Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Philippines

NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 123

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE: JULIET MARIE DE LEON FERRER

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Itis a primordial duty of the State to ensure the health and well-being of its citizens
As stated in Section 11, Article XIII of the 1987 Constitution states that “The state shall
adopt an integrated and comprehensive approach to health development which shall
endeavor to make essential goods, health and other social services available to all the
people at affordable cost.”

According to the latest World Health Organization (WHO) data published in 2018,
liver disease deaths in the Philippines has reached 7,491 or 1.23% of the total deaths.
The age adjusted death rate is 9.88 per 100,000 of populations ranks the Philippines as
No. 128 | the world.

This representation would like to address such statistics and to further prevent the
raising concern on liver diseases by establishing a hospital specializing all kinds of liver
diseases concerns.

Hence, this bill aims to establish the Liver Center of the Philippines, a government
institution that shall offer comprehensive care for patients with liver diseases rendering
quality service to the Filipino people.

The creation of Liver Center seeks to provide a state-of-the art diagnosis,
management and treatment of liver diseases including the conduct of researches thereof.
It will serve as the lead hospital in training and teaching of medical and paramedical
professional pertaining to liver disease treatment and transplant. Lastly, it aims to provide
set of standards for scientific and professional establishment and operation in treating
liver diseases and liver transplant in the country.

In view of the foregoing, passage of this bill is earnestly sought for.

JULIET LEON FERRER


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Philippines

NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House BILL No.123_

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE: JULIET MARIE DE LEON FERRER

AN ACT
ESTABLISHING THE LIVER CENTER OF THE PHILIPPINES, APPROPRIATING
FUNDS THEREFOR

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress enabled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the “Liver Center of the
Philippines Act.”

SEC. 2. Establishment of the Liver Center of the Philippines. — There is hereby
established a Liver Center of the Philippines, hereinafter referred to as the Liver
Center, a government corporate facility that will offer comprehensive care of patients
with liver disorders including liver transplant services, a strong teaching program and
research capability to serve the Filipino people. The Liver Center shall be located in
Metro Manila. The Liver Center shall have the attribute of perpetual succession and
shall be vested with the powers of a corporation and shall continue to exist until
dissolved for a lawful cause and/or by joint resolution of Congress.

SEC. 3. Purposes and Objectives. - The Liver Center shall have the following
purposes and objectives

a. Establish and operate a liver rehabilitation, treatment or transplant center for
the public welfare;
b. Offer comprehensive care for patients with liver diseases,
cc. Conduct training and research on the prevention and treatment of blood liver
diseases and those related to liver regeneration and transplant services
including sponsorship and conduct of relevant congresses, conventions,
seminars and conferences;
d. Establish a state-of-the-art liver diseases laboratory including a molecular
laboratory.
. Establish a Liver Stem Cell transplant program and donor registry;
Recruit, retain and case for voluntary liver donors;
Collect liver organs from qualified voluntary liver donors;
Process whole liver into liver components;

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Collect liver components;

Store, issue, transport and distribute whole liver to end-user hospitals and
non-hospital health facilities;

Ensure that safe supply of liver and liver products to all hospitals and other
health facilities are adequate in terms of distribution and delivery;
Implement and monitor quality assurance to selected regional liver centers;
Test liver infections; and

Provide special and confirmatory tests and perform liver examinations.

SEC. 4. Powers and Functions. — The Liver Center shall have the following powers
and functions:

a
b.

c.

. Adopt a code of by-laws to implement this Chapter;

Adopt and use a corporate seal which shall be a matter of judicial notice;
Determine its organizational structure and the number and salaries of its
officers and employees in accordance with the provision of Republic Act No.
10149, otherwise known as the Government-Owned and Controlled-
Corporation (GOCC) Governance Act of 2011;

|. Establish and maintain professional and technical educational systems for the

sustained development of the necessary manpower to manage and operate its
affairs and business;

. Invest its funds as it may deem proper and necessary, but subject to applicable

lase, rules and regulations, in any activity related to the Center, including in any
bonds or securities and guaranteed by the Government of the Philippines;
Acquire assets, real or personal, interest therein and encumber or otherwise
dispose the same as it may deem proper and necessary in the conduct of its
business;

. Borrow money from local or foreign sources as may be necessary for its

operations, subject to applicable laws, rules and regulations;

Accept any gifts, contributions, endowments, grants, bequests and devices of
any kind of real or personal property which are necessary and proper for the
attainment of the purpose of the hospitals; and

Perform such acts and exercise such functions as may be necessary and
proper for the attainment of the purposes and objectives herein specified.

SEC. 5. Board of Trustee. — The affairs and business of the Liver Center shall be

its properties managed; and its corporate powers exercised, unless

otherwise provided in this Act, by its own Board of Trustees which shall be composed
of seven (7) members, as follows

a

b.
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a

The Secretary of the Department of Health as Chairman of the Board or his
duly authorized representative;

The Undersecretary/Assistance Secretary of the Department of Health;

One (1) member from the private sector preferably with experience in finance,
administration or management;

One representative who will provide expertise in liver diseases;

One representative who will provide expertise in liver transplant;


f. One representative from non-government organization; and
g. The Liver Center Executive Director.

The term of office, manner of appointment of the trustees and other matters pertaining
to the governance of the Liver Center shall be determined in accordance with the
pertinent provisions of R.A. No. 10149.

The Board of Trustees shall be governed by a set of by-laws, which shall contain,
among others, an enumeration of each of the member's responsibilities,
accountabilities, and cause of termination.

SEC. 6. Powers and Functions of the Board. — The Board of Trustees which shall be
the policy-making body of the Liver Center shall have the following powers and
functions:

a. Determine the general policies of the Liver Center within the scope of its
powers, objectives and financial resources;

b. Establish the organizational structure of the Liver Center, define the duties and
responsibilities of all officials and employees and adopt a compensation and
benefit scheme, subject to the pertinent provisions of Republic Act No. 10149;

c. Acquire, hold and own in any manner, property of whatever nature or
description, and to dispose of such property under mode of encumbrance or
conveyance;

d. Enter into, make, perform and carry out contracts of every kind and for any
lawful purpose with any person, firm, association or corporation, whether public.
or private, domestic or foreign;

e. Mortgage, lease, sell, transfer, convey or otherwise dispose of its properties;

Solicit and receive donations, endowments and funds in the form of

contributions, whether in cash or in kind, from both public and private sectors

and from domestic or foreign sources;

g. Open such accounts in banks and other financial institutions, and to disburse
such funds or invest the same as the Board of Trustees may direct to
accomplish or advance the purposes or interest of the Liver Center;

h. Invite foreign or local health specialist and similar experts in the various medical
fields to train the personnel, trainees, fellows or residents of the Liver Center;

i. Send the personnel of the Liver Center to research institutes, medical institutes
or universities for advance training or observation and to attend international or
regional conventions, conferences, congresses or seminars as the Board of
Trustees may deem necessary to accomplish the purposes and objectives of
the Liver Center;

j. Enter into such agreements and arrangements with other medical or similar
institutions, domestic or foreign, as may be deemed desirable by the Board of
Trustees toward promoting the purposes and objectives of the Liver Center;

k. Adopt set of by-laws, rules, regulations, policies, guidelines and procedures
consistent with law and provisions hereof to govern the administration and
‘operation of the hospital; and


|. Do all such other acts and things as are or may be necessary for or incidental
to the accomplishment of the purposes and objectives of the Liver Center.

SEC. 7. Duties and Responsibilities of the Executive Director. — The Liver Center shall
be headed by the Executive Director who shall have the following duties and
responsibilities:

a. Prepare the agenda for the meetings of the board, and to submit for
consideration of the board such policies and measures as he/she believe(s)
necessary to carry out the purposes and objectives of this Act;

b. Execute, administer and implement the policies and measures approved by the
board;

c. Exercise such other powers and perform such other duties provided in the by-
laws and as vested to him by the board

SEC. 8. Program for Indigents. — The Department of Health shall ensure that the Liver
Center shall adopt and enforce a program for indigents needing liverfliver products
and patients with liver diseases in accordance to the implementing guidelines on
classification of patients on Availment of Medical Social Services in Government
Hospitals.

SEC. 9. Retention of Income. — The Liver Center is hereby authorized to retain and
utilize their income derived from its operation and non-patient related activities for the
maintenance of the other operating expenditures, including capital outlay especially in
the acquisition of equipment and supplies, subject to auditing rules and regulations.
Further, no amount from such income shall be used to augment the salaries and other
compensation of the Liver Center personnel beyond the amounts determined by the
Governance Commission for Government-Owned and Controlled Corporations
(GOCC), as provide for in RA No. 10149,

The Department of Health (DOH), in coordination with the Department of Budget and
Management (DBM) shall issue the necessary rules and regulation to implement this
provision.

SEC. 10. Exemption from Taxes. — The Liver Center shall be exempt from the payment
of taxes on alll contribution thereto and all accruals on its income and investment
earnings

Any donation, contribution, bequest, subsidy or financial aid which may be made to it
shall constitute allowable deduction from the income of the donor for the income tax
purposes and shall be exempt from donor's tax subject to such conditions as provided
in the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended.

The Liver Center shall be exempt from all other taxes, whether direct or indirect on its
income, properties and operations.


SEC. 11. Contracts. — The Liver Center shall have the authority to enter into contracts
with any person or entity, domestic or foreign and with government for the undertaking of
the varied aspects of the Liver Center, including the acquisition, by way of purchase,
lease, rent or other deferred payment arrangements of equipment and/or raw materials
and supplies, as well as for services connected therewith under such terms and
conditions as it may deem proper and reasonable.

In the acquisition and disposal of property real or personal, a bidding process shall be
necessary to conform to the requirements of public bidding as provided for in Republic
Act No. 9184, otherwise known as the Government Procurement Reform Act and
related laws.

SEC. 12. Supervision. - The Liver Center shall be under the direct supervision of the
Department of Health for purposes of policy direction and control. It shall submit an annual
report, pursuant to the pertinent provisions of R.A. No. 10149.

SEC. 13. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — Within thirty (30) days from the
completion of the appointment of its members, the Corporation’s Board of Trustees shall
convene to formulate the rules and regulations necessary for the implementation of this
Act.

SEC. 14. Appropriations. - The amount of Two Hundred Million Pesos (Php
200,000,000.00) is hereby appropriated for the initial operation and maintenance of the
Liver Center shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

SEC. 15. Separability Clause. — If, for any reason, any section or provision of this Act is
declared unconstitutional or invalid, the other sections or provisions hereof which are not
affected shall continue to be in full force and effect.

SEC. 16. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, executive orders, proclamations, rules
and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed.

SEC. 17. Effectivity Clause. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in the Official Gazette or in any newspaper of general circulation

Approved.