I had written about what happened to Dr. Iggy Agbayani twice — Sad day for doctors, sadder still for patients (Oct. 31, 2023) and Iggy issue refuses to die (Nov. 21, 2023) — which I described as a miscarriage of justice. This is within the legal system, which has the power to adjudicate in possible malpractice issues.

However, possibly unknown to the public is the other system within the medical establishment which also has the mechanisms to discipline its own members. The Philippine Medical Association is the umbrella organization for all doctors in the Philippines. Under it are various professional organizations for the different specialties that certify graduates of specialty training programs. Thus, internists have the Philippine College of Physicians (PCP), pediatricians have the Philippine Pediatric Society (PPS), OB-GYNs have the Philippine Obstetrical and Gynecological Society (POGS), pathologists have the Philippine Society of Pathologists (PSP), so on and so forth.

These societies not only certify that a doctor is qualified to practice their specialty, but they also have disciplinary powers to chastise, suspend or expel members for malfeasance, whether toward patients or fellow doctors.

There is a long history of societies performing this disciplinary duty. The PCP had expelled members for fraud and sanctioned a former board regent for defrauding PhilHealth. The Philippine Academy of Ophthalmology had expelled some members for exploiting loopholes in PhilHealth coverage of cataract surgeries. The Philippine College of Surgeons (PCS) suspended a fellow for unprofessional conduct. The PSP has suspended a member for unethical conduct and expelled two members for actions inimical to the society.

There are plenty of examples. Hence the recent suspension of Dr. Leachon by the PCP is but another example of the medical societies’ exercise of self-policing of its members. Disclosure: I was one of the complainants. We filed the case with PCP because that is the professional organization he belonged to as an internist. Had he been board certified in cardiology, we would have filed it with the Philippine College of Cardiology.

The case was filed in February 2025. He was given the opportunity to refute the charges, upon which the PCP sent us his defense. We sent a rebuttal of the defense, and he was given the opportunity to defend himself. After several months with no reply forthcoming, the case was now under consideration by the Board of Regents. He was suspended for six months from PCP, but there were no sanctions as far as being able to practice is concerned.

The PCP even marked the decision confidential and we complainants honored that decision. We thought that was the end of it. So, we were surprised when he started posting about it on social media when he could have kept quiet and the public would have been none the wiser. He’s passing himself off as the victim by claiming persecution because of his advocacy against Dengvaxia. However, he was deemed guilty due to his unsubstantiated statements in the Senate hearings against a fellow physician, who happens to be another former president of PCP.

Normally, these organizations would be very cautious to take former presidents to task, because it also reflects on the organization itself. So, the suspension clearly shows that the charges were valid and substantiated.

In an open letter from the past presidents of PCP, they expressed their full confidence in the integrity of the PCP, emphasizing that the PCP does not decide cases based on political considerations, personal affiliations, external pressures or public sentiment. They refuted the assertion that a party was denied available remedies under the rules and that parties may seek reconsideration, which he did not. Instead, he went all out in social media lambasting the organization he is part and former president of.

There were many who expressed their support for him and his “health reform” advocacy without even trying to find out what transpired. While being a health reform advocate is noble, maligning persons to score brownie points is not. He keeps insisting he is an expert in the Dengvaxia cases. Nothing is farther from the truth.

In the first set of Dengvaxia cases, he testified in court but the judge did not accept his testimony finding him to be not an expert in vaccines or autopsies nor did he have first-hand knowledge of the cases. Thus, these cases were dismissed. How can he continue to claim to be an expert in these matters when he can’t even be considered an expert in cardiology that he trained in?

Misrepresenting oneself as an expert can lead to fear, distrust of vaccines and deaths. It also erodes public trust and respect of the entire medical profession.

At present when medical knowledge is exploding exponentially, no one can be a master of all matters medical. Only a fool will say that.