Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City,

FTEENTH CONGRESS
‘rst Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. ___ 1091

Introduced by: HONORABLE PHILIP A. PICHAY

EXPLANATORY NOTE

In an age when medical breakthroughs are as common as catching colds, it is
lamentable that health care services have yet to reach every nook and cranny of the
7,100+ island Philippine archipelago. Out of the 1,525 municipalities nationwide,
about 18% or some 275 towns do not have a single doctor. More staggering is the fact
that there are only 1,738 hospitals nationwide to cater to the medical needs of more
than 80 million Filipinos today. It is no wonder why six out of ten deaths in the
country are not medically-attended.

This bill proposes the establishment of a floating medical center which shall be
jointly operated and maintained by the Philippine Navy and the Department of Health.
The vessel will follow an itinerary and schedule of medical visits to the different
provinces, municipalities and cities throughout the country wherein local patients
requiring hospitalization and/or special medical services who cannot be given such
adequate services in their local hospitals shall be referred by the latter to, and
attended by the floating medical staff.

Provinces classified by the National Economic Development Authority as the
most depressed, disadvantaged, and underserved shall be given top priority and if the
need arises, the vessel may be rerouted from its scheduled route to provinces declared
as calamity areas by the National Disaster Coordinating Council.

The proposed medical center shall sail only within the territorial jurisdiction of
the Philippines and may dock in any part of the country where vessels/boats are
authorized to dock under the customs and maritime laws.

Under this proposed measure, the Secretary of Health is mandated to negotiate
and/or accept donations or grants from any person, natural or juridical, domestic or
foreign, for the establishment of the Center and its subsequent improvement, or
addition to its facilities geared at modernization. He/she is authorized to coordinate
with medical groups, domestic or foreign, for support and assistance in the form of

medical supplies and equipment, and special medical missions.


The bill likewise embodies a provision for the establishment of a balikbayan
program for Filipino medical practitioners abroad who may be given special incentives
in exchange for free medical services to be conducted aboard the Center for a certain
number of days.

As envisioned, the Center shall accommodate medical interns and visiting
medical practitioners, both domestic and foreign, to complement the Center’s regular
staff on a voluntary basis.

‘This proposed measure was originally conceived by the US-based Physicians for
Peace and Physicians for Peace-Philippines, a group of world-renown medical
specialists who have committed to extend full support and assistance to the Philippine
government particularly in obtaining a serviceable vessel which shall serve as the
floating medical center.

For a people increasingly becoming susceptible to diseases such as dengue,

malaria, tuberculosis, and for a nation of 4.5 million malnourished schoolchildren, the
need to enact this bill has never been more urgent than today.

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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

1091

HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by: HONORABLE PHILIP A. PICHAY

AN ACT
ESTABLISHING A FLOATING MEDICAL CENTER TO BE KNOWN AS THE PHILIPPINE
FLOATING MEDICAL CENTER AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

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

SECTION 1. There is hereby established a floating medical center to be known
as the Philippine Floating Medical Center, hereinafter referred to as the Center.

‘The Center shall be headed by a Medical Director who is a duly licensed
physician and shall be appointed by the Secretary of Health.

SEC. 2. The Philippine Navy and the Department of Health shall jointly
maintain and operate the Center within the territorial jurisdiction of the Republic of
the Philippines. It shall have the right to dock the Center in any part of the Philippines
where vessels/boats are authorized to dock under the Customs and Maritime Laws.

‘The medical specialists and staff of the Center, both regular and visiting, shall
not only provide medical services on board the Center but may also conduct medical
consultations and operations in local hospitals and/or clinics within the vicinity of the
pier/harbor where the Center is moored.

‘The Flag Officer-in-Command of the Philippine Navy and the Secretary

be authorized to fix, or revise, the itinerary and schedule of the
Center’s medical visits to the different provinces, municipalities and cities throughout
the country; Provided, That, provinces classified by the National Economic
Development Authority as the most depressed, disadvantaged, and underserved shall
be given top priority; Provided, Further That, the Center may be rerouted from its
scheduled route to provinces declared as calamity areas by the National Disaster
Coordinating Council.



SEC. 4. All patients requiring hospitalization and/or special medical services
who cannot be given such adequate services in their local hospitals shall be referred
by the latter to, and attended by the Center.

SEC. 5. Patients who can afford to pay the cost of hospitalization and/or
medical treatment extended to them shall be required to do so. Indigents who are not
members of any health insurance program shall not be required to pay the cost of
hospitalization and/or medical services rendered; Provided, That the Center shall
ensure that they are subsequently enrolled in the national health insurance program.
The patient’s capacity to pay or their state of indigence shall be determined by the
Center.

SEC. 6. The organization and management of the Center shall be subject to the
rules and regulations to be issued by the Secretary of Health: Provided, That, the
Center shall admit interns and visiting medical practitioners, domestic and foreign, as
its facilities may permit, on a voluntary basis.

SEC. 7. The Secretary of Health shall endeavor to negotiate and/or accept
donations or grants from any person, natural or juridical domestic or foreign, for the
establishment of the Center and its subsequent improvement, or addition to its
facilities geared at modernization. Toward this end, he/she shall coordinate with
medical groups, domestic or foreign, for support and assistance in the form of medical
supplies and equipment, and special medical missions.

He/she shall establish a balikbayan program for Filipino medical practitioners
abroad who may be given special incentives in exchange for free medical services to be
conducted aboard the Center for a certain number of days.

SEC. 8. The sum of fifty million pesos (P50,000,000) is hereby authorized to be
charged against the current year's appropriation of the Contingent Fund for the initial
expense of the Center. Thereafter, there shall be appropriated annually under the
budget of the Department of Health.

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

Approved,