Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS,
Third Regular Session

BILL No, 8915

Introduced by HONORABLE LANI MERCADO-REVILLA
n

EXPLANATORY NOTE
The Constitution, Article Il, Section 15 provides:

“Section 15. The State shall protect and promote the right to health of the
people and instill health consciousness among them.”

Further, Article XIII, Section 11 states:

“SECTION 11. The State shall adopt an integrated and comprehensive
approach to health development which shall endeavor to make essential good
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.”

Pursuant to the above constitutional mandates, Republic Act Nos. 8344 and 9439 were
enacted into law on August 25, 1997 and April 27, 2007, respectively. These two laws repealed
Batas Pambansa Blg. No. 702, “An Act Prohibiting the Demand of Deposits or Advance Payments
for the Confinement or Treatment of Patients in Hospitals and Medical Clinics in Certain Cases”,
which took effect in 1984.

However, since then, despite the increase in the number of doctors, nurses, medical
personnel and hospitals in the country, the health needs of our fellow Filipinos, especially the
underprivileged sick, elderly, disabled, women, and children are not addressed. Further, a lot of
middle class and rich individuals become impoverished after they or their loved ones are
hospitalized in both public and private hospitals. Worse, despite being medically attended to, many
of the patient Worst, some hospitals refuse to release the body of the dead patients to the
family because of the inability of the estate of the deceased or the family of the patient to pay the
entire hospital bills which prevent these poor people from being buried properly by their loved ones,

According to Orville Solo and Maria S, Floro in The Philippines in the 1980s: A Review
of National and Urban Level Economic Reforms (World Bank: TWURP Working Paper No. 1,
February 1993, p. 4) from 1965-1990, more than two-thirds of the population have access to health
care. This was higher than the average for lower middle income countries. The infant mortality rate
had been drastically reduced from 60 percent in 1970 to 45.1 percent in 1980 and it was estimated to
be 30.1 percent in 1988. Female life expectancy at birth increased and was above the overall rate.
The average-daily calorie intake per person in the Philippines is approximately 2,200. Both authors
attributed this to the country's improved health praetices.

In 2004, there were 403,191 reported deaths. Of these, the number 1 leading cause of death
was diseases of the heart with 70,861 reported deaths or 17.6%. Second in rank was cerebrovascular
diseases with 43,077 reported deaths or 10.7%, Third in rank was malignant neoplasms
(commonly known as cancers) with 40,524 reported deaths or 10.1%. In 2007, there were 441,956
reported deaths. Of these, the number I leading cause of death was diseases of the heart again with
88,314 reported deaths or 20%. Second in rank was cerebrovascular diseases again with 48,969



reported deaths or 11.1%, Third in rank again was malignant neoplasms with 44,399 reported
deaths or 10.0%. The number of death continued to increase through the years and in 2010 there
were 488.265 reported deaths. In 2010, the number I leading cause of death was diseases of the
heart again with 166,867 reported deaths or 34.2%; and it was reported that | out of 5 Filipinos die
because of heart diseases. Second in rank again was cerebrovascular diseases with 48,969 reported
deaths or 11.1% Third in rank again was malignant neoplasms with 59,551 reported deaths or
12.2%. It was further reported that of the 488,265 reported deaths in 2010, 166,867 deaths or 34.2%
were medically attended with the NCR recording the highest medically attended deaths 9
deaths with the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao registering the lowest reported number of
reported deaths at 1,081. (//\www.census.gov.ph/content/dea tics).

In 2011, there were 498,486 reported deaths, an inerease of 10,221 or 2.09% from the 2010
record of 488,265 deaths. More than half (60.2%) of the total deaths in 2011 occurred in Luzon;
NCR (13.7%), Region IV-A (14.1%) and Region III (11.7%) were among, the regions in Luzon that
contributed to the highest proportion of deaths in the country while the rest of the regions
contributed less than ten percent, About 33.4% or 166,307 reported deaths were medically attended.
The NCR was noted to have the highest medically attended deaths with more than half of its total
death occurrences of 68,490 (55.9%). Region VIII (Eastern Visayas) posted the lowest record of
medically attended deaths at 4,979 or 23.3% of 21,575.

In 2012, there were 514,745. reported deaths, an increase of 16,259 or 3.3% from 498,486
deaths recorded in 2011, The highest registered number of deaths was in Region IV-A with 72,434
deaths or 14.1% of the total deaths. The National Capital Region ranked second with 70,018 or
13.6%, followed by Region IIT with 60,164 or 11.7% On the other hand, the three (3) regions with
the lowest number of registered deaths were the following: the ARMM with 1,610 deaths (0.3%),
followed by Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) with 7,373 deaths (1.4%) and Caraga 11,906
deaths (2.3%).

However, since the passage of Republic Act Nos. 8344 and 9439, the number of Filipino
deaths including those which are medically attended continue to increase notwithstanding the
increasing allocation of government funds to the health sector. The right to health is a basic human
right guaranteed and protected by our own Constitution, However, the recent policies in our health
cate have failed to protect and promote such right. The national government, especially the present
Aquino administration, has resorted to public-private partnerships to provide for the basic needs of
the Filipinos including the health care for the Filipinos. Notwithstanding his assertion in his f
State of the Nation Address in July 2010 that government will not spend more for basic services, a
review of the health budget of the country from 2011 to 2016 would show that the allocation for
health continues to increase, but the number of dead Filipinos continues to increase, even those who
received medical care and intervention. A review of the previous budgets of the Department of
Health would show that it received P24,649.765,000 of the annual budget in 2010.
P31,828.616,000 of the annual budget in 2011, P50,442,299,000 of the annual budget in 2013,
P83,720,921,000 of the annual budget in 2014, P86,968,697.000 of the annual budget in 2015, and
P122,630,153,000 of the annual budget in 2016.

By repealing Republic Act Nos. 8344 and 9439 and passing this measure, it is hoped that
the true spirit behind the above-mentioned constitutional mandates will be promoted if not attained:
and thus, there will be more healthy, strong and productive Filipinos, both here and abroad.

Hence, the approval of this bill is earnestly sought.

REP. LANI MERCADO-REVILLA
2™ District, Cavite


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
Third Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. _65 13

Introduced by HONORABLE LANI MERCADO-REVILLA

AN ACT
PROH! BITING THE DEMAND OF DEPO: OR ADVANCE PAYMENTS FOR THE
FINEMENT OR TREATMENT OF PATIENTS IN HOSPITALS AND MEDICAL,
EI NCY AND SERIOUS CASES AND THE DETENTION OF
‘TS IN HOSPITALS FOR NONPAYMENT OF HOSPITAL BILLS OR MEDICAL
EXP. S

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

SECTION 1, It shall be unlawful for any di
operating officer, manage er or any other officer of a hospital or medical clinic to
demand any deposit or any other form of advance payment for the confinement or treatment in such
hospital or medical clinic in emergency or serious eases and to detain or otherwise cause, directly or
indirectly, the detention of patients who have fully or partially recovered or have been adequately
attended to or who may have died, for reasons of nonpayment in part or in full of hospital bills or
medical expenses.

or, ident, chief executive officer, chief

SEC. 2. Any director, president, chief executive officer. chief operating officer, manager,
account officer or any other officer of a hospital or medical clinic who violates Section 1 of this Act
shall be punished by a fine of not less than Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000,00), but not more than
One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00), or imprisonment of not less than one month, but not
more than six months, or both such fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the proper court,

SEC. 3. The Department of Health, in consultation with the Civil Service Commission, a
consumers group, a workers group, a teachers group, an agricultural group, a fisherfolk group, an
indigeneous group, a senior citizens group, a people with disability group, an urban poor group. &
rural urban poor group, a women’s group and a youth sector group, shall issue the IRR for this Act
within 30 days from its effectivity

SI 4. If any provision of this Act is declared void and unconstitutional the remaining
provisions hereof not affected thereby shall remain in full force and effect.

SEC. 5. Repealing Clause. - All laws including Republic Act Nos. 8344 and 9439, orders,
issuances, and rules and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed
or modified accordingly.

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

Approved,