Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
Third Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 9046

Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Many of our own have suffered greatly during the events that devastated the country
in World War II. Families lost loved ones, men were injured and incapacitated, and
some women, like the Filipino Comfort Women, suffered a great deal of physical and
psychological trauma in the hands of the Japanese Imperial Army.

Filipino Comfort Women were those made to become sex slaves of the Japanese
Imperial Army men during their stay in the country. Recognition for their plight has
been a long time coming and deserved for all they have been through.

This bill proposes to provide pension and health benefits to comfort women. The
National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women is designated to determine the
authenticity of the identities of comfort women and assist them in the application for
the compensation and benefits therein. The bill hopes to ease their life financially

and for the State to provide for them a better situation than what they once went
through.

The approval of this bill is earnestly sought.

Lr

LUIS UNI RAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR.


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS.
Second Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No, 9948

Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR.

AN ACT
PROVIDING FOR PENSION AND HEALTH BENEFITS TO COMFORT WOMEN,
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR, 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 “Comfort Women
Compensation and Benefit Act”.

SECTION 2. Definition of Terms. —

. Comfort Women — shall mean Filipino Women who were made sex slaves by
the Japanese Occupation Army during World War II as may be determined by
the National Commission on Women;

NCRFW - shall mean the National Commission on the Role of Filipino
Women;

c. Department — shall mean the Department of Social Welfare and Development;
PVAO - shall mean the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office;

. PhilHealth — shall mean the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation

SECTION 3. Determination of Comfort Women. - The NCRFW is hereby tasked
to determine the authenticity of the claims and identities of Comfort Women with the
assistance of the various accredited cause-oriented women's groups. Applications


for the compensation and benefits herein provided for must be filed within two (2)
years from the effectivity of this Act, otherwise the same shall forever be barred.

SECTION 4. Responsibility of the Department. — The Department shall formulate
@ program for the proper counseling and guidance of Comfort Women taking into
consideration not only their ordeal in the hands of the Japanese Occupational Army
but more so the pain and suffering of retelling them in public.

SECTION 5. Duty of PhilHealth. — The Philhealth is hereby mandated to provide

free full medical insurance to Comfort Women as may be determined by the
NCRFW.

SECTION 6. Responsibility of PVAO. — The PVAO shall provide for the monthly
pension of Comfort Women in the amount of Three Thousand Pesos (Php 3,000.00).

SECTION 7. Fund. - An initial fund in the amount of Ten Million Pesos (Php
10,000,000.00) is hereby allocated for the processing of applications and payments
of pensions and insurance of Comfort Women identified by the NCRFWF
Thereafter, the cost of the pensions and insurance shall be included in the budget of
the PVAO and PhilHealth under the General Appropriation Act.

SECTION 8. Separability Clause. — Should any provision herein be declared

unconstitutional, the same shall not affect the validity of the other provisions of this
Act.

SECTION 9. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, orders, rules, and regulations
or other issuances or parts inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby
repealed, amended, or modified accordingly,

SECTION 10. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect in fifteen (15) days
after publication in the Official Gazette or in one (1) newspaper of general circulation
in the Philippines

Approved,