Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
Quezon City, Metro Manila

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS

First Regular Session

2061 \

HOUSE BILL NO,

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE XAVIER JESUS “XJ” D. ROMUALDO

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The late Representative Pedro P. Romualdo first filed this bill in the previous Congress.
This bill was approved by the House of Representatives on third reading on August 6,
2012 and was transmitted to the Senate on August 16, 2012. However, it would seem that
the Senate was unable to take action on the matter.

In 1995, under Republic Act No. 7938, the Northern Mindanao Regional Training
Hospital in Cagayan de Oro City was upgraded and converted from a 200-bed capacity
hospital to one having a 300-bed capacity. Accordingly, the Northern Mindanao Regional
Training Hospital became the Northern Mindanao Medical Center (the *NMMC” or the
“Center”), Since then, the NMMC has continued to provide satisfactory health care

ct, the NMMC has become the preferred facility for patients
from Misamis Oriental, Misamis Occidental, Bukidnon, Camiguin, Lanao de Norte, and
other neighboring provinces. Rural health units, district hospitals, and general hospitals in
Northern Mindanao, and even in neighboring regions, refer many patients to the Center
for a transfer of service. ‘This is due to the strategic location of the NMMC and its core
competencies in primary health care, invasive procedures, and emergency servi
Indeed, the President, in his recent State of the Nation Address, cited the capability of the
Center to perform open-heart surgery thus making the procedure readily available and
less costly to those who need it in Mindanao.

However, with the constantly increasing influx of clients and patients, the current
capacity of the NMMC is no longer adequate to meet such demand. The NMMC is in
need of a Magnetic Resonance Imaging Machine, a standby 500 kilovolt-ampere
generator, and additional ambulances. It also needs to upgrade its gas piping system.
Furthermore, an upgrade of its facilities and professional capability to meet patient
requirements for heart, lung, and kidney ailment cases is urgently needed.

An increase in the bed capacity of the NMMC from 300 to 1,000 is a step in the right
direction of enabling the Center to meet the needs and demands of its growing number of
clients. The upgrading of its facilities and equipment, as well as the provision of
opportunities for the professional growth and development of its medical professionals
and allied personnel, will ensure the continued availability of quality health services to
the public.

——
XAVIER JESUS “XJ” D. ROMUALDO



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS

First Regular §

HOUSE BILL NO. 2061

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE XAVIER JESUS “XJ” D. ROMUALDO

AN ACT INCREASING THE BED CAPACITY OF THE NORTHERN
MINDANAO MEDICAL CENTER IN CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, AMENDING
FOR THE PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO, 7938, APPROPRIATING FUNDS
THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSE

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

Section 1. Section 2 of Republic Act No, 7938 is hereby amended to read as follows:

Section 2. The hospital facilities of the Northern Mindanao Medical Center
shall be upgraded and increased, consistent with the requirements of modem
medical technology and its status as a medical center. Accordingly, its bed
capacity shall be increased from [two hundred (200) to] three hundred (300)
beds TO ONE THOUSAND (1,000) BEDS.

Section 2. Section 3 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

OPERATING EXPENSES of the Northern Mindanao Medical Center shall
correspondingly be increased. THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, IN
COORDINATION WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF BUDGET AND
MANAGEM! , SHALL DETERMINE THE ADDITIONAL
PPOSITIONS TO BE CREATED PURSUANT TO THIS ACT.

Section 3. Section 4 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

Section 4. [The amount necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act shall
be included in the General Appropriations Act of the year following its
enactment into law and thereafter.) THE SECETARY OF THE
DEPERTMENT OF HEALTH SHALL IMMEDIATELY INCLUDE IN
THE DEPARTMENT OF HEATH'S PROGRAMS THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS ACT, THE FUNDING OF WHICH SHALL
BE INCLUDED IN THE ANNUAL GENERAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT.

Section 5. All other laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations, or parts
thereof, inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby modified, amended or
repealed accordingly.

Section 6. This act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after the completion of its
publication in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,