EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session
■ lai::
-"rtarp
Introduced by Senator Grace Poe
AN ACT
CREATING A MEDICAL SCHOLARSHIP AND RETURN SERVICE PROGRAM 
FOR THE RECRUITMENT OF QUALIFIED FILIPINOS WHO WILL SERVE AS 
PRIMARY CARE WORKERS IN PRIORITY BARANGAYS, MUNICIPALITIES, 
AND CITIES, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER 
PURPOSES
Fxnianatorv Note
The 1987 Philippine Constitution is replete with provisions on the people's 
right to health. For instance, Article 2, Section 15 of the Constitution declares it a 
State policy to "...protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill 
health consciousness among them." This is reiterated in Article 13, Section 11, which 
states:
"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. There shall be priority for the needs of the under-privileged, sick, 
elderly, disabled, women, and children. The State shall endeavor to 
provide free medical care to paupers."
Skilled health workers, facilities, and financing, are the three "pillars" needed 
to maintain an "integrated and comprehensive" health care system. However, this 
representation firmly believes that skilled health workers are the most important of 
the three pillars. Simply put, care cannot be provided without those who provide 
care -  the doctors, nurses, and midwives who diagnose and treat the unwell. In the 
words of the World Health Organization:
"Acting on human resources for health is now in the hands of 
governments 
and 
all 
interested 
stakeholders... 
This 
requires 
a 
contemporary agenda in support of the millions of individual health 
workers that manage, administer and provide the health and social


services that we wish all people -  rich and poor -  to access and obtain.
The universal truth: no health without a workforce."1
At present, our public health sector is experiencing a shortage of skilled 
health workers. It is estimated that there are only nine skilled health workers -  
defined as a combination of doctors, midwives and nurses -  for every 10,000 
population.2 This is well below the WHO-recommended threshold of 22.8 skilled 
health workers per 10,000 persons.3
Our public health system, strained as it is by the shortage of skilled health 
workers, is further constrained by administrative fragmentation and unplanned 
specialization:
• 
On the one hand. Republic Act No. 7160 or the Local Government 
Code devolved health service delivery to Local Government Units. This 
has tasked the DOH with the impossibly complex task of coordinating 
81 provinces, 1,600 cities and municipalities and 42,000 barangays to 
provide the same level of health services.
• 
On the other hand, unplanned specialization of skilled workers has 
produced an imbalance between specialty and general health care. As 
a result, individuals often have to consult directly with a specialist 
when it may not be needed. This is unfortunate, as 75 percent to 85 
percent of persons require only primary care services in a given year.4
The abovementioned issues combined have produced a public health system 
that is far from the one envisioned in the Constitution. It can be summed up in one 
tragic statistic: 6 out o f every 10 Filipinos die w ith o u t seeing a doctor.5
This bill proposes a simple solution. We need to transition to a primary care 
system. This measure defines primary care as a system of providing health services 
in which front-line primary care providers serve as the initial point of care, point of 
continuing care, and coordinator of necessary specialized services.
As the initial point of care, primary care providers shall strive to render 
general health care services to all persons at the onset of disease to prevent costly 
treatment on the secondary and tertiary levels of care, which shall include:
• 
Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Services;
1 Campbell J, Dussault G, Buchan J, et.ai. A universal truth: no health without a workforce. Forum 
Report, Third Global Forum on Human Resources for Health, Recife, Brazil. Geneva, Global Health 
Workforce Alliance and World Health Organization, 2013. Emphasis Supplied.
2 Based on data from the DOH Health Human Resource Development Bureau. Retrieved from 
http://ndhrhis.eom/RPA0021.php
3 Campbel, J., Dussault, G. et.ai.
4 Shi, L. "The Impact of Primary Care: A Focused Review" Scientifica Volume 2012 (2012) Retrieved 
from https://www.hindawi.com/iournals/scientifica/2012/432892/
5 Coalition for Primary Care. "A Roadmap to Universal Primary Care(The "Abay Kalusugan" Program)"


• 
Family Planning and Reproductive Health;
• 
Prevention and Control of Communicable Diseases;
• 
Prevention and Control of Tropical Diseases;
• 
Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases; and
• 
Emergency Care.
As the coordinator of necessary specialized services, primary care providers 
shall, when necessary, refer patients to secondary or tertiary care providers. They 
shall serve as the coordinators and navigators of the health care system.
Finally, as the point of continuing care, primary care providers shall act as the 
coordinator and liaison between the patient and the secondary or tertiary care 
provider.
In order to fill up the new Primary Care Provider positions, this bill seeks to 
establish a medical scholarship and return program which will recruit qualified 
Filipinos who will serve as primary care providers. Under the program, the DOH shall 
provide a scholarship and financial assistance to qualified Filipinos who shall 
complete a course on primary care and serve as primary care providers in priority 
barangays, municipalities and cities for at least five (5) years.
Immediate approval of this measure is eagerly sought.
^
 ^
 GR-A.CE P O E  ^


EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session
)
SEN/VJ:fl
S. No. 
< 0  -1.
U. ‘
31 • 
S "  Vte.V
0  
M '. 
7 /  
O’"7 'O 'I
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<__ ' i.
Introduced by Senator Poe f.
AN ACT
CREATING A MEDICAL SCHOLARSHIP AND RETURN SERVICE PROGRAM 
FOR THE RECRUITMENT OF QUALIFIED FILIPINOS WHO WILL SERVE AS 
PRIMARY CARE WORKERS IN PRIORITY BARANGAYS, MUNICIPALITIES, 
AND CITIES, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER 
PURPOSES
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House o f Representatives o f the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:
! 
ARTICLE I
2 
GENERAL PROVISIONS
3 
Section 1. Short Tide. -T h is  Act shall be known as the "MedicalScholarship
4 
and Return Service for Primary Care Act o f 2019".
5 
Sec. 2. Declaration o f Policy. -  The State shall protect and promote the right
6 
to health of the people and instill health consciousness among them. The State
7 
recognizes the essential role of a sufficient number of primary care providers in
8 
promoting and protecting the right to health. To this end, there is a need to create
9 
the positions of primary care providers, and retraining and scholarship programs to
10 
recruit qualified individuals to serve as primary care providers who will serve as the
11 
initial point of care, point of continuing care, and the coordinator of necessary
12 
services in the health system.
13 
Sec. 3. Definition o f Terms. -  For the purposes of this Act:
14 
(a) Primary Care -  refers to a system of providing health services in which
15 
front-line primary care providers serve as the initial point of care, point
16 
of continuing care, and coordinator of necessary specialized services.


1 
(b) Primary Care Provider -  refers to individuals who are provide primary
2 
care services, which shall include the following:
3 
1. Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Services;
4 
2. Family Planning and Reproductive Health;
5 
3. Prevention and Control of Communicable Diseases;
6 
4. Prevention and Control of Tropical Diseases;
7 
5. Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases; and
8 
6. Emergency Care.
9 
(c) Primary Care Schoiarship and Return Service Program -  refers to the
10 
program created under this Act which seeks to recruit individuals to
11 
serve as Primary Care Providers in priority cities, municipalities, and
12 
barang ays.
13 
Sec. 4. 
Estabiishment o f the Primary Care Schoiarship and Return Service
14 
Program. -  A primary care scholarship and return program is hereby established
15 
under the Department of Health (DOH). Under this program, the DOH shall provide
16 
a scholarship and financial assistance to qualified Filipinos who shall complete a
17 
course on primary care on the condition that they shall serve as primary care
18 
providers in priority barangays, municipalities and cities.
19 
Sec. 5. Scope o f the Schoiarship Program. -  The scholarship program shall
20 
cover expenses such as, but not limited to:
21 
(a) Tuition, laboratory and other school fees;
22 
(b) Required textbooks, supplies and equipment;
23 
(c) Clothing and uniform allowances; and
24 
(d) Housing 
expenses, 
traveling 
expenses and 
subsistence and 
living
25 
allowances;
26 
Sec. 6. Conditions o f the Schoiarship Program. -  The scholarship program
27 
shall have the following conditions:
28 
(a) The 
scholar 
shall 
pass 
the 
admission 
examinations 
and 
related
29 
requirements of the UPCM in the first two (2) years of this Act's effectivity,
30 
or in any other university that offers the primary care course thereafter;
31 
(b) The scholar shall carry the full load of subjects prescribed per semester
32 
under the primary care program;


1 
(c) The scholar shall pay the full amount of the scholarship if he or she fails to
2 
complete the course; and
3 
(d) The scholar shall, upon completion of the course, serve as a Primary Care
4 
for at least five (5) years in a barangay\\Qd\t\\ center, rural health unit, or
5 
city health office as determined by the DOH: Provided, that the DOH shall
6 
prioritize barangays, municipalities, and cities which have an acute
7 
shortage of health human resources.
8 
Sec. 7. Duties and Responsibiiities o f Primary Care Providers. -  Primary care
9 
providers under this Act shall have the following responsibilities:
10 
(a) As the initial point of care, they shall strive to render general health care
11 
services to all persons at the onset of disease to prevent costly treatment
12 
on the secondary and tertiary levels of care, which shall include:
13 
1. Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Services;
14 
2. Family Planning and Reproductive Health;
15 
3. Prevention and Control of Communicable Diseases;
16 
4. Prevention and Control of Tropical Diseases;
17 
5. Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases;
18 
6. Emergency Care;
19 
(b)As the coordinator of necessary specialized services, they shall, when
20 
necessary, refer patients to secondary or tertiary care providers. They
21 
shall serve as the coordinators and navigators of the health care system;
22 
and
23 
(c) As the point of continuing care, they shall act as the coordinator and
24 
liaison between the patient and the secondary or tertiary care provider.
25 
Sec. 8. 
Information Dissemination. 
-  The DOH and the Presidential
26 
Communications Operations Office (PCOO) and its attached agencies shall conduct
27 
regular information dissemination campaigns on the programs under this Act.
28 
Sec. 9. Impiementing Rules and Regulations -T h e  members of the technical
29 
committee along with the DBM, CHED and the PCOO shall promulgate the
30 
implementing rules and regulations of this Act within thirty (30) days from its
31 
effectivity.


1 
Sec. 
10. Appropriations. 
-  The amounts necessary for the effective
2 
implementation of this Act shall be included under the appropriations of the
3 
Department of Health under the annual General Appropriations Act.
4 
Sec. 11 Penaities. -  Any primary care provider who fails to comply with
5 
Section 14 (d) of this Act shall be, upon conviction, perpetually disqualified from
6 
employment and re-employment in the government service and pay a fine of five
7 
hundred thousand pesos (Php 500,000) to one million pesos (Php 1,000,000),
8 
without prejudice to the imposition of administrative sanctions such as the
9 
revocation of their certificate of completion or their suspension from providing
10 
primary care.
11 
Sec. 12. Separability Clause. -  If, for any reason, any part, section or
12 
provision of this Act is held invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining provisions not
13 
affected thereby shall continue to be in full force and effect.
14 
Sec. 
13. 
Repealing 
Clause. 
-  All 
laws, 
decrees, 
executive 
orders,
15 
proclamations, rules and regulations, and other issuances, or parts thereof which are
16 
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, amended or
17 
modified accordingly.
18 
Sec. 14. Effectivity Clause. -T h is Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after
19 
its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation
Approved,