Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH (18%) CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 4090

Introduced by REP. JOSE CHRISTOPHER Y. BELMONTE

EXPLANATORY NOTE

First filed in the 17 Congress, House Bill No. 7297 entitled “/ncreasing the
Bed Capacity of Quirino Memorial Medical Center from Five Hundred (500) Beds to
One Thousand (1,000) Beds and Appropriating Funds for It and for Other Purposes”
was authored by this Representation along with Rep. Feliciano Belmonte, Jr., Rep.
Vicente Crisologo, Rep. Winston Castelo, Rep. Jorge “Bolet” Banal, and Rep. Alfred
Vargas. HB No. 7279 was approved by the House of Representatives on third reading
and was transmitted to the Senate for appropriate action.

This measure has yet to be enacted for the State to be able to fully perform its
mandate. It seeks to fulfill the mandate of Article XIV Section 1 of the 1987
Philippine Constitution which states that it is the role of the State to "protect and
promote the right of all citizens to quality education at all levels,” and that it shall
"take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to all.” Section 2 of the
same article declares that the State "shall establish and maintain a system of free
public education in the elementary and high school levels."

Quezon City, which is the most populous city in the National Capital Region
and the third largest in the Philippines, provides QMMC with the biggest number of
patients (44%). QMMC also caters to residents of Antipolo, Rizal, Marikina, Pasig,
Caloocan, Montalban, Novaliches, Laguna, Bulacan, and Cavite. Further, QMMC
receives referrals from other tertiary-level health care facilities. The hospital’s
proximity to flood-prone areas (Marikina, Cainta), military camps (Camp Crame and
Camp Aguinaldo), major thoroughfares (C-5 and MRT Railways Station 2), and large
universities (University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila University, and Miriam
College) makes QMMC a popular choice among health care facilities.

Today, QMMC is a level 3 teaching and training medical center providing
patient service such as internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology,
pediatrics, medical imaging, ophthalmology, otorhinolaryngology head and neck


surgery, anesthesia, and pathology as well as acute psychiatric unit, pediatric and adult
dentistry, neurophysiology, respiratory unit, center for neurologic sciences, acute
infectious diseases ward, and endoscopy unit. As proof of its commitment to service,
in 2010 QMMC was awarded the Center of Excellence status, the highest accreditation
level conferred by PhilHealth.

Republic Act No. 10345, enacted in 2012, increased QMMC’s bed capacity
from 350 to 500. The law gave relief to the hospital, its staff, and its patients after the
institutions suffered perennially from inadequate beds, equipment, and manpower.
Despite the increase in bed capacity and manpower complement, the hospital
continues to experience inadequacies resulting from the persistent influx of patients.
QMMC’s percentage of occupancy based on authorized bed capacity remains high at
290.95% in 2015, 311.09% in 2016, and 250.82% in 2017, bringing the average
annual occupancy rate at 267.87%. This means that the institution operates at a level
that is more than twice its capacity. Increasing QMMC’s bed capacity from 500 to
1,000 will address the problem and provide the necessary resources to improve the
medical center's service.

Providing quality healthcare to Filipinos is at the core of QMMC’s mission.
Since its humble beginning as a 75-bed hospital to its present 500-bed capacity, one of
QMMC’s challenges has always been to keep up with the patient load and its
expanding services. This bill seeks to increase the capacity of QMMC and implement
a corresponding adjustment in manpower complement.

In view of the foregoing reasons, the approval of this bill is earnestly sought.

Jefichutt


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH (18%) CONGRESS
First Regular Session

4090
HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by REP. JOSE CHRISTOPHER Y. BELMONTE.

AN ACT
INCREASING THE BED CAPACITY OF QUIRINO MEMORIAL MEDICAL
CENTER FROM FIVE HUNDRED (500) BEDS TO ONE THOUSAND (1,000)
BEDS AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS FOR IT AND FOR OTHER:
PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. The bed capacity of Quirino Memorial Medical Center is hereby
increased from five hundred (500) to one thousand (1,000) with concomitant
manpower complement.

SEC. 2. The Secretary of Health shall include in the program of the
Department of Health the implementation of the increase in bed capacity

SEC. 3. The amount necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act shall be
included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

SEC. 4. The increase in bed capacity shall be implemented for the period not
more than three years from the approval of this Act.

SEC. 5. All laws, decrees, rules and regulations inconsistent with this Act shall
be deemed amended or repealed accordingly.

SEC. 6. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days upon its publication in two
(2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,