CA: PRC has right to revoke Kho’s license

With the possibility of the permanent loss of his medical license now looming in the future, Hayden Kho may just have to redirect his efforts toward reviving his show biz career.

The Court of Appeals has shut the door on Kho’s attempts to get back his license to practice medicine after it affirmed its revocation by the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) in connection with the online posting of videos showing him having sex with actress Katrina Halili in 2009.

In dismissing his petition for review, the appellate court reminded Kho that securing a license to practice a profession in the Philippines was “not an inherent right but a mere privilege burdened with responsibilities.”

It said that the statutory requirements for obtaining a professional license was not only needed before an individual could practice his or her profession but should also be “a continuing requirement.”

“As a prerequisite to the practice of medicine, every candidate for board examination must be of good moral character,” the court said in its resolution which was promulgated on June 29.

“Toward this end, the state, by virtue of its general police power, may suspend or revoke the professional license of an erring registered professional, in this case a medical practitioner, showing any fault or deficiency in his moral character, honesty, probity or good demeanor.”

Associate Justices Noel Tijam and Romeo Barza agreed with the decision authored by Associate Justice Edwin Sorongon.

Kho went to the Court of Appeals after the PRC revoked his medical license in 2009 based on a petition filed against him by Halili. This was after she discovered that the controversial cosmetic doctor surreptitiously videotaped their sexual encounters sometime in 2007.

Kho, who was then in a relationship with celebrity doctor Vicki Belo, denied that he was involved in the uploading of the sex videos.

He argued that his act of recording the intimate acts between him and Halili was not related to his profession as a doctor.