered obstetrician.
Section 3 requires the chairman to have at least ten (10) years of practice as an obstetrician prior to appointment.
Section 3 requires three (3) Board members to be registered midwives, degree holders (preferably in health and social sciences), and to have at least ten (10) years of midwifery practice, including five (5) years in supervisory positions.
Section 3 requires one (1) Board member to be a registered nurse-midwife with at least ten (10) years practice as a nurse-midwife.

Tenure, oath, supervision, and records

Section 4 sets a Board term of three (3) years, or until successors are appointed and duly qualified.
Section 4 allows reappointment for another term.
Section 4 requires each Board member to qualify by taking an oath of office before performing duties.
Section 8 provides that Board members are under general supervision of the PRC.
Section 8 requires the PRC to keep all Board records, including examination papers, examination results, minutes of deliberation, and records of administrative cases and investigations.

Board functions and powers

Section 5 requires the Board to enforce the provisions of the Act.
Section 5 authorizes the Board to administer oaths under the Act.
Section 5 empowers the Board, after due investigation, to suspend or revoke certificates or registration for the practice of midwifery.
Section 5 requires the Board to investigate violations and authorizes issuance of subpoena and subpoena duces tecum to compel attendance and production of books, papers, and documents, with power to compel attendance through contempt.
Section 5 requires the Board to conduct yearly board examinations for midwifery examinees under PRC supervision.
Section 5 directs the Board to maintain professional standards and ethics by adopting measures based on the condition affecting midwifery practice.
Section 5 authorizes the Board to adopt an official seal to authenticate its official documents.
Section 5 requires the Board to exercise these powers and duties in accordance with Presidential Decree No. 223.

Board compensation and removal

Section 6 provides that the chairman and members receive the same compensation granted to similar boards’ chairman and members under the General Appropriations Act.
Section 7 allows removal by the President upon recommendation of the PRC for neglect of duty, incompetence, or unprofessional, immoral or dishonorable conduct.
Section 7 requires removal only after the member is given opportunity to defend himself in a proper administrative investigation conducted by the PRC.

Rules on standards and effective date

Section 9 requires the Board, subject to PRC approval, to set ethical and professional standards for midwifery practice.
Section 9 requires the Board to adopt rules and regulations necessary to carry out the Act.
Section 9 provides that these standards and rules take effect thirty (30) days after publication in two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.

Examination, admission, and registration

Section 11 requires all applicants for registration to practice midwifery in the Philippines to undergo an examination as required by the Act.
Section 12 sets the examination scope including infant care and feeding, obstetrical anatomy and physiology, principles of bacteriology as applied to midwife practice, obstetrics, midwifery procedures, domiciliary midwifery, community hygiene and first aid, nutrition, ethics of midwifery practice, primary health care, professional growth and development, family planning, and other subjects the Board may add.
Section 13 requires applicants, at the time of filing, to establish (to the Board’s satisfaction) good health and good moral character and graduation from midwifery in a government recognized and duly accredited institution.
Section 13 requires that at issuance of the certificate of registration, the applicant must be a Philippine citizen and at least eighteen (18) years of age.

Midwifery schools accreditation requirements

Section 14 requires midwifery schools seeking recognition to have a permit from the Department of Education, Culture and Sports (DECS).
Section 14 requires each recognized school to have at least fifty (50) maternity beds.
Section 14 requires affiliation with an accredited hospital duly accredited by an authorized government agency or instrumentality.
Section 14 requires a minimum ratio of one (1) clinical instructor to twelve (12) students in both the hospital and community.
Section 14 requires that, before allowing graduation, the school must show to the DECS or other authorized government agencies that students completed the midwifery course prescribed and that each student personally attended at least a total of twenty (20) deliveries in the hospital and in domiciliary services.

Faculty qualification standards

Section 15 requires faculty academic preparation appropriate to their teaching assignment, including at least a bachelor’s degree holder or Doctor of Medicine (M.D.).
Section 15 requires proof of competence in the field of specialization assigned to the faculty member.
Section 15 requires a registered nurse or registered midwife in the Philippines with at least one (1) year of satisfactory teaching experience or one (1) year of efficient performance in a maternity ward/community.
Section 15 allows a registered midwife to follow-up student midwives in the community ward if the midwife has at least two (2) years experience in the area and has undergone training in the supervision of students.

Board exam passing ratings

Section 16 sets qualification for passing as a general rating of seventy-five percent (75%) in the written test.
Section 16 requires no grade lower than fifty percent (50%) in any subject.

Reporting results and issuance of certificate

Section 17 requires the Board to report each candidate’s ratings to the PRC Commissioner within one hundred twenty (120) days after the examination.
Section 18 requires the Board to issue a Certificate of Registration as midwife to applicants who pass the examination upon payment of required fees.
Section 18 requires each certificate to show the registrant’s full name, a serial number, signatures of Board members, attestation by the Board Secretary, and authentication by the Board’s official seal.
Section 18 provides that issuance is evidence that the person named is entitled to all rights and privileges of a registered midwife until the certificate is suspended temporarily or revoked for just cause.

Registration for nurse-midwives

Section 19 allows certification to registered nurses who pass the midwifery examination.
Section 19 requires that, before being allowed to take the examination, the nurse must show evidence to the Board of having actually handled twenty (20) delivery cases, certified by the director or chief of a duly registered or recognized hospital, or by the proper municipal, city, or provincial health officer.

Examination and registration fees

Section 20 requires applicants for midwifery examination to pay an examination fee as prescribed by the PRC.

Unauthorized practice prohibition

Section 21 prohibits any person from practicing or offering to practice midwifery in the Philippines without holding a valid certificate of registration and a professional license as midwife.

Foreign reciprocity limitation

Section 22 bars any foreign midwife from being granted rights and privileges under the Act unless the Board is satisfied that the foreign country permits, within its territorial limits, on the same basis its citizens or nationals.
Section 22 requires that the foreign country’s requisites for admission to midwifery school and graduation be substantially the same as those in the Philippines.

What constitutes midwifery practice

Section 23 defines midwifery practice as performing or rendering, or offering to perform or render for a fee, salary, or other reward or compensation, services requiring understanding of principles and application of procedures and techniques for the supervision and care of women during pregnancy, labor, and puerperium management of normal deliveries.
Section 23 includes performing internal examination during labor except when patient is with antenatal bleeding.
Section 23 includes health education of the patient, family, and community, and primary health care services in the community, including nutrition and family planning when carrying out physicians’ written orders for antenatal, intra-natal, and post-natal care for normal pregnant mothers.
Section 23 includes immunization and oral and parenteral dispensing of oxytocic drug after delivery of placenta, suturing perenial lacerations to control bleeding, and giving intravenous fluid during obstetrical emergencies if trained for that purpose.
Section 23 authorizes midwives, within this practice, to inject Vitamin K to the newborn.
Section 23 excludes student midwives performing midwifery services under supervision of instructors and excludes emergency cases from the coverage of this definition.

Refusal, discipline, and appeal rules

Section 24 requires the Board to refuse to issue a certificate of registration to persons convicted of any criminal offense involving moral turpitude.
Section 24 requires the Board to refuse to issue a certificate to persons guilty of immoral or dishonorable conduct.
Section 24 requires the Board to give the applicant a written statement stating the reasons for refusal, and to incorporate that statement in the Board’s records.
Section 25 empowers the Board to revoke or suspend a midwife’s certificate for causes mentioned in Section 24 and for unprofessional conduct, malpractice, incompetence, or serious ignorance or negligence.
Section 25 expressly includes as grounds assisting or performing abortion in the practice of midwifery.
Section 25 expressly includes fraud, deceit, or false statements to obtain a certificate of registration.
Section 25 provides that appeals from the Board’s decision may be taken to the Professional Regulation Commission, and that the PRC decision is final.

Reissuance and replacement

Section 26 authorizes the Board to issue another copy of a revoked certificate upon proper application for reasons of equity and justice.
Section 26 requires payment of dues for reissuance and authorizes exemption from the requisite examination in issuing the replacement.

Penal provisions and sanctions

Section 27 makes it a misdemeanor for any person to practice midwifery in the Philippines without a certificate of registration issued in accordance with the Act.
Section 27 makes it a misdemeanor to present or use as one’s own another person’s certificate of registration.
Section 27 makes it a misdemeanor to give false or forged evidence to the PRC to secure a certificate of registration.
Section 27 makes it a misdemeanor to use a revoked or suspended certificate of registration.
Section 27 makes it a misdemeanor to assume, use, or advertise oneself as a registered midwife or registered nurse-midwife, or to append letters “A.AA12R.M.A AA12” without having been conferred that title by the PRC.
Section 27 makes it a misdemeanor to advertise any title description tending to convey the impression that one is a registered midwife.
Section 27 imposes, upon conviction, a fine of not less than PHP 10,000.00 nor more than PHP 30,000.00, or imprisonment of not less than two (2) years nor more than seven (7) years, or both, at the court’s discretion.
Section 27 applies the same penalty to any person found guilty of violation of any rule and regulation issued pursuant to the Act.

Effect of prior law, separability, and effectivity

Section 28 repeals Republic Act No. 2644 and repeals or amends any laws, decrees, orders, instructions, rules and regulations, and other issuances or parts inconsistent with Republic Act No. 7392.
Section 29 provides separability: unconstitutional or invalid parts do not affect the continued force and effect of other sections not affected.
Section 30 provides effectivity upon completion of publication in at least two (2) national newspapers of general circulation.

Annual reporting requirement

Section 10 requires the Board to submit an annual report to the PRC at the end of each calendar year detailing the Board’s activities and proceedings during the year.
Section 10 authorizes the PRC to request other information or data as often as necessary and practicable.