· 
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SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
First Regular Session 
) 
SENATE 
Senate Bill No. 76 8 
Sen<ltt' 
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'13 
JULIS P 6 :1 1\ 
REC 
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INTRODUCED BY SEN. JINGGOY EJERCITO ESTRADA 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
This bill seeks to institutionalize a grievance machinery in all health 
institutions providing medical treatment in the Philippines, be it private or public 
to protect the interest and welfare of patients and to uphold their right to health 
and to safe, humane, decent and quality health care. 
The Constitution, Article II, Section 15, provides that the State shall protect 
and promote the right to health of the people and instill health consciousness 
among them. 
With the advances in the practice of medicine and the increasing 
consciousness of people on the value of timely, efficient and appropriate health 
care, complaints of patient with regard to the way they are treated are increasing 
in number. Some complaints arise. from violations of the fiduciary relationship 
between the patient and his or her physician, while some arise from the violations 
on the amount of care that a physician must observe in the treatment of his or 
her patient, which unfortunately, causes irreparable harm to the latter. 
In the Philippines, a patient has the option to file a civil action, a criminal 
action or an administrative complaint against an erring physician. The basis for 
filing a civil action is Article 2176 of the Civil Code, when the act or omission 
causes damage to another, there being fault or negligence, obliges the 
wrongdoer to pay for the damage done. Damages that may be recovered are 
actual or compensatory, moral, nominal, temperate or moderate, liquidated, or 
exemplary or corrective damages. A patient may also avail of provisions under 
the Revised Penal Code, particuJarly on physical injuries and other crimes 
against a person, which are punishable with imprisonment and/or a fine. Finally, 
a patient may also seek the redress of his or her grievances administratively 
under the Medical Act of 1959, which reprimands erring physicians or suspends 
or revokes the registration of physicians found guilty of gross negligence, 
ignorance or incompetence in the practice of his or her profession resulting in an 
injury to or death of the patient. 
Through the grievance machinery, a patient or his or her representatives 
has a non-adversarial way of seeking the redress of his or her grievances against 
a physician and other medical personnel. His or her complaint, which must 
contain the cause of action, the particular act or omission complained of, and the 
remedy being sought, will go to a committee created for this purpose by the 
hospital, composed of hospital officials, doctors, and representatives from the 
local health unit, and the consumer arbitration office in the place where the 
hospital is located. Any decision of the committee will not bar the patient from 


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filing any other action, which is allowed under present laws, Ultimately, the 
grievance mechanism must seek to arrive at a settlement mutually acceptable to 
the parties, 
In view of the foregoing, the immediate approval of this measure is 
earnestly requested, 
Senator 


" 
~ 
, 
SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
First Regular Session 
) 
SENATE 
Senate Bill No. ? 6 8 
,s,tnatF 
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'13 
JUL 15 P6 :18 
INTRODUCED BY SEN. JINGGOY EJERCITO ESTRADA 
AN ACT 
UPHOLDING THE RIGHT OF PATIENTS TO THE REDRESS OF THEIR 
TREATMENT· RELATED GRIEVANCES BY MANDATING THE CREATION 
OF GRIEVANCE BOARDS IN ALL PUBLIC AND PRIVATE HOSPITALS TO 
BE SUPERVISED BY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, AND FOR OTHER 
PURPOSES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives in Congress 
assembled: 
SECTION 1. Title - This Act shall be known as "Patients' Grievance 
I 
Machinery Act of 2013". 
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. It shall be the policy of the State to protect 
and promote the right to health of the people and instill health consciousness 
among them. Likewise, the State values the dignity of every human person and 
guarantees full respect for human rights. To this end, an efficient, effective and 
just grievance mechanism must be created to protect the rights of patients to 
decent, humane and quality health care. This Act aims to establish a reasonable 
mechanism for resolving problems and complaints in connection with their 
treatment. 
SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. As used in this Act, the following terms are 
defined as follows: 
(1) Grievance - any complaint arising from injury or death by a patient in 
relation to his or her diagnosis, prognosis and treatment by a physician and/or his 
or her assistant due to, but not limited to, the following: 
a. Gross negligence or gross incompetence in the practice of his or her 
profession: 
b. Aiding or acting as a dummy of an unqualified or unregistered person to 
practice medicine; 
c. Violation of the doctor-patient privilege: 
(2) Gross negligence - pursuit of a course of conduct which would 
naturally and reasonably result in injury. It is characterized by want of even slight 
care, acting o~ omitting to act in a situation where there is a duty to act, not 
inadvertently but willfully and intentionally with a conscious indifference to 


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consequences insofar as other persons may be affected. The existence of 
negligence in a given case is not determined by reference to the personal 
judgment of a person involved in the complaint, but what would be reckless, 
I 
blameworthy or negligent in the man of ordinary intelligence, and prudence. 
(3) Grievance Board - the grievance machinery instituted by a hospital that 
will receive, examine, investigate and resolve all grievances that may fall under 
its jurisdiction. 
(4) Legal Representative - the members of the patient's immediate family 
or his or her guardian or counsel chosen by the patient to represent him or her. 
(5) Health Care Provider- all medical and health personnel involved in the 
diagnosis, prognOSis and treatment of a patient. 
(6) Hospital - those health institutions defined as such under Republic Act 
4226 or the Hospital Licensure Act of 1965. 
(7) Consumer Arbitration Officer - persons appointed for the effective and 
efficient protection of consumer rights under Republic Act No. 7394 of the 
Consumer Act of the Philippines. 
SEC. 4. Establishment of a Grievance Machinery in all Public and 
Private Hospitals - All hospitals are hereby mandated to create a grievance 
board that will receive, investigate, adjudicate, and recommend actions to arrive 
at settlement of complaints related to the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of 
patients who sought the services of such health institution. 
The Hospital-based grievance machinery shall be composed of at least 
five (5) members: 
1. One (1) grievance officer appointed and permanently designated by the 
hospital with a rank of supervisory or managerial, and who must not be a doctor 
or a physician, who shall act as the Chairperson; 
2. Three (3) doctors from the hospital's pool of physicians, provided that, 
none of them were part of the team who treated the patient-complainant and, 
provided finally, that they are recognized experts in the field of medicine which is 
the subject matter of the grievance; 
3. One representative from the Philippine Medical Association 
4. The local health officer or 'his duly authorized representative, provided, 
that the latter ate least be a full-time staff of the local health unit, and at least a 
college graduate; 
5. One (1) consumer arbitration officer exercising jurisdiction over the area 
where the hospital is located; 
Each hospital shall prepare a list of experts for each filed who are 
authorized to sit in the Board. 
The Department of Health shall ensure the establishment of and oversee 
the grievance committees created under this Act. 


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The successive steps in the procedure, the method of presenting 
grievances, and the method of taking an appeal should be clearly stated and 
integrated in the hospital's rules and regulations. 
SEC. 5. How grievance is taken; time for filing- A patient desiring to file 
a grievance under this Act may file a complaint in writing, signed and sworn to by 
the patient himself or herself, or his or her legal representative with the hospital's 
grievance board within thirty (30) days from the happening of the event which 
forms basis of the complaint. The complaint must state the act or omission 
complained of, the parties against whom the complaint is directed at, the conduct 
or duty violated, other allegations that the complainant may deem necessary to 
include. 
SEC. 6. Action on the grievance. - Upon receipt of the grievance, the 
grievance officer shall examine the allegations of the complaint and determine of 
falls within the jurisdiction of the Grievance Board. The officer shall give due 
notice of the respondents. For purposes of determining whether the complaint is 
actionable or not, the grievance offiCer may require or allow the parties to submit ' 
affidavits, briefs or other documents as it may deem necessary within such 
periods and under such conditions as it may consider appropriate. 
The grievance officer shall have fifteen (15) days from the receipt of the 
complaint to act on the same. If the complaint is considered not actionable for a 
valid cause, the grievance officer shall inform the patient, or his or her legal 
representative, in writing, of the basis of the said dismissal. Should the officer 
find that the complaint is actionable, he or she shall submit a report to and 
recommend the case for mediation before the Board. 
The Board shall resolve the grievance within thirty (30) days from receipt 
of the officer's report. 
Nothing in this Act shall deprive the patient the right to seek other 
remedies allowed under the laws, provided that he or she shall not be allowed to 
recover twice for the same remedy. 
SEC. 7. Remedies to be Awarded. Upon finding that the physician and/or 
his or her assistants are guilty of any of the acts identified herein as grievances, 
the Board, though a majority vote of all the members of the Board, except the 
Grievance Officer who endorsed the grievance, may grant the relief prayed for by 
the complainant, provided, it shall be limited to compensation for actual monetary 
loss and will not cover "pain and suffering or other explicitly non-monetary losses. 
The Committee may likewise recommend the respondent for disciplinary action 
under the civil service rules and regulations in case of public hospitals, and the 
physician's medical association. 
SEC. 8. Rules of Procedure. The hospital shall promulgate rules of 
procedures governing the resolution of grievances, Provided, it shall not be 
inconsistent with any of the provisions of this Act, and Provided, Further, that 
prior to the implementation, the rules of procedure shall be submitted to the 
Department of Health for the latter's approval. The procedure should be 
adaptable to the handling of various types of grievances which may be 
adjudicated under the hospital's grievance machinery and facilitate the 


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settlement of complaints as soon as possible after they arise. It shall also include 
the rules on taking appeal. 
All the records received from the parties and the proceedings of the Board 
shall be strictly confidential and cannot be disclosed, except upon lawful order of 
a competent court. 
SEC. 9. Appeal. Any party adversely affected by a decision, ruling or 
inaction by the hospital-based grievance machinery on a patient's grievance, 
may file an appeal before the Secretary of the Department of Health, who shall 
act on the appeal within thirty (30) days from the receipt of the appeal. 
SEC. 10. Prescriptive Period. The time during which the case is 
submitted for mediation shall toll the running of the prescriptive period for the 
filing of a civil or criminal case under the Revised Penal Code or any 
administrative case under existing laws. 
SEC. 11. Rules and Regulations. The Secretary of Health, in 
consultation with the Philippine Medical Association, the Philippine Hospital 
Association, the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation and concerned private 
agencies, non-governmental organizations and people's organizations shall 
promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary for its 
implementation within One Hundred Eighty (180) days from the effectivity of this 
Act. 
SEC. 12. Separability Clause. If any provision or part hereof, is held 
invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise 
affected shall remain valid and subsisting. 
SEC. 13. Repealing Clause. All laws, decrees, orders, rules and 
regulations or parts therefore, inconsistent with this Act are hereby amended or , 
modified accordingly. 
SEC. 14. Effectivity Clause. This act shall take effect fifteen (15) days 
following its publication in a newspaper of general circulation. 
Approved,