MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Raffy Tulfo slammed slammed the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) over its slow action on cases involving doctors accused of medical malpractice, some of which have reportedly resulted in the patient deaths.
During the Senate budget hearing for the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and its attached agencies on Wednesday,Tulfo cited a 2017 case in which a patient reportedly died after undergoing several procedures simultaneously.
The doctor involved was not placed under preventive suspension, allowing a similar incident to reportedly happen again recently, with the patient suffering the same fate.
Tulfo questioned why the case took three years to file and remains unresolved nearly nine years after the reported incident.
He said the PRC should have initiated an investigation motu proprio when the first incident was reported and considered placing the doctor under preventive suspension.
“How many more patients does the PRC have to wait for to die—10? 100?—before it takes action?” Tulfo said.
He argued that earlier action could have prevented another alleged malpractice incident and potentially saved another life.
"Let’s not wait for a third person to die before taking action. What if all of you there at the PRC undergo the procedure? I’ll sponsor it. Use my credit card," the senator added.
In response, PRC Chairman Charito Zamora said the case was filed with the Board of Medicine in 2021 and remained at the board level.
Zamora also said the PRC would conduct its own investigation into the more recent case.
The issue resurfaced after a Filipino-American reality television personality sought the National Bureau of Investigation’s help last month in determining the circumstances surrounding his mother’s death a week after she underwent several procedures at a beauty clinic in the Philippines.
Labor Secretary Francis Tolentino said he would convene the PRC and the Board of Medicine to launch a fact-finding investigation and determine whether charges should be filed against those who may be held liable.
Tolentino said the Department of Labor and Employment would inspect the clinic to determine whether it violated the Labor Code.
"We can conduct an immediate inspection of the clinic tomorrow and submit a report to this committee. If it is found to be in violation of Article 128 of the Labor Code, we will be the ones to order its closure," he said.