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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Batasan Hills, Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

1153

House Bill No.

Introduced by
HON. YEDDA MARIE K. ROMUALDEZ
and

HON. FERDINAND MARTIN G. ROMUALDEZ

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill seeks to establish a tertiary hospital under the full and direct
control, supervision and management of the Department of Health to be known,
as the Samar Island Medical Center located in the City of Calbayog, Samar.

One of the most crucial challenges of Eastern Visayas is the
unavailability of adequate hospitals, especially for patients coming from
indigent families. Presently, according to the Department of Health, the region
still needs an additional 1,500 hospital beds for its 4.2 million population, to
conform to global standards of one hospital bed per 1,000 population. Records
of the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation show that that region has a
combined hospital bed capacity of 2,700, or 1,500 less than the World Health
Organization (WHO) standard for a region with a population of 4.2 million.

The opening of Samar Island Medical Center will complement. the
passage of the recently passed Universal Health Care Act. It will effectively
close the gap in the region's hospital bed capacity, as well as ensure wider
access to affordable and quality healthcare services particularly in Samar
island. Health care service gaps have been blamed as one of the causes of
deaths in the region. For instance, 92 mothers died per 100,000 live births, 40
percent of infant do not survive after birth, and 24 percent of tuberculosis
patients succumbed. It is imperative that Samar Island gets its own tertiary
hospital to cater to the healthcare needs of the people in the area and free them
from the inconvenience of traveling even for hours just to be admitted to
hospitals in Tacloban.


Easy accessibility to tertiary health care for less fortunate Filipinos from
the island of Samar is deemed urgently necessary. In view of the foregoing, the
passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

Somrvsaueune

Rep. YEDDA MARIE K. ROMUALDEZ
uu Representative, Tihgog Sinirangan

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“

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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Batasan Hills, Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. i ee

Introduced by
HON. YEDDA MARIE K. ROMUALDEZ

and
HON. FERDINAND MARTIN G. ROMUALDEZ

AND ACT ESTABLISHING A TERTIARY HOSPITAL UNDER THE
CONTROL, SUPERVISION, AND MANAGEMENT OF THE DEPARTMENT
OF HEALTH IN THE CITY OF CALBAYOG, SAMAR TO BE KNOWN AS THE
SAMAR ISLAND MEDICAL CENTER, APPROPRIATING FUNDS
THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of the Representatives of the

Philippines in Congress assembled:

Section 1. There shall be established a tertiary general hospital, known
as the Samar Island Regional Medical Center, with a minimum capacity of one
hundred (100) beds, to be located in the City of Calbayog.

Section 2. The Samar Island Regional Medical Center shall be under
the direct administrative, and technical supervision of the Department of Health.

Section 3. The Department of Health shall formulate the necessary
guidelines for its operation as a tertiary hospital and ensure funding for the
acquisition of the land on which the hospital will be established, the construction
of the hospital buildings and other complementary infrastructure, facilities and

3


medical equipment, as well as for the costs for the necessary maintenance and
personal services.

Section 4. The Secretary of Health shall immediately include in the
Department's programs the implementation of this Act, the funding of which
shall be charged against the current year’s unappropriated balance of the
Department of Health. An appropriation of two hundred million pesos (P
200,000,000.00) shall be included in the General Appropriations Act of the year
Succeeding the implementation of this Act, and one hundred million pesos (P
100,000,000.00) thereafter for four (4) years or until the provisions of this Act
are fully implemented is hereby set aside for the purpose of this Act. Thereafter,
the amount necessary for the continued operation of the Samar Island Regional
Medical Center shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

Section 5. If any part or provision of this Act is held unconstitutional or
invalid, other parts for provisions hereof which are not affected shall continue
to remain in full force and effect.

Section 6. All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations or
parts thereof inconsistent with or contrary to the provisions of this Act are
deemed amended, repealed or modified accordingly.

Section 7. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days following
completion of its publication in the Official Gazette and in at least two (2)
newspapers of general circulation.


noe

ATE
Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Batasan Hills, Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS:
First Regular Session

House Bill No._1154

JUL 02 fi or

Introduced by
HON. YEDDA MARIE K. ROMUALDEZ
and
HON. FERDINAND MARTIN G. ROMUALDEZ

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The bill seeks to increase the bed capacity of the Eastern Visayas
Regional Medical Center from five hundred (500) to one thousand five hundred
(1,500), upgrade its services, facilities, professional health care, increase the
number of medical personnel and to change its name to Eastern Visayas
Medical Center to reflect the coming changes.

The Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC) in Tacloban
City is a Department of Health retained Level III hospital. It is accredited by the
Philippine Health Insurance Corporation and is its leader in the no balance
billing scheme to indigents in all of Eastern Visayas.

The increase in bed capacity is aimed at bridging the current gap
between hospital beds in the region, to improve the quality of healthcare and
ensure the successful realization of the Philippine Health Agenda. Enactment
of this law will reduce the hospital bed to population ratio in the region from
about 1:1,500 to approximately 1:1,000.

The hospital is currently struggling to keep up with the increasing
number of patients being admitted as its personnel complement is only good
for patients half of the current headcount. It has then resorted to hiring of
personnel on job order basis to fill the gap between plantilla positions and its
actual manpower need. From July to December 2017, there were over 500
persons hired under this program. With the release of Joint Circular No. 17 s.
2017 (CSC-DBM-COA), all these job order personnel shalll be discontinued by
January 2018, leaving the hospital with severe deficiency of manpower
resources.


Increasing the bed capacity to complement the actual number of patients
being served will bring a much better service to the patients not only in terms
of manpower but more so in the field of medicine, upgrade of equipment and
improved health services as hospital generated resources can now be allocated
to these areas other than payment of wages for additional workers.

This expansion will also allow EVRMC to establish twelve (12) fully
functional specialty care centers at par with those in major cities in the country
and elsewhere in the ASEAN. The expansion and upgrade of the hospital's
services will not only provide better health outcomes, but will also allow free if
not, low cost, and accessible health care services especially to the vulnerable
people of the region as well as the nation.

This move will position the hospital as a true medical center such that
the word “regional” would now be inaccurate and a misnomer. Thus, the
proposal to change the name to Eastern Visayas Medical Center.

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

Rep. YEDDA MARIE K. ROMUALDEZ
Representative, }ihgog Sinirangan