:Sel111ir 
SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
) 
tl!)fft" "f t~. ,:>m,l;,r, 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
First Regular Session 
) 
'13 
AUG 15 P 3 :20 
SENATE 
S. No. 1322 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Constitution, Article 14, Section 2 (3) provides: 
SEC. 12. The State shall:... 
(3) Establish and maintain a system of scholarship grants, student loan 
programs, subsidies and other incentives which shall be available to deserving 
students in both public and private schools, especially to the underprivileged. 
Nursing has been one of the fastest rising professions in our country. Due to the increase 
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in opportunities to work abroad, nursing' graduates have steadily increased over the past few 
years. Fely Marilyn Lorenzo, head of the University of the Philippines' Institute of Health Policy 
and Development Studies, said that in 2006, 397,195 students graduated with a nursing degree, 
up from 296,000 in 2005. 1 
Due to the increase in enrollment, our nursing education system is hard pressed to catch 
up with the demand. The current faculty shortage will be greatly compounded in the next few 
years by the retirement or migration of many of the current nurse faculty. Without sufficient 
nurse faculty, schools of nursing caunot expand enrollments, and the nursing shortage will 
continue to cripple our nation's health care delivery system. 
This bill seeks to mandate the Department of Health to encourage programs that will 
engage the cooperation of private institutions not only in producing better nursing faculty but 
also in raising the level of nursing education altogether. 2 
L,- 4~ . 
.4r.- J~ 
MIRIAM DE 
NSOR s~'mf1b 
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. 
1 Evangelista, Katherine and Kristine L. Alave. Demand for Nurses Abroad Slowing Down. Philippine Daily 
Inquirer. 8 July 2008. 
2 This bill was originally filed in the Fourteenth Congress, Second Regular Session. 
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SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
First Regular Session 
) 
"n ,AUG 15 P 3 :to 
SENATE 
S. No. 1322 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
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AN ACT 
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CREATING A PILOT PROGRAM TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF NURSE FACULTY 
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TO MEET THE FUTURE NEED FOR QUALIFIED NURSES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
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SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be lmown as the "Nurse Faculty Higher 
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Education Act." 
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SECTION 2. Purposes. - The purposes of this part are to create a pilot program: 
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A. 
to provide scholarships to qualified nurses in pursuit of an advanced degree with 
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the goal of becoming faculty members in an accredited nursing program; and 
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B. 
to provide grants to partnerships between accredited schools of nursing and 
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hospitals or health facilities to fund release time for qualified nurse employees, so that those 
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employees can earn a salary while 'obtaining afl advanced degree in nursing with the goal of' 
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becoming nurse faculty. 
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SECTION 3. Definition of Terms. - For purposes of this Act, the term: 
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A. 
"Secretary" means the Secretary of Health; 
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B. 
"Health facility" means a health center, a rural health clinic, a nursing home, a 
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home health agency, a hospice program, a public health clinic, a national or local department of 
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public health, a skilled nursing facility, or ambulatory surgical center. 
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SECTION 4. Competitive Grants Authorized. - The Secretary may, on a competitive 
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basis, award grants to, and enter into contracts and cooperative agreements With, partnerships 
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composed of an accredited school of nursing at an institution of higher education and a hospital 
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or health facility to establish not more than five pilot projects to enable such hospital or health 
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facility to retain its staff of experienced nurses while providing a mechanism to have these 
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individuals become, through an accelerated nursing education program, faculty members of an 
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accredited school of nursing. 
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SECTION 5. Duration, Evaluation and Dissemination. -
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A. 
DURATION- Grants under this part shall be awarded for a period ofthree to five 
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years. 
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B. 
MANDATORY EVALUATION AND DISSEMINATION- Grants under this Act 
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shall be primarily used for evaluation, and dissemination to other institutions of higher 
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education, of the information obtained through the activities described in Section 2 (B). 
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SECTION 6. Considerations in Making Awards. - In awarding grants and entering into 
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contracts and cooperative agreements under this Act, the Secretary shall consider the following: 
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A. 
GEOGRAPHIC 
DISTRIBUTION 
-
Providing 
an 
equitable 
geographic 
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distribution of such grants. 
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B. 
RURAL AND URBAN AREAS - Distributing such grants to urban and rural 
areas. 
C. 
RANGE AND TYPE OF INSTITUTION - Ensuring that the activities to be 
assisted are developed for a range of types and sizes of institutions of higher education. 
D. 
PRIOR EXPERIENCE OR EXCEPTIONAL PROGRAMS - Institutions of 
higher education with demonstrated prior experience in providing advanced nursing education 
programs to prepare nurses interested in pursuing a faculty role. 
SECTION 7. Uses of Funds. - Funds made available by grant, contract, or cooperative 
agreement under this Act may be used: 
A. 
to develop a new national demonstration initiative to align nursing education with 
the emerging challenges of health care delivery; and 
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B. 
for anyone or more of the following innovations in edncational programs: 
1. 
to develop a clinical simulation laboratory in a hospital, health facility, or 
accredited school of nursing; 
2. 
to purchase distance learning technologies; 
3. 
to fund release time for qualified nurses enrolled in the graduate nursing 
program; 
4. 
to provide for faculty salaries; and 
5. 
to collect and analyze data on educational outcomes. 
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SECTION 8. Applications. - Each partnership desiring to receive a grant, contract, or 
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cooperative agreement under this Act shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in 
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such manner, and accompanied by such information as the Secretary may require. Each 
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application shall include assurances that: 
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A. 
the individuals enrolled in the program will be qualified nurses in pursuit of a 
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master's or doctoral degree in nursing and have a contractual obligation with the hospital or 
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health facility that is in partnership with the institution of higher education; 
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B. 
the hospital or health facility of employment would be the clinical site for the 
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accredited school of nursing program; 
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C. 
individuals will also maintain their employment on a part-time basis to the 
hospital or health facility that allowed them to participate in the program, and will receive an 
income from the hospital or health facility, as a part-time employee, and release times or flexible 
schedules to accommodate their class schedule. 
D. 
upon completion of the program, individuals agree to teach for two years in an 
accredited school of nursing for each year of support the individual received under this program 
SECTION 9. Appropriations. - To carry out the provisions of this Act, such amount as 
hereby necessary is hereby authorized to be appropriated from the National Treasury. 
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SECTION 10. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part hereof is held invalid or 
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unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall remain 
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valid and subsisting. 
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SECTION 11. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive 
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order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule, or regulation contrary to or inconsistent 
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with the provision of this Act is hereby repealed, modified, or amended accordingly. 
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SECTION 12. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
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publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved, 
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