Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

16" Congress
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILLNO._ 4344

Introduced by Representative WESLIE T. GATCHALIAN

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Philippine Constitution provides that “The State shall protect and promote
the right to health of the people and instill health consciousness among them”.

Also, Art. XIII, Sec. 11, in particular states that “The State shall adopt an
integrated and comprehensive approach to health development which shall
endeavor to make essential goods, health and other social services available to
all the people at affordable cost. There shall be priority for the needs of the
under-privileged, sick, elderly, disabled, women, and children. The State shall
endeavor to provide free medical care to paupers”.

Accordingly, the government must ensure that specialty hospitals (level 3)
should be widely distributed geographically across the country being an
archipelagic country instead of its concentration in the National Capital Region.

Since its humble beginnings in 1980, the Philippine Children’s Medical Center
(PCMC) has been home for children with special medical concerns. Proving to
be of pivotal purpose, the presence of the PCMC at the heart of Metro Manila
has served a number of children diagnosed with diseases that only a specialty
hospital such as PCMC can cater.

Truth be told, the living presence of public hospitals and government
controlled medical institutions have been an assurance to the public especially


to those who are less in life, that a medical hospital with qualified doctors and
advance facilities are ready to aid our dear children.

Despite however of the more than three decades of existence of PCMC, it
remains to be the only one among public institutions with such caliber. The
PCMC may have maintained its sterling reputation and outgrown its medical
capacities but it has not physically reached yet the Visayas and Mindanao
regions.

This bill therefore seeks to enact laws that will establish the Philippine
Children’s Medical Hospital in Visayas and Mindanao. By doing so, it hopes to
address a decentralization of the National Capital Region so that those who
may be far from the metropolis can also share in the benefits of urban cities of
the country.

This bill will be of vital necessity especially to Visayan and Mindanaon
constituents of the country who do not have the financial means to travel and
consult with medical experts in Metro Manila.

ATCHALIAN


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

16" Congress
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILLNO.__ 434

Introduced by Representative WESLIE T. GATCHALIAN

AN ACT
ESTABLISHING THE VISAYAS AND MINDANAO HOSPITAL FACILITIES OF THE
PHILIPPINE CHILDREN’S MEDICAL CENTER, AMENDING FOR THAT PURPOSE
PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO, 1631, PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND OTHER
PURPOSES.

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

Section 1, Section 1 of Presidential Decree No. 1631, is hereby amended to read
as follows:

Section 1. Creation of the Philippine Children’s Medical Center. There is
hereby created a trust, for the benefit primarily of the Filipino people,
under the name and style of Philippine Children’s Medical Center.

The Philippine Children’s Medical Center shall be administered by a Board
of Trustees, composed of seven (7) members, to be appointed by the
President of the Philippines. The Executive Director of the Center shall be
appointed by the Board of Trustees. The six appointive members of the
Board of Trustees shall serve without compensation for a period of four (4)
years and until their successors shall have been appointed and qualified.
‘Any vacancy in the Board shall be filled by appointment by the President of
the Philippines, and the appointee shall serve for the unexpired term. The
Board of Trustees of the Philippine Children’s Medical Center shall elect a
Chairman from among themselves, who shall be presiding officer of the
Board of Trustees,


The Executive Director of the Philippine Children’s Medical Center shall
serve as Vice-Chairman of the Board. The Executive Director shall act as the
chief executive officer of the Philippine Children’s Medical Center with
authority, among others, to appoint, remove, and fix the compensation of
the personnel thereof, subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees.

Four (4) members of the Board of Trustees shall constitute a quorum to
transact business and any decision of such four members on any matter
duly presented to the Board of Trustees shall constitute a valid and binding
act of the Philippine Children’s Medical Center.

The hospital Director for Visayas and Mindanao Hospital Facilities shall be
appointed by the Board of Trustees on the basis of search process for a
period of Six (6) years and until their successors shall have been appointed
and qualified with a reappointment.

Section 2. Funding, To carry out the purpose of this Act, including the operation of PCMC-
Visayas, and the PCMC-Mindanao, the land acquisition, construction, and the acquisition of hospital
equipments, furniture and fixtures, the sum of Five Hundred Million (500,000,000.00) pesos for
each hospital is hereby appropriated. Thereafter the expenses for the PCMC-Visayas and PCMC-
Mindanao shall be provided in the General Appropriations Acts intended for the Philippine
Children’s Medical Center.

Section 3. Implementing Rules and Regulations. ~ The Board of Trustees shall formulate the
implementing rules and regulations to carry out the implementation of this Act.

Section 4. Separability Clause. If, for any reason, any provision of this Act is declared
unconstitutional or invalid, the other parts or provisions hereof which are not affected shall
continue to be in full force and effect.

Section 5. Repealing Clause. ~ All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations or portions
thereof, inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Section 6. Effectivity.— This Act shall take effect on the day following its complete
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation

Adopted,