Practice and Regulation of Respiratory Therapy

Core definitions and key terms

Section 3 defines Respiratory Therapy as an allied health specialty employed with medical direction in the treatment, management, control, diagnostic evaluation and care of patients with deficiencies and abnormalities in the cardiopulmonary system.
Section 3 defines a Respiratory Therapist as a person holding a valid certificate of registration and professional identification card issued by the Professional Regulatory Board of Respiratory Therapy and the Professional Regulation Commission, legally qualified to practice in the Philippines under the Act.
Section 3 defines a Respiratory Therapy Technician as a registered person who completed a two (2)-year associate or certificate program in respiratory therapy procedures; whose specific assignments are supervised by a registered respiratory therapist and are within the limits of a hospital or an institution of employment.
Section 3 defines an Accredited Respiratory Training Center as a respiratory therapy unit or pulmonary laboratory, office, center, agency, clinic, hospital or sanitarium duly approved by the Department of Health or its authorized agency.
Section 3 defines a Recognized School of Respiratory Therapy as any school, college, or university offering a Respiratory Therapy course approved by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) upon recommendation of the Board.

Respiratory Therapy Professional Regulatory Board

Section 4 creates a Professional Regulatory Board of Respiratory Therapy under the administrative supervision and control of the Professional Regulation Commission (Commission).
Section 4 provides that the Board consists of a Chairperson and two (2) members, appointed by the President of the Philippines from three (3) recommendees submitted by the Commission from among a list of five (5) nominees for each position submitted by the integrated professional organization of respiratory therapists.
Section 4 requires that the Board be organized not later than six (6) months from the effectivity of the Act.
Section 5 sets membership qualifications requiring: Philippine citizenship/residency; minimum age (35 for chairperson; 30 for members); being a duly registered respiratory therapist with valid registration and identification card.
Section 6 provides a three (3)-year term (or until successors are appointed and duly qualified) with special staggered terms for the first Board: chairperson for three (3) years, one (1) member for two (2) years, and the other member for one (1) year; reappointment is allowed for another three (3)-year term but the total term cannot exceed six (6) years; interim vacancies are filled only for the unexpired term.

Board member qualifications and restrictions

Section 5 requires the following additional qualifications for Board members:
- A baccalaureate degree in respiratory therapy with at least fifteen (15) years of professional experience and at least five (5) years of professional experience as director, supervisor or head of a Department of Health recognized hospital laboratory/unit prior to appointment.
- Not being an elected officer of the integrated and accredited national organization of respiratory therapists.
- Not having been convicted by any competent court of an offense involving moral turpitude.
Section 5 prohibits pecuniary interest: Board members must have no pecuniary interest, directly or indirectly, in any school/college/university/institution conferring the academic degree necessary for admission to the practice of respiratory therapy, or where review classes for the licensure examination are offered or conducted; and must not be faculty or administration of such institution at the time of appointment.
Section 5 includes a first-Board special rule: the first members shall be issued certificates of registration and professional identification cards without prior examination.
Section 5 includes an academic progression rule: if a masteral degree course for respiratory therapy is developed, future Board members must hold a Masteral Degree in Respiratory Therapy.

Board compensation, powers, review, and records

Section 7 provides that the Chairperson and members receive compensation and allowances comparable to those received by chairpersons and members of existing regulatory boards under the Commission as provided in the General Appropriations Act.
Section 8 grants the Board powers and duties including to: promulgate and enforce necessary rules; administer oaths; study conditions affecting the practice and adopt measures to enhance the profession and maintain ethical standards; conduct ocular inspection to determine and enforce compliance.
Section 8 requires coordination with CHED to ensure respiratory therapy education institutions comply with CHED policies, standards, and requirements on curriculum, faculty, library and facilities.
Section 8 empowers the Board to supervise and regulate registration, licensure, and practice; adopt an official seal; maintain a roster; issue, reinstate, suspend or revoke certificates/IDs or cancel special permits.
Section 8 requires the Board to: prescribe and/or adopt a Code of Ethics and Standards; hear/investigate violations; issue subpoenae duces tecum; and, unless appealed to the Commission, make its decision final and executory after fifteen (15) days from receipt of the judgment/decision.
Section 10 provides that all Board records (applications, examination papers and results, minutes of deliberation, administrative cases, and other investigations involving respiratory therapists) are kept by the Commission; the Commission designates the Secretary of the Board and provides secretariat and support services.
Section 11 requires the Board to submit an annual report to the Commission at the close of each calendar year detailing proceedings and accomplishments and recommending measures to upgrade conditions affecting practice.

Board disciplinary removal and suspension

Section 9 provides that the Commission may recommend suspension or removal of a Board member after due process of law and an investigation by the Commission.
Section 9 authorizes the President to suspend or remove a Board member for cause including gross neglect of duty, incompetence, malpractice, unprofessionalism, immorality, unethical or dishonorable conduct, final judgment of crimes involving moral turpitude, manipulation or rigging of the licensure examination results, disclosure of secret and confidential information in examination questions prior to the conduct of the examination, and tampering of grades.

Licensure examination, registration, and qualification rules

Section 12 requires all applicants for registration to undergo a licensure examination given by the Board in places and dates designated by the Commission, subject to Commission requirements.
Section 13 requires applicants to establish: Philippine citizenship (or foreign eligibility if the applicant’s country permits Filipino respiratory therapists to practice within its territorial jurisdiction on the same basis); completion of at least ten (10) months internship equivalent to minimum one thousand five hundred (1,500) hours of clinical internship under a competent, duly qualified and registered respiratory therapist; a Bachelor of Science in Respiratory Therapy from a CHED-recognized and -accredited school (Philippines or abroad); good moral character; and no conviction for an offense involving moral turpitude.
Section 14 provides the licensure examination covers these subjects: Patient Assessment and Electrocardiography; Cardiopulmonary Pathophysiology; Neonatal and Pediatric Respiratory Therapy; Mechanical Ventilation; Acid-Base Physiology and Blood Gas Interpretation; Airway Care and Management; Pulmonary Function Testing; Pulmonary Rehabilitation; and Oxygen Therapy.
Section 14 authorizes the Board, subject to Commission approval, to revise or exclude subjects or add new ones as need arises.
Section 15 sets pass requirements: a general average of seventy-five percent (75%) with no grade lower than sixty percent (60%) in any subject.
Section 17 requires the Board to submit examination ratings to the Commission within ten (10) calendar days after the examination unless extended for just cause.

Registration without examination and oath

Section 16 allows registration without examination if applicants filed with the Board within two (2) years after the Board’s creation and submit credentials showing that, before effectivity of the Act, the applicant had any of the following:
- Bachelor of Science in Respiratory Therapy with at least ten (10) years of work experience in respiratory therapy practice; or
- Bachelor of Science in allied health professions with at least ten (10) years of work experience in respiratory therapy practice; or
- Holders of non-degree courses such as Certificate in Respiratory Therapy, Certificate in Pulmonary Therapy, Associate in Respiratory Therapy, Associate in Pulmonary Therapy with at least fifteen (15) years of work experience in respiratory therapy practice.
Section 18 requires all successful examinees and qualified applicants for registration without examination to take an oath of profession before any Board member or any government official authorized by the Commission to administer oaths prior to entering practice in the Philippines.
Section 19 requires the Commission, on recommendation of the Board and upon payment of fees prescribed by the Commission, to issue:
- A certificate of registration bearing the Chairperson’s and members’ signatures of the Commission, stamped with the official seal of the Commission and Board, entitling the named person to practice with all privileges appurtenant thereto; and
- A professional identification card bearing the registration number, date of issuance, expiry date, duly signed by the Chairperson of the Commission, renewable every three (3) years.
Section 19 provides that the certificate of registration remains in force until revoked or suspended in accordance with the Act.

Refusal to register and professional identifiers

Section 20 prohibits the Board from registering a successful examinee who has been convicted of any criminal offense involving moral turpitude, found guilty of immoral or dishonorable conduct after Board investigation, or declared to be of unsound mind; it requires the refusal reason to be set forth in writing.
Section 21 requires a respiratory therapist to indicate the registration number and the professional tax receipt number on documents signed, used, or issued in connection with practice.
Section 22 requires adding the professional suffix “RTRP” (meaning Respiratory Therapist Registered in the Philippines) to the name of a respiratory therapist who successfully passes the examination, especially when signing documents pertinent to practice.

Certificate suspension/revocation and reinstatement

Section 23 authorizes the Board, after proper notice of hearing, to revoke a practitioner’s certificate of registration and professional identification card, suspend practice, or cancel a special permit for causes or grounds under Section 20 or for any unprofessional or unethical conduct, malpractice, violation of the Act, its rules and regulations, or the Code of Ethics and Standards.
Section 24 provides that two (2) years after revocation, the Board may, upon application and for reasons it deems proper and sufficient, reinstate the revoked certificate and reissue the professional identification card; the Board may exempt the applicant from taking another examination.
Section 24 provides that new certificates or temporary/special permits may be issued to replace lost, destroyed or mutilated ones subject to Board rules.

Roster and public access

Section 25 requires the Board to prepare, update, and maintain a roster containing each registered respiratory therapist’s name, residence and office addresses, date of registration and issuance of certificates, and other data the Board deems pertinent.
Section 25 requires the roster to be open to the public and provides that copies shall be mailed to each person listed therein.

Special/temporary permits for foreign experts

Section 26 authorizes the Board to issue a special/temporary permit to persons listed in the section, subject to Commission approval and payment of the fees the Commission prescribes.
Section 26 allows permits for: a foreign respiratory therapist called for consultation or a specific essential purpose (with practice limited to the particular work engaged in and only if no Filipino respiratory therapist is qualified for that consultation/purpose); a foreign respiratory therapist engaged as professor/lecturer/critic essential to respiratory therapy education with engagement confined to teaching only; and a foreign respiratory therapist who is an internationally recognized expert with specialization and whose service is essential for advancing respiratory therapy in the Philippines.
Section 26 requires the permit to include limitations and conditions including:
- A validity period of not more than one (1) year subject to renewal;
- The branch or specialty of respiratory therapy;
- The specific place of practice (clinic, hospital, center, or school/college/university offering the course).
Section 26 requires the Board, subject to Commission approval, to prescribe rules and regulations for implementation of the section.

Practice scope and conduct prohibitions

Section 27 provides that a registered respiratory therapist performs functions under the direction of a physician, including: recommending tentative interpretation of tests from physiological specimens assisting diagnosis and degree of impairment of cardiopulmonary efficiency; implementing treatment programs based on test findings; performing pulmonary function testing maneuvers; performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation and providing an artificial airway; administering mechanical ventilatory support; administering pharmacologic agents related to respiratory care procedures; offering bronchopulmonary hygiene procedures; participating in pulmonary rehabilitation of patients with lung disorders; assisting in the technical and initial evaluation of polysomnography studies; assisting in bronchoscopy procedures; participating in research programs; and teaching/lecturing/reviewing subjects given in the licensure examination.
Section 28 prohibits practicing or offering to practice respiratory therapy in the Philippines, or using any title/word/letter/figure/sign conveying impression of being a respiratory therapist, or advertising or indicating in any manner that one is qualified, unless the person has passed the Board licensure examination and holds a valid certificate and professional identification card or a valid temporary/special permit duly issued by the Board and Commission.
Section 29 prohibits specific acts including representing oneself without a valid certificate/ID or temporary/special permit; representing oneself when the certificate/ID is not valid or is suspended/revoked or the temporary/special permit is cancelled; allowing others to use one’s certificate/ID or permit to enable unqualified practice; and using another person’s certificate/ID or permit as one’s own.
Section 30 requires hospitals, clinics, home care, medical centers and similar establishments to employ and station at least three (3) registered respiratory therapists, under direction of a physician, who must be on duty for each shift to ensure services comply with professional standards.

Ethics, continuing professional education, integration

Section 31 requires the Board to adopt and promulgate the Code of Ethics and Standards for Respiratory Therapists prescribed and issued by the accredited national organization of respiratory therapists.
Section 32 requires all respiratory therapists to abide by continuing professional education (CPE) requirements promulgated by the Board in collaboration with the integrated professional organization of respiratory therapists.
Section 33 requires integration of respiratory therapy associations into one (1) and only national organization recognized by the Board, subject to Commission approval, as the only accredited and integrated professional organization.
Section 33 provides that a respiratory therapist registered by the Board and Commission automatically becomes a member of that organization upon payment of required fees and dues, and membership in the accredited integrated organization is not a bar to membership in other associations.

Foreign reciprocity requirement

Section 34 prohibits admission to the examination, issuance of certificates, or entitlement to any privileges under the Act for foreigners unless the foreign country specifically permits Filipino respiratory therapists to practice within its territorial limits on the same basis as the foreign state’s citizens.

Criminal penalties and implementation duties

Section 35 imposes penalties: any person who violates any provision of the Act or its implementing rules and regulations approved by the Board is, upon conviction, punished by a fine of not less than PHP 20,000 or imprisonment of not less than six (6) months, at the discretion of the court.
Section 36 requires the Chairperson of the Professional Regulation Commission to include implementation of the Act in the Commission’s programs, with funding included in the annual General Appropriations Act.
Section 37 requires the Board, subject to Commission approval and in coordination with the integrated and accredited professional organization, to promulgate rules and regulations and the Code of Ethics for Respiratory Therapists within ninety (90) days after effectivity.
Section 38 provides that nothing in the Act prevents or affects the practice of any other legally recognized profession.

Separability, repeals, and transitory rule

Section 39 provides a separability clause: if any section or provision is declared invalid or unconstitutional, other sections or provisions remain valid.
Section 40 provides that all inconsistent laws, decrees, orders, issuances, or parts are repealed, modified or superseded.
Section 16 provides the Act’s key transitory window for registration without examination: filing within two (2) years after the Board’s creation with required credentials showing pre-effectivity qualifications.