Eighteenth Congress
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. __ 6140

Introduced by Representative Lorenz R. Defensor, Raul C. Tupas

| and Michael B. Gorriceta

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill seeks to establish the Philippine Children’s Medical Center for
Visayas and Philippine Children’s Medical Center for Mindanao as constituent
units of the Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC) in Quezon City.

Section 15, Article II of the 1987 Constitution provides that “The State
shall protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health
consciousness among them.” Further, Paragraph 2, Section 3 of Article XV
states that “The State shall defend the right of children to assistance, including
proper care and nutrition, and special protection from all forms of neglect,
abuse, cruelty, exploitation, and other conditions prejudicial to their
development.”

Section 11, Article XIII provides 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. There shall be priority for the needs of the
underprivileged, sick, elderly, disabled, women and children. The State shall
endeavor to provide free medical care to paupers.”

Consistent with the above-cited constitutional provisions, this bill aims to
establish specialized medical centers and provide a full range of health care
services to children in the Visayas and Mindanao.


The PCMC, formerly known as the Lungsod ng Kabataan was established
under Presidential Decree No. 1631 on August 10, 1979. It was created
primarily to benefit the Filipino children, enhance the research in pediatric
diseases, training of medical and technical personnel and provide specialized
medical services for the prevention and treatment of children’s diseases.
Presently, PCMC offers a wide array of general and subspecialty services in
pediatrics, surgery and allied medicine. It has training programs in various
medical fields and produced researches relevant to the day-to-day case of the
well and sick child.

Currently, only residents of Metro Manila and its nearby provinces are
able to avail of government-sponsored medical care for infants and children
through the PCMC in Quezon City. Its location is not accessible to those living
in Visayas and Mindanao.

With the ever increasing population of the Visayas and Mindanao, it is
imperative for the government to establish medical centers in the said regions
that will cater to the medical needs of children especially from poor families.
Iloilo City and Davao City are ideal locations for the children’s medical center
because of its proximity to other provinces.

The establishment of PCMC-Visayas and PCMC-Mindanao will alleviate
the plight of parents and children in these regions of additional costs and burden
of travelling to Quezon City in order to avail of the medical services of PCMC.
These medical centers will ensure the availability and accessibility of medical
services for children in the Visayas and Mindanao. It will also enable the
children to avail of specialized health care for the prevention and treatment of
pediatric diseases.

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

Moons [pees

RAU! TUPAS | LORENZ R. DEFENSOR

MICHAEL B. GORRICETA


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Eighteenth Congress
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 6140

Introduced by Representatives Lorenz R. Defensor, Raul C. Tupas
and Michael B. Gorriceta

AN ACT
ESTABLISHING THE PHILIPPINE CHILDREN’S MEDICAL CENTER
FOR VISAYAS AND PHILIPPINE CHILDREN’S MEDICAL CENTER FOR
MINDANAO AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

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

SECTION 1. Declaration of Policy. — \t is the policy of the State to protect
and promote the right to health of the people, especially the children, including
proper care and nutrition and to adopt an integrated and comprehensive approach to
health development. Towards this end, the State shall ensure the accessibility of
medical services and the availability of specialized health care to children in the
Visayas and Mindanao regions.

SEC. 2. Philippine Children’s Medical Center for Visayas and Mindanao.—

There shall be established, under the supervision of the Department of Health, a


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Philippine Children’s Medical Center in Iloilo City and a Philippine Children’s
Medical Center in Davao City to be known as the Philippine Children’s Medical
Center for Visayas and Philippine Children’s Medical Center for Mindanao,
hereinafter referred to as PCMC — Visayas and PCMC — Mindanao, respectively.
The PCMC-Visayas and PCMC - Mindanao shall be constituent specialty hospitals
of the Philippine Children’s Medical Center and shall be administered by its existing
Board of Trustees of the Philippine Children’s Medical Center, hereinafter referred to
as the Board.

The PCMC - Visayas and PCMC - Mindanao shall have a bed capacity of at
least one hundred fifty (150) each.

SEC. 3. Medical Director. — The PCMC -Visayas and PCMC - Mindanao shall
each be headed by a Medical Director who shall be appointed by the President of the
Philippines upon the recommendation of the Board.

The Medical Director shall exercise the following powers and functions:

(a) Execute the policies, guidelines and programs approved by the Board, and
be responsible for the efficient discharge of management and operational functions;

(b) Submit for the consideration and approval of the Board proposed
measures, policies, guidelines and programs as may be deemed necessary or proper

for the effective implementation of the purposes and objectives of this Act;


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(c) Direct and supervise the management, operation and administration of the
PCMC -Visayas and PCMC -Mindanao, and may delegate this power and any or
some of his administrative responsibilities and duties to the other officers of the
hospitals;

(d) Execute, on behalf of the Board, all contracts and agreements which the
latter may enter into, and to execute, accomplish and deliver any and all documents
relative to such contracts and agreements;

(e) Represent the PCMC - Visayas and PCMC - Mindanao, on behalf of the
Board, in all dealings with other offices, agencies and instrumentalities of the
government, and all other persons or entities, whether domestic or foreign and
whether government or private;

(f) Recommend to the Board the appointment, promotion, transfer, dismissal,
and suspension of the officers and employees of the hospitals; and

(g) Exercise such other powers and perform such duties as may be vested or
reposed by the Board.

SEC. 4. Organizational Structure and Staffing Pattern. — The Board shall
determine the organizational structure and staffing pattem of the PCMC - Visayas
and PCMC - Mindanao subject to the evaluation by the Civil Service Commission
and of the Organization, Position Classification and Compensation Bureau of the

Department of Budget and Management. The Board may reorganize the structure,


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modify the staffing pattern and create or abolish divisions, sections or units in the
PCMC - Visayas and PCMC - Mindanao.

SEC. 5. Program for Indigents. — The Board shall ensure that the PCMC -
Visayas and PCMC — Mindanao shall adopt and enforce a program for indigents. The
number of beds allocated for indigent patients shall not be less than forty percent
(40%) of the total number of hospital beds.

SEC. 6, Implementing Rules and Regulations. — The Secretary of Health, in
consultation with the Board of Trustees of the Philippine Children’s Medical Center,
shall formulate and promulgate, the rules and regulations to carry out the purposes of
this Act.

SEC. 7.  AppropriationsThe amount of Ten billion pesos
(P10,000,000,000.00) out of the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated is
hereby appropriated for the establishment, initial operation and maintenance of the
PCMC - Visayas and PCMC - Mindanao. Thereafter, such sum as may be necessary
for the continued operation and maintenance of the PCMC - Visayas and PCMC -
Mindanao shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

SEC. 8, Repealing Clause. —All laws, decrees, orders, proclamations, rules
and regulations, or parts thereof, which are inconsistent with this Act are hereby

repealed, amended, or modified accordingly.


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SEC. 9. Effeetivity Clause. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days
after its publidstion in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,