G.R. No. 89572 December 21, 1989 4. ID.; ID.; ACADEMIC FREEDOM, NOT ABSOLUTE.

4. ID.; ID.; ACADEMIC FREEDOM, NOT ABSOLUTE. — The right to quality education
is not absolute. The Constitution also provides that "every citizen has the right
to choose a profession or course of study, subject to fair, reasonable and
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, CULTURE AND SPORTS (DECS) and
equitable admission and academic requirements." The private respondent must
DIRECTOR OF CENTER FOR EDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT, petitioners,
yield to the challenged rule and give way to those better prepared. Where even
vs.
those who have qualiHed may still not be accommodated in our already crowded
ROBERTO REY C. SAN DIEGO and JUDGE TERESITA DIZON-CAPULONG, in
medical schools, there is all the more reason to bar those who, like him, have
her capacity as Presiding Judge of the Regional Trial Court of Valenzuela,
been tested and found wanting.
Metro Manila, Branch 172, respondents.
5. ID.; ID.; EQUAL PROTECTION CAUSE NOT VIOLATED IN CASE AT BAR. — The
contention that the challenged rule violates the equal protection clause is not
Ramon M. Guevara for private respondent. well-taken. A law does not have to operate with equal force on all persons or
things to be conformable to Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution. There can
be no question that a substantial distinction exists between medical students and
1. CONSTITUTIONAL LAW; CASE OF TABLARIN V. GUTIERREZ, (152 SCRA 730) other students who are not subjected to the NMAT and the three-Cunk rule. The
UPHOLDING THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF THE NATIONAL MEDICAL ADMISSION medical profession directly affects the very lives of the people, unlike other
TEST REITERATED IN CASE AT BAR. — In Tablarin v. Gutierrez, this Court upheld careers which, for this reason, do not require more vigilant regulation. The
the constitutionality of the NMAT as a measure intended to limit the admission to accountant, for example, while belonging to an equally respectable profession,
medical schools only to those who have initially proved their competence and does not hold the same delicate responsibility as that of the physician and so
preparation for a medical education. In the case at bar, respondent judge agreed need not be similarly treated. There would be unequal protection if some
with the petitioner that the said case was not applicable. Her reason was that it applicants who have passed the tests are admitted and others who have also
upheld only the requirement for the admission test and said nothing about the qualiHed are denied entrance. In other words, what the equal protection requires
so-called "three-Cunk rule." We see no reason why the rationale in the Tablarin is equality among equals. The Court feels that it is not enough to simply invoke
case cannot apply to the case at bar. The issue raised in both cases is the the right to quality education as a guarantee of the Constitution: one must show
academic preparation of the applicant. This may be gauged at least initially by that he is entitled to it because of his preparation and promise. The private
the admission test and, indeed with more reliability, by the three-flunk rule. The respondent has failed the NMAT Hve times. While his persistence is noteworthy,
latter cannot be regarded any less valid than the former in the regulation of the to say the least, it is certainly misplaced, like a hopeless love.
medical profession.
2. ID.; POLICE POWER; REQUISITES IN THE EXERCISE THEREOF. — Police power CRUZ, J.:
is validly exercised if (a) the interests of the public generally, as distinguished
from those of a particular class, require the interference of the State, and (b) the
The issue before us is mediocrity. The question is whether a person who has thrice
means employed are reasonably necessary to the attainment of the object sought
failed the National Medical Admission Test (NMAT) is entitled to take it again.
to be accomplished and not unduly oppressive upon individuals.
3. ID.; ID.; ID.; COMPLIED WITH IN CASE AT BAR. — The proper exercise of the
police power requires the concurrence of a lawful subject and a lawful method. The petitioner contends he may not, under its rule that-
The subject of the challenged regulation is certainly within the ambit of the police
power. It is the right and indeed the responsibility of the State to insure that the
h) A student shall be allowed only three (3) chances to take the NMAT. After
medical profession is not inHltrated by incompetents to whom patients may
three (3) successive failures, a student shall not be allowed to take the NMAT
unwarily entrust their lives and health. The method employed by the challenged
for the fourth time.
regulation is not irrelevant to the purpose of the law nor is it arbitrary or
oppressive. The three-Cunk rule is intended to insulate the medical schools and
ultimately the medical profession from the intrusion of those not qualiHed to be The private respondent insists he can, on constitutional grounds.
doctors. While every person is entitled to aspire to be a doctor, he does not have
a constitutional right to be a doctor. This is true of any other calling in which the But first the facts.
public interest is involved; and the closer the link, the longer the bridge to one's
ambition. The State has the responsibility to harness its human resources and to
see to it that they are not dissipated or, no less worse, not used at all. These The private respondent is a graduate of the University of the East with a degree of
resources must be applied in a manner that will best promote the common good Bachelor of Science in Zoology. The petitioner claims that he took the NMAT three
while also giving the individual a sense of satisfaction. A person cannot insist on times and flunked it as many times.1 When he applied to take it again, the petitioner
being a physician if he will be a menace to his patients. If one who wants to be a rejected his application on the basis of the aforesaid rule. He then went to the Regional
lawyer may prove better as a plumber, he should be so advised and adviced. Of Trial Court of Valenzuela, Metro Manila, to compel his admission to the test.
course, he may not be forced to be a plumber, but on the other hand he may not
force his entry into the bar. By the same token, a student who has demonstrated In his original petition for mandamus, he first invoked his constitutional rights to
promise as a pianist cannot be shunted aside to take a course in nursing, however academic freedom and quality education. By agreement of the parties, the private
appropriate this career may be for others. respondent was allowed to take the NMAT scheduled on April 16, 1989, subject to the
outcome of his petition. 2 In an amended petition filed with leave of court, he squarely
challenged the constitutionality of MECS Order No. 12, Series of 1972, containing the education in the country." Given the widespread use today of such
above-cited rule. The additional grounds raised were due process and equal admission tests in, for instance, medical schools in the United
protection. States of America (the Medical College Admission Test [MCAT] and
quite probably, in other countries with far more developed
educational resources than our own, and taking into account the
After hearing, the respondent judge rendered a decision on July 4, 1989, declaring
failure or inability of the petitioners to even attempt to prove
the challenged order invalid and granting the petition. Judge Teresita Dizon-Capulong
otherwise, we are entitled to hold that the NMAT is reasonably
held that the petitioner had been deprived of his right to pursue a medical education
related to the securing of the ultimate end of legislation and
through an arbitrary exercise of the police power. 3
regulation in this area. That end, it is useful to recall, is the
protection of the public from the potentially deadly effects of
We cannot sustain the respondent judge. Her decision must be reversed. incompetence and ignorance in those who would undertake to treat
our bodies and minds for disease or trauma.
In Tablarin v. Gutierrez, 4 this Court upheld the constitutionality of the NMAT as a
measure intended to limit the admission to medical schools only to those who have However, the respondent judge agreed with the petitioner that the said case was not
initially proved their competence and preparation for a medical education. Justice applicable. Her reason was that it upheld only the requirement for the admission test
Florentino P. Feliciano declared for a unanimous Court: and said nothing about the so-called "three-flunk rule."

Perhaps the only issue that needs some consideration is whether We see no reason why the rationale in the Tablarin case cannot apply to the case at
there is some reasonable relation between the prescribing of bar. The issue raised in both cases is the academic preparation of the applicant. This
passing the NMAT as a condition for admission to medical school on may be gauged at least initially by the admission test and, indeed with more reliability,
the one hand, and the securing of the health and safety of the by the three-flunk rule. The latter cannot be regarded any less valid than the former
general community, on the other hand. This question is perhaps in the regulation of the medical profession.
most usefully approached by recalling that the regulation of the
pratice of medicine in all its branches has long been recognized as
There is no need to redefine here the police power of the State. Suffice it to repeat
a reasonable method of protecting the health and safety of the
that the power is validly exercised if (a) the interests of the public generally, as
public. That the power to regulate and control the practice of
distinguished from those of a particular class, require the interference of the State,
medicine includes the power to regulate admission to the ranks of
and (b) the means employed are reasonably necessary to the attainment of the object
those authorized to practice medicine, is also well recognized. Thus,
sought to be accomplished and not unduly oppressive upon individuals.5
legislation and administrative regulations requiring those who wish
to practice medicine first to take and pass medical board
examinations have long ago been recognized as valid exercises of In other words, the proper exercise of the police power requires the concurrence of a
governmental power. Similarly, the establishment of minimum lawful subject and a lawful method.
medical educational requirements-i.e., the completion of prescribed
courses in a recognized medical school-for admission to the medical
The subject of the challenged regulation is certainly within the ambit of the police
profession, has also been sustained as a legitimate exercise of the
power. It is the right and indeed the responsibility of the State to insure that the
regulatory authority of the state. What we have before us in the
medical profession is not infiltrated by incompetents to whom patients may unwarily
instant case is closely related: the regulation of access to medical
entrust their lives and health.
schools. MECS Order No. 52, s. 1985, as noted earlier, articulates
the rationale of regulation of this type: the improvement of the
professional and technical quality of the graduates of medical The method employed by the challenged regulation is not irrelevant to the purpose
schools, by upgrading the quality of those admitted to the student of the law nor is it arbitrary or oppressive. The three-flunk rule is intended to insulate
body of the medical schools. That upgrading is sought by selectivity the medical schools and ultimately the medical profession from the intrusion of those
in the process of admission, selectivity consisting, among other not qualified to be doctors.
things, of limiting admission to those who exhibit in the required
degree the aptitude for medical studies and eventually for medical While every person is entitled to aspire to be a doctor, he does not have a
practice. The need to maintain, and the difficulties of maintaining, constitutional right to be a doctor. This is true of any other calling in which the public
high standards in our professional schools in general, and medical interest is involved; and the closer the link, the longer the bridge to one's ambition.
schools in particular, in the current state of our social and economic The State has the responsibility to harness its human resources and to see to it that
development, are widely known. they are not dissipated or, no less worse, not used at all. These resources must be
applied in a manner that will best promote the common good while also giving the
We believe that the government is entitled to prescribe an individual a sense of satisfaction.
admission test like the NMAT as a means of achieving its stated
objective of "upgrading the selection of applicants into [our] A person cannot insist on being a physician if he will be a menace to his patients. If
medical schools" and of "improv[ing] the quality of medical one who wants to be a lawyer may prove better as a plumber, he should be so advised
and adviced. Of course, he may not be forced to be a plumber, but on the other hand It is time indeed that the State took decisive steps to regulate and enrich our system
he may not force his entry into the bar. By the same token, a student who has of education by directing the student to the course for which he is best suited as
demonstrated promise as a pianist cannot be shunted aside to take a course in determined by initial tests and evaluations. Otherwise, we may be "swamped with
nursing, however appropriate this career may be for others. mediocrity," in the words of Justice Holmes, not because we are lacking in intelligence
but because we are a nation of misfits.
The right to quality education invoked by the private respondent is not absolute. The
Constitution also provides that "every citizen has the right to choose a profession or WHEREFORE, the petition is GRANTED. The decision of the respondent court dated
course of study, subject to fair, reasonable and equitable admission and academic January 13, 1989, is REVERSED, with costs against the private respondent. It is so
requirements.6 ordered.

The private respondent must yield to the challenged rule and give way to those better
prepared. Where even those who have qualified may still not be accommodated in
our already crowded medical schools, there is all the more reason to bar those who,
like him, have been tested and found wanting.

The contention that the challenged rule violates the equal protection clause is not
well-taken. A law does not have to operate with equal force on all persons or things
to be conformable to Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution.

There can be no question that a substantial distinction exists between medical

students and other students who are not subjected to the NMAT and the three-flunk
rule. The medical profession directly affects the very lives of the people, unlike other
careers which, for this reason, do not require more vigilant regulation. The
accountant, for example, while belonging to an equally respectable profession, does
not hold the same delicate responsibility as that of the physician and so need not be
similarly treated.

There would be unequal protection if some applicants who have passed the tests are
admitted and others who have also qualified are denied entrance. In other words,
what the equal protection requires is equality among equals.

The Court feels that it is not enough to simply invoke the right to quality education
as a guarantee of the Constitution: one must show that he is entitled to it because of
his preparation and promise. The private respondent has failed the NMAT five
times. 7 While his persistence is noteworthy, to say the least, it is certainly misplaced,
like a hopeless love.

No depreciation is intended or made against the private respondent. It is stressed

that a person who does not qualify in the NMAT is not an absolute incompetent unfit
for any work or occupation. The only inference is that he is a probably better, not for
the medical profession, but for another calling that has not excited his interest.

In the former, he may be a bungler or at least lackluster; in the latter, he is more

likely to succeed and may even be outstanding. It is for the appropriate calling that
he is entitled to quality education for the full harnessing of his potentials and the
sharpening of his latent talents toward what may even be a brilliant future.

We cannot have a society of square pegs in round holes, of dentists who should never
have left the farm and engineers who should have studied banking and teachers who
could be better as merchants.