Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session
2964

House Bill No. ___
Introduced by Representative SOLOMON R. CHUNGALAO

AN ACT ESTABLISHING A HUNDRED-BED EXTENSION OF THE LUIS HORA
MEMORIAL REGIONAL HOSPITAL IN THE PROVINCE OF IFUGAO, TO BE
KNOWN AS THE LUIS HORA MEMORIAL REGIONAL HOSPITAL - IFUGAO

EXTENSION HOSPITAL, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill is filed to address the cries and pleas of the people of Ifugao as a province and
those in the eastern border of Mt. Province. It would also address the needs of those from the
province of Kalinga and Apayao for decent medical facilities without tribal and ethnic
discriminations. Furthermore, Ifugao is the home of the famous rice terraces with four (4)
UNESCO heritage sites. One of the essential requirements for a meaningful and doable tourism
industry is the establishment and presence of a decent medical facility to address the needs of
foreign and local tourists in the area.

Ifugao’s population was recorded at 191,000 in the 2010 Census of Population and
Housing, and was projected to double by 2050. By 2015 our population had already increased by
over 10,000, recorded at 202,802? Of Ifugao’s eleven municipalities, Alfonso Lista’s recorded
population was the largest (at 14.9%), followed by Lamut (12.1%), Banaue (11.7%), Aguinaldo
(9.7%), Lagawe (9.5%), Mayaoyao (8.6%), Kiangan (8.3%), Asipulo (7.5%), Tinoc (7.4%),
Hungduan (5.2%), and Hingyon (5.1%). As Ifugao is a popular tourist destination, this population

+ Census Activity Reference No. 2013-118, “Ifugao’s Population was Recorded at 191 Thousand (Results from the
2010 Census of Population and Housing),” PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY, 12 July 2013, available at

https:/ /psa.gov.ph/content/ifugao-population-was-recorded-191-thousand-results-2010-census-population-and-

housing

2 Ifugao Quick Statistics, PHILIPPINE STATISTICS AUTHORITY, June 2018, available at
https://psa.gov.ph/content/ifugao-quickstat-june-2018

> Census Activity Reference No, 2013-118, swpra at Note 1


is often augmented by thousands of outsiders. An estimated 250,000 foreign as well as local tourists
and visitors come to the province each year.*

Yet despite the growing population and volume of visitors received by our province every
year, it is an acknowledged reality that provincial health facilities are unable to meet their needs. It
is a common experience for residents of Ifugao and tourists to have to go out of the province in
order to receive adequate health care, often to Bauko in the Mountain Province or Solano in Nueva
Vizcaya. The establishment and operation of an Ifugao Provincial Hospital in Lagawe, the
provincial capital, has encountered numerous obstacles, which issues have yet to be resolved.

In the interest of providing more Ifugaos, as well as the neighboring eastern borders of
Mt. Province, Province of Kalinga, and Province of Apayao, and foreign and local tourists, with
easier access to adequate health care, this bill proposes the creation of an extension of the Luis
Hora Memorial Regional Hospital (located in Bauko, Mountain Province) in the province of
Ifugao. It may be noteworthy that the late Congressman Luis Hora was congressman of the
Province of Ifugao for sixteen (16) years in the third congressional district of the whole Cordillera
when it was still Mountain Provinces before its separation and segregation of the present provinces
composing the Cordillera.

While the creation of the Luis Hora Memorial Regional Hospital ~ Ifugao Extension
Hospital, as it shall be called, is done largely because of the problems encountered with the Ifugao
Provincial Hospital, I must stress that this extension hospital is not intended as a replacement for
the Ifugao Provincial Hospital. The responsible officials should continue to sort out the problems
with the Ifugao Provincial Hospital and ensure that it is eventually operational.

In the meantime, Ifugaos, as well as foreign and local tourists, should be able to rely on
the hospital created under this bill. For the foregoing reasons, speedy passage of this measure is
earnestly sought.

SOLOMON ¥. CHUNGALAO.

4 Data as of 2017. See Pamela Mariz Geminiano, “Ifugao sets up homestays, as PRRD eyes it as next tourist hub,”
Philippine News Agency, 22 June 2018, availabe at https://worw.pna.gov-ph/asticles/1039149


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

2964
House Bill No.

Introduced by Representative SOLOMON R. CHUNGALAO,

AN ACT ESTABLISHING A HUNDRED-BED EXTENSION OF THE LUIS HORA
MEMORIAL REGIONAL HOSPITAL IN THE PROVINCE OF IFUGAO, TO BE
KNOWN AS THE LUIS HORA MEMORIAL REGIONAL HOSPITAL - IFUGAO

EXTENSION HOSPITAL, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

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

SECTION 1. Extension of Regional Hospital. — There shall be established, under the
control and supervision of the Department of Health, a hundred-bed extension of the Luis Hora
Memorial Regional Hospital, which extension shall be in the Province of Ifugao, to be known as
the Luis Hora Memorial Regional Hospital — Ifugao Extension Hospital

SECTION 2. Location. ~ The Luis Hora Memorial Regional Hospital — Ifugao
Extension Hospital, shall be constructed and located between the boundary or adjacent to the
boundary of the Municipality of Mayoyao and Municipality of Aguinaldo, Province of Ifugao.

SECTION 3. Personnel. — After the construction of the Luis Hora Memorial Regional
Hospital — Ifugao Extension Hospital, the Department of Health thru the Secretary of Health shall
make sure that personnel of the extension hospital will be provided and appointed thereof and
that funds for its maintenance and operation are provided for.

SECTION 4. Appropriations. — The amount necessary to carry out the provisions of
this Act shall be charged against the existing budget of the Department of Health under the 2020
General Appropriations Act. Thereafter, such sums as may be necessary for the operation and
maintenance of the Ifugao Extension Hospital shall be included in the annual General
Appropriations Act.


SECTION 5. Effectivity Clause. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in the Official Gazette or two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,