WHEREAS the Rules and Regulations Governing the Regulation and Practice of Professionals was promulgated pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 223 to effectively implement the policies with respect to the regulation and practice of professionals;

WHEREAS Article IV of the Rules governs the procedures on the investigation of administrative cases against examinees and professionals falling within the jurisdiction of the various regulatory Boards;

WHEREAS the Professional Regulation Commission and the Regulatory Boards have realized the expediency of effecting changes in the foregoing procedures to achieve an expeditious and inexpensive adjudication of cases, in view of the continuing increase in the number of cases and the urgency to forthwith safeguard the public interest;

NOW, THEREFORE, pursuant to paragraph (N), Section 5 of Presidential Decree No. 223, the Commission hereby amends the following provisions of Article IV of the Rules and Regulations Governing the Regulation and Practice of Professionals and incorporates therein new provisions:

SECTION 1 is hereby amended to read, to wit:

"SECTION 1. These rules on administrative investigations shall apply, in the exercise of the various professional regulatory Boards ™ quasi-judicial powers and functions, to cases against holders of certificate of registration or professionals registered with the said Boards, holders of special or temporary permit or against examinees in the licensure examinations given by such Board, for cause or causes set forth or enumerated in the professional statutory laws creating them or in the Rules and Regulations or Code of Ethics promulgated by them to the said laws.

To safeguard the public interest and promote the standards of the various professions through impartial, expeditious, and inexpensive and inconvenient litigations and adjudications of the cases, these rules shall be liberally construed.  Strict adherence to the rigmarole of formalities and technicalities shall not be observed so as not to impair the smooth, just, and speedy disposition of cases and the substantive rights of the parties.

The investigation of cases shall be fact-finding, generally summary in nature without prejudice to the due process requirements, and intended primordially to determine if the respondents are morally and technically qualified to practice or to continue practicing the profession.  The Rules of Court shall not apply therein save in suppletory character and whenever appropriately and inevitably expedient.

Lawyers or Attorneys of the Commission may act solely as either hearing officers or special prosecutors in motu-proprio investigations.

SECTION 2 is hereby amended to read, to wit:

"SEC. 2. The complaint shall be in writing and under oath or embodied in an affidavit and must be filed by any person or firm, partnership, association or corporation, through its duly authorized representative, or the Board itself may, motu-proprio, file the charge or charges."

SECTION 3 is hereby amended to read, to wit:

"SEC. 3. The complaint must set forth distinctly, clearly, and concisely the names and addresses of the complainant and the respondent, the respondent ™s profession with the registration number and date of issuance, or the licensure examination he has applied for or taken, the particular provision of the professional regulatory law, the Boards ™ Rules and Regulations or the Code of Ethics of the Profession he has violated, the ultimate facts constitutive of the charge, offense, or cause of action complained of, and the disciplinary action prayed for; and must be accompanied by the affidavits of the complainant ™s witnesses or by any other documentary evidences, if any, which shall be filed in such number as there are respondents plus two (2) copies for the Board ™s files.

The affidavits required to be submitted under these Rules shall state only facts of direct personal knowledge of the affiants which are admissible in evidence, and shall show their competence to testify to the matters stated therein.

A violation of the foregoing requirements shall be a ground for expunging the inadmissible affidavit, or portion thereof, from the record.

On the basis of the complaint-affidavit and the affidavits of witnesses accompanying the same, the Board shall make a preliminary determination whether to dismiss the case outright for lack of jurisdiction or for being patently without basis or merit. If a dismissal is not ordered, the Board shall require the respondent to file a counter-affidavit and such documentary evidence for his defense, serving simultaneously a copy thereof upon the complainant not later than ten (10) days from receipt of the directive issued by the Board.

If the Board, upon consideration of the complaint and the affidavits submitted by both parties, finds no prima facie case against the respondent, it shall order the dismissal of the complaint."

SECTION 4 is hereby amended to read, to wit:

"SECTION 4. If the Board finds a cause or ground to hold the respondent for hearing with or without his counter-affidavit and/or documentary evidence, the complainant shall be required to pay ONE HUNDRED Pesos (P100.00) as docket and legal research fees within ten (10) days from receipt of the Board ™s directive.  Non-payment thereof shall be a basis for the dismissal of the complaint.

A complaint lodged by an indigent, who shall execute an affidavit to this effect, or endorsed by an investigative governmental agency, shall not be required payment of docket and legal research fees."

SECTION 6 is hereby amended to read, to wit:

"SECTION 6. After payment of the docket and legal research fees, an administrative case number shall be assigned thereto and immediately Notice of Initial Hearing, and Summons and Notice of Initial Hearing shall be served upon the complainant and the respondent, respectively."

SECTION 19 is hereby amended to read, to wit:

"SECTION 19.   Hearing or investigation of administrative cases may be presided by at least one Board Member with the assistance of one PRC Attorney-if the issue or charge strictly involves the practice of the profession, and only by a PRC Attorney-if the charge is not related to such practice."

SECTION 20 is hereby amended to read, to wit:

"SECTION 20.   Unless the Board otherwise directs for special reasons, the order of hearing shall be as follows:

1.   The initial hearing shall be conducted as a preliminary conference.

On, before, during or immediately after the initial hearing, the parties shall be directed to coevally submit their respective verified position papers together with their supporting documents and the affidavits of their witnesses.  The parties shall thereafter be proscribed or barred from averring or adducing evidence to establish facts or any cause or causes of action not incorporated in their complaint, answer, or counter-affidavit or position papers, affidavits, and other documents.  The parties shall furnish each other with the copies of the position papers together with the annexes thereof.

Forthwith, upon receipt of the position papers with the annexes thereof, determination of whether there is a necessity for an initial hearing or hearing shall take place.

During the initial hearing, the Hearing Officer shall guide the parties to observe the following procedures:

a)  The parties shall agree on the appropriate ground or cause.

b)  The complainant shall state briefly the theory of his case, i.e., the acts constitutive of the said ground.

c)  The respondent shall lay down the summarized theory of his defense.

d)  The parties shall propose to each other ultimate facts for stipulation or admission.

e)  Issue or issues shall be formulated from the unadmitted, disputed ultimate facts.

f)   The parties shall show the testimonial and documentary evidence in support of their respective cases in the resolution of the formulated issues.

g)  The parties shall agree on the dates of hearing, should there be need for further hearing.

If further hearing is resolved to be dispensable, the reasons therefor shall be relayed to the parties who must be required to sign the minutes of hearing as their acknowledgement of the fact that they have been apprised thereof.  Within thirty (30) days therefrom, the case shall be resolved by the Board en banc, in a quorum and by majority vote."

2.   The complainant will first present evidence in support of the complaint;

3.   The respondent shall then be allowed to present evidence in support of his defense;

4.   The parties may be allowed rebuttal and surrebuttal evidence, respectively, for justifiable reasons;

5.   When the presentation of evidence is concluded, the Board may require the parties to simultaneously submit their respective written memoranda/arguments within a certain period before the case is submitted for decision.

During the hearing the affidavits submitted by the parties and their witnesses shall constitute the direct testimonies of the affiants who executed the same.  Witnesses who testified may be subjected to cross-examination.  Should the affiant fail to testify, his affidavit shall not be considered as competent evidence for the party presenting the affidavit, but the adverse party may utilize the same for any admissible purpose.

No witness shall be allowed to testify unless he had previously submitted an affidavit to the Board in accordance with Sections 3 and 4 hereof. 

SECTIONS 24 & 26 are hereby amended to read, to wit:

"SECTION 24.   Motions for continuance shall be served by the movant upon all parties concerned, at least three (3) days before the scheduled hearing sought to be postponed."

"SECTION 26.   No postponement shall last more than ten (10) days, and each party shall be entitled to two (2) postponements without a fine. For every meritorious postponement thereafter, a fine of Fifty Pesos (P50.00) and for every unmeritorious postponement, a fine of One Hundred Pesos (P100.00) shall be imposable upon the movant.

The Board through the Board Member and/or the hearing officer (PRC Attorney) shall determine what is meritorious or unmeritorious postponement."

SECTION 27 is hereby amended to read, to wit:

"SECTION 27.   If the complainant does not appear at the time and place designated in the summons, subpoena, or subsequent order, the Board may dismiss the complaint for lack of interest or failure to prosecute unless the Board, in the interest of the public and for the protection of the standards of the profession, shall deem it necessary to prosecute the case notwithstanding the withdrawal by the complainant."

SECTION 28. is hereby amended to read, to wit:

"SECTION 28. If respondent does not appear at the time and place designated at the summons, subpoena, or in a subsequent order, he may be declared in default.  Thereafter, the Board shall allow the complainant to adduce the evidence thereof ex-parte and, accordingly, render its decision in accordance with the facts alleged and proved."

SECTION 32. is hereby amended to read, to wit:

"SECTION 32. The filing or the pendency of a criminal and/or civil case in the courts or an administrative case in another quasi-judicial body against an examinee or registered professional involving the same facts as in the administrative case filed or to be filed before the Board shall neither suspend nor bar the proceedings of the latter case.  The Board shall proceed independently with the investigation of the case and shall render therein its decision without awaiting for the final decision of the courts or quasi-judicial body."

SECTION 33. is hereby amended to read, to wit:

"SECTION 33. A motion for reconsideration or rehearing shall be filed within thirty (30) days after receipt of the decision.  Only one motion for reconsideration shall be entertained."

SECTION 34 is hereby amended to read, to wit:

"SECTION 34.   No motion for reconsideration shall be entertained unless it be for the following cause or causes, which in all probability may affect the substantive rights of the aggrieved party:

(a) Fraud, accident, mistake, or excusable negligence which ordinary prudence could not have guarded against and by reason of which the aggrieved party has probably been impaired of his rights.

(b) Newly discovered evidence, which he could not, with reasonable diligence, have discovered and produced at the hearing, and which if presented would probably alter the result.

(c) Imposition of excessive penalty, or insufficiency of the evidence to justify the decision, or that the decision is against the law or not in accordance with the facts presented."

SECTION 35 is hereby amended to read, to wit:

"SECTION 35. The complainant/respondent may appeal the order, the resolution or the decision of the Board within thirty (30) days from receipt thereof to the Commission whose decision shall be final and executory.  Interlocutory order shall not be appeallable to the Commission."

SECTION 36 is hereby amended to read, to wit:

"SECTION 36. The decision of the Board may be appealed to the Commission by serving upon the adverse party and filing with the Board within thirty (30) days from notice of said decision, a notice of appeal together with the arguments in support thereof and the payment of the appeal fee of ONE HUNDRED FIFTY Pesos (P150.00).  The time during which a motion for reconsideration has been pending shall be deducted from the period for perfecting an appeal unless such motion is pro-forma or filed for purposes of delay."

SECTION 39 is hereby amended to read, to wit:

"SECTION 39.   The Secretary of the Board or the Docket Officer shall transmit to the Commission the complete record of the case within five (5) days after appeal is perfected. The adverse party shall thereupon be given 15 days to submit his counter-arguments. Thereafter, the appeal shall be considered submitted for resolution unless otherwise directed by the Commission."

SECTION 40 is hereby set forth as a new rule to read, to wit:

"SECTION 40. Any contempt punish-able under the Rules of Court committed against the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) or any of the Commissioners, the Regulatory Boards or any member thereof, a PRC Attorney or any PRC functionary shall be filed with the Regional Trial Court of the province or city in which such contempt has been committed, and shall be proceeded upon pursuant to Rule 71 of the same Rules.

Anyone who, without lawful excuse, fails to appear upon summons issued under the authority of the PRC or the Board or who, appearing before the PRC or the Board, refuses to make oath, gives testimony, or produces documents for inspection, when thereunto lawfully required, shall be subject to discipline as in case of contempt of court and upon application of the PRC or the Board exercising the power or authority in question shall be dealt with by the RTC having jurisdiction of the case in the manner provided for by Rule 71 of the Rules of Court."

SECTION 41 is hereby set forth herein as a new rule to read, to wit:

"SECTION 41.   Upon leave or permission of the Board, a party, or parties, may be allowed to take the deposition of their witnesses before a notary public pursuant to Sections 10, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20 & 21 of Rule 24, of the Rules of Court, within thirty (30) days from the notice of the Board ™s order.

The Board shall also include in its order the date for the hearing of the case wherein the party, or parties, shall personally or in writing submit or formally offer the depositions as their respective evidences. The parties may present their depositions in support of their respective position papers.

The principal criteria upon which the leave for deposition may be granted are:

1)  the residence of the parties and/or the witnesses thereof; and

2)  the nature of the charge or ground violated.

This Resolution shall take effect after fifteen (15) days following the completion of its publication in the Official Gazette and/or a newspaper of general circulation.

Adopted: 30 July 1990

(SGD.) JULIO B. FRANCIA, JR. Commissioner
(SGD.) NILO C. MARIANO Associate Commissioner	(SGD.) MARIANO A. MENDIETA Associate Commissioner