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

Twentieth Congress
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 3836

Introduced by Representative Carlos Andes Loria

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Respiratory diseases, including pneumonia, chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease (COPD), tuberculosis (TB), and lung cancer, remain among the top
causes of morbidity and mortality in the Philippines. According to the Philippine
Statistics Authority (PSA), ischemic heart disease was the leading cause of death
from January to August 2024, followed by neoplasms and cerebrovascular
diseases. Pneumonia ranked fourth, accounting for 19,842 deaths or 7% of total
deaths, while respiratory tuberculosis ranked eighth with 9,873 deaths or 3%.

The Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS) notes that
pneumonia is the third leading cause of death across all ages and the most
common cause of death among children under five, accounting for about 14% of
all child mortality. Despite being preventable and curable, TB continues to exact
a heavy toll nationwide, around 70 Filipinos die daily from TB, or roughly 27,000
annually.

The situation in the Bicol Region reflects these national trends. The
Department of Health (DOH)-Bicol reported over 20,000 TB cases in 2021, with
a treatment success rate of nearly 90% for drug-susceptible TB patients. In the
first quarter of 2024, the region logged 7,008 drug-sensitive TB cases, achieving
a 92% treatment success rate. Nonetheless, TB remains one of the region’s top
public health concerns, alongside heart disease, pneumonia, hypertension,
tumors, kidney disease, cerebrovascular disease, diabetes, and septicemia.


Environmental factors aggravate these health challenges. Frequent volcanic
activity from Mt. Mayon, air pollution from urban and industrial sources,
recurring typhoons, and poverty-related living conditions increase the incidence
and severity of respiratory illnesses. Yet, despite serving as the gateway to the
Bicol Region and home to over 1.3 million people, Albay Province, and the entire
region, has no dedicated institution exclusively focused on the prevention,
diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of lung and other respiratory diseases.
Patients are often forced to travel hundreds of kilometers to the Lung Center of
the Philippines in Quezon City, resulting in delays in treatment, higher costs, and
poorer outcomes.

This measure seeks to establish the Philippine Lung Center for the Bicol
Region (PLC-Bicol) in the Municipality of Daraga, Province of Albay, as a
constituent specialty hospital of the Lung Center of the Philippines. Under the
supervision of the DOH, the PLC-Bicol will provide advanced diagnostics,
medical and surgical management, respiratory therapy, rehabilitation, and public
health programs for prevention and early detection of respiratory diseases. It will
also serve as a regional hub for training, research, and evidence-based policy
development tailored to the needs of Bicolanos.

Guided by the State’s constitutional duty under Article II, Section 15 and
Article XIII, Section 11 of the 1987 Constitution to protect and promote the right
to health and to adopt an integrated and comprehensive approach to health
development, this bill is more than an infrastructure proposal, it is an urgent
public health intervention. By bringing quality, affordable, and accessible
respiratory care closer to the people of the Bicol Region, the measure will help
reduce preventable deaths, control communicable diseases, and ultimately save
lives.

In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this bill is earnestly

sought.

CA IDES LORIA


onona

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

Twentieth Congress
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 3836

Introduced by Representative Carlos Andes Loria

AN ACT
ESTABLISHING THE PHILIPPINE LUNG CENTER FOR BICOL REGION
IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF DARAGA, PROVINCE OF ALBAY, AND
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

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

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as the “Lung Center for
Bicol Region Act.”

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. — It is the policy of the State to protect and
promote the right to health of all Filipinos and adopt an integrated and
comprehensive approach to health development, which endeavors to make essential
health services available to all the people at affordable cost. Towards this end, the

State shall adequately respond to the high incidence of lung disease and other related

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diseases in the country, particularly in the Bicol Region, through specialized medical
services for the prevention and treatment of lung and allied diseases.

SEC. 3. Philippine Lung Center for Bicol Region. —The Philippine Lung
Center for the Bicol Region, to be known as the Philippine Lung Center-Bicol,
hereinafter referred to as “PLC-Bicol,” is established in the Municipality of Daraga,
Province of Albay, with a bed capacity of at least one hundred fifty (150) and under
the supervision of the Department of Health. The PLC-Bicol shall be administered
by the Board of Trustees, hereinafter referred to as the “Board,” of the Philippine
Lung Center as a constituent specialty hospital.

SEC. 4. Medical Director. - The PLC-Bicol shall 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 oversee the efficient discharge of management and operational functions:

b) Propose measures, policies, guidelines and programs as may be deemed
necessary or proper for the effective implementation of the purposes and objectives

of this Act for the consideration and approval of the Board;


c) Direct and supervise the management, operation and administration of
the PLC-Bicol, and delegate administrative responsibilities and duties to other
officers of the hospitals;

d) Execute all contracts and agreements that the Board may enter into, and
accomplish and deliver any document relative to such contracts and agreements;

e) Represent the PLC-Bicol in all dealings with other offices, agencies
and instrumentalities of the government, and other persons or entities;

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. 5. Organizational Structure and Staffing Pattern. — The Board shall
determine the organizational structure and staffing pattern of the PLC-Bicol, and
may reorganize the structure, modify the staffing pattern, and create or abolish
divisions, sections or units in the PLC-Bicol, subject to the approval of the
Department of Budget and Management.

SEC. 6. Program for Indigents. — The PLC-Bicol shall adopt and enforce a
program for indigents and allocate not less than forty percent (40%) of the total

number of hospital beds for indigent patients.


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SEC. 7. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — Within sixty (60) days from
the effectivity of this Act, the Secretary of Health shall, in consultation with the
Board of Trustees of the Philippine Lung Center, formulate and promulgate the rules
and regulations necessary for the effective implementation of this Act.

SEC. 8. Appropriations. - The amount necessary for the establishment, initial
operation and maintenance of the PLC-Bicol shall be charged against the current
Contingent Fund. Thereafter, such sum as may be necessary for the continued
operation and maintenance of the PLC-Bicol shall be included in the annual General
Appropriations Act.

The local government units in the Bicol Region may contribute or donate land,
building, equipment and facilities to PLC-Bicol. as may be approved by the
respective Sanggunian.

SEC. 9. 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.

SEC. 10.  Effectivity Clause. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days
after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a national newspaper of general
circulation.

Approved,