Republic of the Philippines
House of Representatives
Quezon City, Metro Manila

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

House Bill Number 5725

Introduced by Representative ROLANDO G. ANDAYA, JR.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Philippines suffer from a maldistribution of health workforce. According to
the study, “Assessment of factors influencing retention in the Philippine National
Rural Physician Deployment Program’, only 10% of health professionals in the
country are found in the rural areas where more than half of the population resides.
Most physicians and other health workers prefer to stay in urbanized areas where
they can be given better compensation.

When the Doctors to the Barrios Program (DTBP) was launched by then
Health Secretary Juan Flavier in 1993, it was geared to respond to the perceived
shortage of health personnel in remote areas. As a stop-gap measure to address
the lack of doctors in some local government units (LGUs), the program encouraged
medical graduates to spend a couple of years of their professional practice in some
of the country's poorest communities where healthcare services are most needed
After a prescribed period of two years, the physicians are given the option to be
absorbed by the LGU. Very few however chose to remain in the rural communities
due to lack of attractive financial incentive and because of poorly resourced facilities.

The DOH also observed that after more than twenty years since its
implementation, recipient LGUs have failed to hire their own doctors and relied on
the program for the provision of community physicians. The DOH proposed that
there is a need for policy reforms in order for LGUs to attract physicians to stay in the
community.

With most LGUs unable to match the compensation package offered by the
DOH, very few DTBP doctors decide to stay with the community. To illustrate, a
doctor deployed by the DOH under DTBP gets a monthly salary of 54,000. Most
LGUs however can only afford to offer 20,000 to ®25,000 as compensation. This
significant drop in the doctor's salary will surely discourage the doctor to stay


This measure aims to address the problem of attracting, recruiting and
retaining rural physicians across the country. In order to ensure that health services
are delivered to the country’s poorest, there is a need to make serving as a
healthcare professional in the rural areas attractive and motivating,

Approval of this bill is earnestly sought.

ROL, 1O G. ANDAYA, JR.


Republic of the Philippines

House of Representatives
Quezon City, Metro Manila

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

House Bill Number__ 9725

Introduced by Representative ROLANDO G. ANDAYA, JR.

AN ACT GRANTING INCENTIVES AND OTHER BENEFITS
TO RURAL DOCTORS AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

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

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the "Rural Doctors Incentives
and other Benefits Act of 2015.”

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - The State shall protect and promote the right to
health of people and instill health consciousness among them by giving each
individual unimpaired access to health information and services. Towards this end,
this Act shall attract physicians to work in rural areas by providing competitive
incentives and other benefits.

SEC. 3. Definition. - The term “Rural Doctor” shall refer to a licensed physician
employed by a local government unit and is assigned to actively or regularly perform
official duties in rural areas or remote communities.

SEC. 4. Incentives and Benefits. — In recognition of their services, Rural Doctors
shall, in addition to other incentives granted under existing laws, be entitled to the
following:

a) Hazard allowance in an amount to be determined by the local health board of
the local government unit concerned;

b) Subsistence allowance equivalent to the meals they take in the course of their
duty which shall be computed in accordance with prevailing circumstances as
determined by the local government unit concerned;


©) Rural Relocation Incentive for doctors who are not original residents of the
rural area or remote community which they serve, in an amount to be
determined by the local health board;

d) Continuing medical education in the form of tuition fee subsidy and stipends.

e) Isolation travel assistance for visiting physicians to provide medical services in
eligible rural and isolated communities to be determined by the local health
board.

SEC. 5, Repealing Clause. — All laws, executive orders, issuances, rules and
regulations inconsistent with this Act are hereby amended, repealed or modified
accordingly.

SEC. 5. Effectivity Clause. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in any newspaper of general circulation

Approved,