EPRE.
JERE

Y RECEIVED
2 gare) 8 AUG 208

aA
a
m
2)

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

Twentieth Congress
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No, 3837

Introduced by Representative Carlos Andes Loria

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is one of the most pressing public health
challenges in the Philippines today. It is a leading cause of morbidity and
mortality, with thousands of Filipinos depending on long-term dialysis or kidney
transplantation to survive. According to the Department of Health (DOH), kidney
disease consistently ranks among the top ten causes of death nationwide.
However, access to specialized renal care remains largely concentrated in Metro
Manila and select urban areas, leaving many regions, including Bicol,
significantly underserved.

The Bicol Region (Region V), home to more than six million Filipinos, bears
a disproportionately high burden of kidney-related illnesses. The prevalence of
diabetes and hypertension, the two primary risk factors for CKD, is also notably
high in the region. Yet, the renal care infrastructure is grossly inadequate. There
is a severe shortage of nephrologists, dialysis centers, and transplant support
services. As a result, many patients must travel long distances, face financial
hardship, or delay essential treatment due to the lack of accessible and affordable
renal care facilities.

Albay Province, serving as the regional gateway and economic center of
Bicol, is strategically positioned to host a facility that will provide comprehensive
prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation services for kidney and allied
diseases. However, despite having tertiary hospitals and provincial health


facilities, the region still lacks an institution fully dedicated to specialized renal
healthcare, dialysis, and organ transplantation.

This proposed measure seeks to address these gaps by establishing the
National Kidney and Transplant Institute for the Bicol Region (NKTI-Bicol) in
the Municipality of Daraga, Province of Albay, under the supervision of the
Department of Health. As a constituent specialty hospital of the existing National
Kidney and Transplant Institute in Quezon City, the NK TI-Bicol will be equipped
with state-of-the-art facilities to provide specialized diagnostics, dialysis
treatment, kidney transplantation, post-transplant care, and public health
programs aimed at prevention and early detection of kidney diseases.

The NKTI-Bicol will also serve as a training and research hub to develop
local expertise in nephrology, dialysis care, and transplant medicine, ensuring the
availability of skilled healthcare professionals in the region. Importantly, it will
adopt a program for indigent patients, allocating not less than forty percent (40%)
of its bed capacity to serve those who cannot afford the cost of treatment, thereby
ensuring equitable access to life-saving kidney care.

In line with 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, especially for the underprivileged, this measure represents a vital
and long-overdue intervention to reduce preventable deaths, improve the quality
of life of kidney patients, and bring essential renal healthcare closer to the people
of Bicol.

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

CA) IDES LORIA


arons

10

"1

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

‘Twentieth Congress
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO, 3837

Introduced by Representative Carlos Andes Loria

AN ACT
ESTABLISHING THE NATIONAL KIDNEY AND TRANSPLANT
INSTITUTE 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 “National Kidney
and Transplant Institute for Bicol Region Act.”

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. — \t 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 an affordable cost. Towards this end,
the State shall adequately respond to the high incidence of kidney disease and related

3


disorders in the country, particularly in the Bicol Region, through specialized
medical services for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of
kidney and allied diseases, including organ transplantation.

SEC. 3. National Kidney and Transplant Institute for Bicol Region. -The
National Kidney and Transplant Institute in the Bicol Region, to be known as the
National Kidney and Transplant Institute - Bicol, hereinafter referred to as the
“NKTI-Bicol,” in the Municipality of Daraga, Province of Albay is established, with
a bed capacity of at least one hundred fifty (150) and under the direct supervision of
the Department of Health. The NKTI-Bicol shall be administered by the Board of
Trustees, hereinafter referred to as the Board, of the National Kidney and Transplant
Institute in Quezon City as a constituent specialty hospital.

SEC. 4. Medical Director. —- The NKTI-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
NKTI-Bicol, and delegate administrative responsibilities and duties to
other officers of the Institute;

d. Execute all contracts and agreements entered into by the Board, and
accomplish and deliver any documents relative to such contracts and
agreements;

e. Represent the NKTI-Bicolin 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 Institute; 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 NKTI-Bicol and
may reorganize the structure, modify the staffing pattern, and create or abolish
divisions, sections, or units in the NKTI-Bicol, subject to the approval of the
Department of Budget and Management.

SEC. 6. Program for Indigents. ~The NKTI-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.


1

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 National Kidney and Transplant Institute, 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 NKTI-Bicol shall be charged against the current
Contingent Fund. Thereafter, such sum as may be necessary for the continued
operation and maintenance of the NKTI-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 NKTI-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 newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,