Regulates Optometry Practice in Philippines

State policy and purpose

The State recognizes the essential role of optometry in safeguarding and enhancing the health and general physical well-being of the citizenry.
Optometric services must be promoted as a regular component of the primary health care system.

Core definitions

“Optometry” is the science and art of examining the human eye; analyzing ocular function; prescribing and dispensing ophthalmic lenses, prisms, contact lenses and their accessories and solutions; low vision aids and similar appliances and devices; conducting ocular exercises; vision training; orthoptics; installing prosthetics; using authorized diagnostic pharmaceutical agents (DPA); and other preventive or corrective measures or procedures for aid, correction, rehabilitation, or relief of the human eye, or to attain maximum vision and comfort.
“Optometrist” is a person certified by the Board of Optometry and registered with the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) as qualified to practice optometry in the Philippines.
“Optometrist in good standing” is a registered optometrist authorized to practice optometry under a valid certificate of registration and a valid professional license issued by the PRC.
“Diagnostic pharmaceutical agents” are specific topical drugs to aid optometrists in examining the human eye.
- The DPA list is limited to Phenyleprine 2.5% ophthalmic drops, Tropicamide 0.5% ophthalmic drops, Proparacaine 0.5% ophthalmic drops, Oxybuprocaine HCL 0.4% ophthalmic drops, and Fluorecein strips, until otherwise specified by the Board upon approval of the Secretary of the Department of Health (DOH) upon the recommendation of the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD).
“Certificate of registration” is a document signed by the PRC Commissioner and all Board of Optometry members, bearing the Board’s seal, issued to an applicant who satisfies the requirements for practice.
“Professional license” is a renewable PRC card issued to a registered optometrist evidencing competence and authorization to practice.
“Code of professional ethics” is a set of standards on conduct, integrity, and moral duties of optometrists prescribed by the duly integrated and accredited national organization and adopted and promulgated by the Board upon PRC approval.

Practice of optometry and authorization

Section 4 provides that the following acts constitute the practice of optometry:
- Examining the human eye using subjective and objective procedures, including specific topical diagnostic pharmaceutical agents or drugs and instruments and related devices, to determine the condition and acuity of human vision for correction and improvement.
- Prescribing and dispensing ophthalmic lenses, prisms, contact lenses and their accessories and solutions, frames and their accessories, and supplies to correct and treat vision defects, deficiencies, and abnormalities.
- Conducting ocular exercises and vision training; providing orthoptics and other devices and procedures to aid and correct abnormalities of human vision; and installing prosthetic devices.
- Counseling patients on vision and eye care and hygiene.
- Establishing offices, clinics, and similar places where optometric services are offered.
- Collecting professional fees for performing the acts described in the preceding paragraphs.
Section 5 prohibits any person from practicing optometry or performing the acts constituting optometry without being admitted to the profession under the Act and its implementing rules.
The prohibition does not apply to regularly licensed and duly registered physicians who received postgraduate training in diagnosis and treatment of eye diseases.
The examination of the human eye by duly registered physicians in connection with the physical examination of patients is not considered practice of optometry.
Public health workers trained and involved in the government’s blindness prevention program may conduct only visual acuity test and visual screening.

Licensing disclosure and professional display

Section 6 requires an optometrist to indicate the professional license number and the date of expiration in documents issued or signed in connection with the practice.
Section 6 requires an optometrist to display the certificate of registration in a conspicuous area of the clinic or office.

Board of Optometry powers and structure

Section 7 creates a Board of Optometry composed of five (5) members appointed by the President upon PRC recommendation from ten (10) nominees submitted by the duly integrated and accredited national organization of optometrists.
Section 8 sets minimum qualifications for nominees and appointees:
- Natural-born citizen of the Philippines.
- Duly registered optometrist in good standing.
- At least thirty-five (35) years of age at appointment.
- Good moral character.
- Active practice of optometry for at least ten (10) years prior to appointment.
Section 8 bars faculty or pecuniary interest conflicts:
- Faculty members of schools where optometry is taught, or persons with pecuniary interest in such institutions, must forego membership in the faculty or relinquish interests before or upon taking the oath.
Section 8 disqualifies officers of any optometric association from appointment to or serving in the Board.
Section 9 provides a non-renewable five (5)-year term for Board members, with the first appointees having staggered fixed terms:
- The chairperson holds five (5) years.
- The four (4) other members hold fixed terms of four (4), three (3), two (2), and one (1) year/s, such that one member expires each year.
- Thereafter, one member is appointed for the full term each year; the member in the last year automatically becomes chairperson.
- Vacancies not due to expiration are filled only for the unexpired portion.
Section 10 authorizes removal or suspension:
- After PRC administrative investigation and opportunity to defend, a Board member may be removed by the President for neglect of duty, incompetence, malpractice, or unprofessional, unethical, immoral, or dishonorable conduct.
- The President may suspend the member under investigation for not more than sixty (60) days and appoint a temporary member.
Section 11 provides Board members are compensated according to PRC rules and regulations.
Section 12 vests the Board with authority to:
- Promulgate rules and regulations for optometry practice subject to PRC approval and compliance with the Act.
- Administer and enforce those rules.
- Determine and prepare licensure examination contents, ensure examination integrity, rate papers, and submit results to PRC.
- Formulate and oversee licensure examination and registration guidelines in consultation with PRC.
- Issue, suspend, revoke, and reissue certificates of registration; and renew professional licenses.
- Impose reasonable license renewal requirements, including continuing education, for competence upgrading.
- Maintain a registry of optometrists in good standing.
- Adopt, promulgate, and disseminate the Code of Ethics.
- Administer oaths for implementing the Act.
- Conduct hearings and investigations of complaints for malpractice, unethical and unprofessional conduct, and violations of the Act or implementing rules; issue subpoena ad testificandum and subpoena duces tecum; and punish persons obstructing or interfering through contempt.
- Conduct ocular inspections of establishments offering optometric services to verify compliance with professional standards.
- Upon application, issue an order enjoining or abating illegal optometry practice by unqualified persons.
- Impose fines and penalties after due process for causes provided by law or Board rules.
- Periodically evaluate optometric education and recommend measures to upgrade and maintain high standards.
- Update the list of topical diagnostic pharmaceutical agents (mydriatics, cycloplegics, miotics, anesthetics, and diagnostic dyes) subject to DOH and BFAD approval.
- Study conditions affecting optometry practice nationwide and adopt measures for ethics and high professional standards.
Section 13 establishes quorum as attendance of three (3) members.
Section 14 requires a three (3)-member vote to decide administrative cases involving unethical practice, malpractice, immortality, dishonesty, and related charges affecting professional fitness and integrity.
Section 14 provides a mechanism when members are disqualified or inhibit:
- The Board designates, with PRC approval, an optometrist in good standing respected in the community to sit, participate, and vote.
Section 15 provides general supervision by PRC and custody of records by PRC, including examination papers, examination results, minutes, and records of administrative cases and Board investigations.
Section 16 requires the Board to submit an annual report of its activities and proceedings to PRC each calendar year.

Optometry licensure examination requirements

Section 17 requires every applicant to undergo a licensure examination, and requires examinations at least once every year in places and dates designated by PRC.
Section 18 requires the Board to prescribe the examination scope and contents, taking into account recent developments and academic standards imposed by the Commission on Higher Education on optometry schools.
Section 19 sets examination eligibility:
- Must be a Filipino citizen.
- Must be of good moral character.
- Must hold a Doctor of Optometry (O.D.) degree obtained from a government-accredited school offering at least a six-year course with minimum basic subjects including:
  - mathematics; general and organic chemistry; practical and mechanical optics; psychology; physics; physiological optics; pharmacology; theoretic optics; practical optometry; sociology; applied psychology; general anatomy; physiology; general histology and embryology; ocular anatomy and physiology; general pathology; ocular pathology; biochemistry; microbiology; clinical optometry; theoretic optometry; contact lens practice; orthoptics and vision training; neuro-optometry and visual fields; research methods; optometric ethics and jurisprudence; optometric economics and practice management; hygiene, sanitation and public health optometry and low vision; and pediatric optometry.
Section 20 sets minimum passing level:
- General average of at least seventy-five percent (75%) across all subjects.
- No subject rating below fifty percent (50%).
Section 21 requires:
- The Board to report each candidate’s ratings to PRC within sixty (60) days after the last examination day, unless extended by the Commission.
- PRC to publish successful candidates’ names in alphabetical order without ratings within sixty (60) days from PRC receipt of the Board report.
Section 22 provides an additional requirement for reexamination:
- An applicant who fails the board examination for the third time cannot take the next succeeding examination without submitting proof that the applicant took a refresher course in a duly accredited institution.

Oath, registration, disqualification, and license maintenance

Section 23 requires successful examinees to take their oath before the Board or any person authorized to administer oaths prior to issuance of the certificate of registration, subject to Section 24 disqualification.
Section 24 disqualifies applicants from taking the oath and receiving certificates of registration:
- Those lacking qualifications in Section 19.
- Those who fail the Optometry Board licensure examination.
- Those convicted by final judgment of any crime involving moral turpitude.
- Those found guilty by the Board of immoral or dishonorable conduct.
- Those declared of unsound mind.
Section 24 requires the Board to communicate disqualification to the applicant by written statement, forming part of Board records.
Section 25 directs PRC to register successful examinees who took the oath and to issue professional licenses to practice optometry.
Section 25 states the certificate of registration serves as evidence that the registrant is qualified to practice in the Philippines.
Section 26 authorizes the Board to revoke a certificate of registration or suspend a license after proper notice and hearing for unprofessional or unethical conduct, malpractice, violation of the Act or its rules, or conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude.
Section 27 provides appeals:
- A revocation or suspension becomes final unless appealed to PRC within fifteen (15) days from receipt of the decision.
Section 28 governs reinstatement and reissuance:
- The Board may reinstate any suspended certificate or issue another certificate in lieu of a previously revoked one for reasons deemed proper and sufficient.
- The Board may exempt the applicant from taking another examination in its discretion.
- A replacement certificate for lost, destroyed, or mutilated certificates may be issued subject to Board rules.
Section 29 requires license renewal every three (3) years.
- Renewal requires satisfaction of Board requirements such as attendance in continuing education and payment of fees fixed by the Board in accordance with the PRC fee schedule.

Optometric education upgrades and pharmacology competence

Section 30 requires the Commission on Higher Education (pursuant to Section 12 of Republic Act No. 7722) to convene and organize a technical panel on optometric education within sixty (60) days after approval of the Act.
Section 30 provides panel composition:
- Senior practitioners, specialists, academicians in optometry, and a representative from the accredited national organization of optometrists.
Section 30 tasks the technical panel to:
- Set a minimum standard curriculum for all schools offering optometry as an undergraduate course and degree.
- Establish teaching standards, including faculty qualifications.
- Monitor program progress and undertake measures for high-quality optometric education.
- Periodically evaluate educational institutions for accreditation and incentives and to impose sanctions when warranted.
Section 31 requires competence in pharmacology:
- Persons admitted to practice before the Act must take a pharmacology course prescribed by the Commission on Higher Education.
- They must pass a special certification examination administered by the Board before using specific diagnostic pharmaceutical agents.

Prohibited acts and criminal penalties

Section 32 prohibits:
- Giving false or forged evidence to the Board or any Board member to obtain a certificate of registration or professional license.
- Assuming, using, or advertising a description by any person without a valid certificate of registration and professional license in a manner tending to convey the impression of being a duly registered optometrist.
- Advertising in media implying that a particular optometrist is better than others, collecting lower professional fees, or selling cheaper frames or lenses.
- Using diagnostic pharmaceutical agents by an untrained optometrist in violation of Section 31, whether or not patient injury results.
- Using pharmaceutical agents other than those authorized for the optometrist.
- Engaging in unauthorized practice of optometry as defined in Section 5.
- Violations by any person, whether natural or juridical, of any provision of the Act or its implementing rules and regulations.
Section 33 provides penal sanctions:
- Prohibited acts are punishable by imprisonment of not less than one (1) year but not more than eight (8) years, or a fine of not less than PHP 10,000 but not more than PHP 40,000, or both, at the discretion of the court.
- Administrative penalties under Section 26 are imposed whenever applicable.
- If committed by an association, partnership, corporation, or other institution, the managing officers and other persons responsible for the commission are liable for the Act’s penalties.

Professional and ethical standards framework

Section 34 governs foreign reciprocity and admission to board examinations:
- No foreigner may be admitted to optometry board examinations unless proving under the Rules of Court that the foreigner’s country:
  - admits Filipino citizens to the practice of optometry without restriction, or
  - allows practice after examination on strict and absolute equality terms, including unconditional recognition of CHED-prescribed prerequisite degrees.
Section 34 authorizes a special permit notwithstanding reciprocity:
- Upon PRC approval, the Board may grant a special permit to a foreign optometrist to practice in the Philippines even if reciprocity does not exist between countries.
- Such permit may be granted when the foreigner is internationally known as an outstanding expert or a well-known specialist in branches of optometry, and the services will promote advancement of the profession in the Philippines.
Section 34 authorizes additional requirements or privileges:
- The Board may prescribe additional requirements or grant certain privileges to foreigners seeking registration in the Philippines, upon PRC approval, if the privileges are granted to or additional requirements are required of Filipino citizens in that foreigner’s country.
Section 35 requires rulemaking and effectivity:
- The Board must set professional standards and adopt rules and regulations to carry out the Act, subject to PRC approval.
- Rules and regulations take effect thirty (30) days after publication in the Official Gazette or any newspaper of general circulation.
Section 36 requires/encourages integration:
- Optometrists are encouraged to be integrated into one national organization recognized by the Board and PRC.
- Every optometrist may become a member upon registration with the Board.
- Optometrists registered before effectivity may register as members within three (3) years after effectivity.
Section 37 mandates purposes for the integrated national organization:
- Promulgate the Code of Ethics.
- Define professional responsibilities.
- Ensure adherence to ethics and responsibilities.
- Improve professional standards.
- Enable optometrists to discharge public responsibility more effectively.
Section 38 requires membership dues:
- Members must pay reasonable fees and dues for effective discharge of organizational purposes.
- Benefits and privileges attach only upon payment of required fees and dues.
Section 39 allows other associations:
- Integration into one national organization does not prohibit optometrists from creating other associations organized individually.
Section 40 governs the Code of Professional Ethics:
- The Board adopts the professional Code of Ethics promulgated by the integrated national organization.
- The Code must declare that an optometrist’s duty includes:
  - considering the visual welfare of the public as primary responsibility;
  - promoting best possible standards of professional care;
  - enhancing theoretical and practical proficiency continuously;
  - rendering services with equal diligence regardless of race, creed, or status;
  - respecting confidentiality of information concerning those served; and
  - referring for medical or other professional attention when indicated.
- The Board must distribute the Code of Ethics to all new optometrists during oath taking.
- Any act or omission violating the Code constitutes unethical conduct.
- Violations lead to suspension or prohibition from practice in accordance with Section 26.

Foreign practice, professional enforcement mechanisms

Section 12 empowers the Board to issue orders enjoining or abating illegal practice by unqualified persons upon application.
Section 12 authorizes ocular inspections to ensure professional standards are complied with where optometric services are offered.
Section 12 authorizes subpoenas and contempt punishment for obstruction or interference with Board proceedings.

Integration, ethics sanctions, separability, repeal

Section 41 provides separability:
- If any provision or its application is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder of the Act or its application to other persons or circumstances is not affected.
Section 42 provides repeal:
- Republic Act No. 1998, the Optometry Law, is repealed and superseded by Republic Act No. 8050.
- All other acts, executive orders, rules, and regulations, or parts inconsistent with this Act are repealed or modified accordingly.