Board of Medicine, Dr. Raul Flores vs. Yasuyuki Ota,
G.R. No. 166097, July 14, 2008
Facts:
Ota a Japanese National, who is married to a Filipina, graduated from Bicol Christian College of Medicine on April 21, 1991 with a degree of doctor of medicine. He completed a one-year post graduate internship training at the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center, and passed the medical board exam in 1992. As noted by the courts, Ota merited an average of 81.83 in the medical board exam, with scores higher than 80 in 9 out of the 12 subjects. His request for license, however, was opposed by then Board of Medicine chairman Dr. Raul Flores and PRC chairman Hermogenes Pobre, on the ground that there is “no genuine reciprocity" in the law of Japan as there is no Filipino or foreigner who can possibly practice there. Ota filed a petition claiming the Board and PRC acted arbitrarily in depriving him of his legitimate right to practice his profession in the Philippines to his damage and prejudice.
Issue:
Whether or not Ota should be allowed to practice here in the Philippines.
Held:
YES. Nowhere in the statutes is it stated that the foreign applicant must show that the condition for the practice of medicine in said country are practical and attainable by Filipinos. Neither is it stated that it must first be proven that a Filipino has been granted license and allowed to practice his profession in said country before a foreign applicant may be given license to practice in the Philippines.
The SC ruled that it is not the impossibility or prohibition against Filipinos that would account for the absence of Filipino physicians holding licenses and practicing medicine in Japan but the difficulty of passing the board examination in the Japanese language. “Granting that there is still no Filipino who has been given license to practice medicine in Japan, it does not mean that no Filipino will ever be able to be given one," the court said.
No comments:
Post a Comment