TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE ) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) 
First Regular Session 
)
25 JUL -8 ?5 58
SENATE
S. No. 256
Introduced by Senator MARK A. VILLAR
AN ACT
ESTABLISHING THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR GERIATRIC HEALTH AND 
RESEARCH INSTITUTE, DEFINING ITS POWERS AND FUNCTIONS,
CREATING REGIONAL GERIATRIC SPECIALTY CENTERS IN THE 
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH-RETAINED HOSPITALS, AND APPROPRIATING
FUNDS THEREFOR
EXPLANATORY NOTE
Section 11, Article XIII of the Constitution states that there shall be priority for 
the needs of the underprivileged such as the elderly, among others. They are 
considered one of the vulnerable sectors of the population, thus, needing to be given 
high priority by the government.
The number of Filipino senior citizens doubled to 9.2 million in 2020 from 4.5 
million 20 years ago. The Commission on Population and Development (Popcorn), 
citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), said the percentage of Filipino 
elderly population has expanded in the last two decades, rising to 8.5 percent in 2020 
from 5.9 percent in 2000. The country is projected to transition to an aging population 
between 2025 to 2030.
The continuous rise in the number of senior citizens in the country calls for the 
government to further strengthen existing programs/projects which provide assistance 
and support for elderly, especially for their health and well-being.
This bill seeks to establish a specialized hospital and research institute as well 
as geriatric specialty centers in the Department of Health (DOH)-retained hospitals in 
every region. The geriatric specialty center will provide specialized care to the aging 
population, addressing particular conditions and providing specific procedures and


management of cases. This bill will ensure that our elderly will be given holistic health 
services that are easily accessible in DOH-regional hospitals.
For this purpose, immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought.
MARK A. VILLAR


TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE ) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) 
First Regular Session 
)
25
-8 °5:28
SENATE 
S. No.___
Introduced by Senator MARK A. VILLAR
AN ACT
ESTABLISHING THE NATIONAL CENTER FOR GERIATRIC HEALTH AND 
RESEARCH INSTITUTE, DEFINING ITS POWERS AND FUNCTIONS, 
CREATING REGIONAL GERIATRIC SPECIALTY CENTERS IN THE 
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH-RETAINED HOSPITALS, AND APPROPRIATING
FUNDS THEREFOR
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:
1 
Section 1. Short Tide. - This Act shall be known as the "Philippine Geriatric
2 
Health Act'
3 
Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the policy of the State to protect and promote
4 
the right to health of senior citizens all over the country by ensuring that holistic health
5 
services are available and accessible to them through the establishment of a
6 
specialized hospital and research institute as well as geriatric specialty centers in the
7 
Department of Health (DOH)-retained hospitals in every region.
8 
Sec. 3. Definition of Terms. - For purposes of this Act, the following terms shall
9 
mean:
10 
a) Acute care refers to a specialized program that addresses the needs of
11 
hospitalized older adults in a multidisciplinary team approach to prevent
12 
functional and cognitive decline and to improve outcomes;
13 
b) APEX or end-referrai hospital refers to a hospital offering specialized services
14 
as determined by DOH, which is contracted as a stand-alone facility by the
15 
Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth);


1 
c) Geriatric health services refer to the medical services or interventions provided
2 
by a multidisciplinary team to older adult patients;
3 
d) Geriatric medicine or Geriatrics refers to the sub-specialty of internal and family
4 
medicine that diagnoses and treats a wide range of conditions and diseases
5 
that affect people as they age and aims to promote health and treat disabilities
6 
of older adults;
7 
e) Geriatric paiiiative care refers to specialized medical care that focuses on
8 
providing elderly patients relief from pain and other symptoms of a serious
9 
illness, regardless of diagnosis or stage of disease, and is provided alongside
10 
curative and other forms of treatment. It is a field of inter-specialty
11 
collaboration to respond to the socio-demographic changes and challenges of
12 
older adults with severe and life-limiting conditions;
13 
f) Geriatric specialty center refers to a unit or department in a DOH-retained
14 
hospital that offers specialized care to the aging population, particularly to frail
15 
older persons, addressing their particular conditions and providing specific
16 
procedures and management of cases, requiring specialized training and/or
17 
equipment;
18 
g) Geriatrician refers to a medical doctor who has passed the necessary training
19 
and specialty licensure examination for the practice of Geriatric Medicine;
20 
h) Gerontology refers to the study of the biological, psychological, spiritual, social,
21 
economic, and demographic aspects of the aging process;
22 
i) Home-based healthcare and reabiementprogram refers to a community-based
23 
service that primarily caters to the frail order persons who have a lot or are
24 
experiencing problems with mobility;
25 
j) Integrated delivery of geriatric health services refers to hospital and
26 
community-based medical and psycho-social services provided to senior
27 
citizens by a multidisciplinary team;
28 
k) Multi-disciplinary team refers to a team composed of health professionals
29 
headed by a geriatrician and includes surgeons, organ-system specialists,
30 
nurses, clinical pharmacists, rehabilitation therapists, nutritionists, dentists,
31 
social workers, caregivers, family members, and patients themselves;


1 
I) People-centered service refers to an approach to geriatric care that consciously
2 
adopts the perspectives of individuals, families, and communities, and sees
3 
them as participants as well as beneficiaries of trusted health systems that
4 
respond to their needs and preferences in holistic and humane ways;
5 
m) Senior citizen refers to an elderly Filipino who is at least sixty (60) years old;
6 
n) Sub-acute csas refers to care for patients who no longer require hospitalization,
7 
but still need skilled medical care through rehabilitative medicine. Sub-acute
8 
rehabilitation is recommended when a patient is not functionally able to return
9 
home; and
10 
0) Traditional care refers to a form of health care in geriatric medicine designed
11 
to ensure coordination and continuity of care as patients transfer between
12 
different locations or different levels of care, and the safe and effective
13 
management of both chronic and acute illness in older adults.
14 
Sec. 4. National Center for Geriatric Health and Research Institute. - The
15 
National Center for Geriatric Health (NCGH) is hereby classified as a teaching,
16 
research, and training hospital that shall specialize in geriatric care and serve as an
17 
apex hospital or end-referral facility for senior citizens in the country. The NCGH shall
18 
be renamed as the National Center for Geriatric Health and Research Institute
19 
(NCGHRI) and shall be under the direct control and supervision of the DOH.
20 
The bed capacity, serve capabilities, healthcare facilities, expansion,
21 
organizational structure, and human resource requirements of the NCGHRI shall be
22 
based on the hospital and human resource development plan to be prepared by the
23 
NCGHRI and approved by the DOH.
24 
Sec. 5. Powers and Functions. - To carry out the provisions of this Act, the
25 
NCGHRI shall have the following powers and functions:
26 
a) Serve as an apex hospital or end-referral facility which shall specialize with
27 
geriatric health services;
28 
b) Formulate a hospital development plan which shall be regularly updated to
29 
reflect the expansion and future development of the NCGHRI;
30 
c) Provide and maintain affordable, quality, and timely people-centered hospital
31 
care through an efficient health service delivery system for senior citizens;


1 
d) Provide higher and up-to-date geriatric training for professionals,
2 
postgraduates, academics, and allied healthcare providers, especially from the
3 
geriatric specialty centers in the regions and LGUs, and other government
4 
hospitals;
5 
e) Develop and implement cutting-edge research studies on diseases related to
6 
old age to translate research outcomes into policy and specialized health care
7 
solutions, and public research studies that shall serve as critical information
8 
resource for the medical and research community, in coordination with the
9 
Philippine Council on Health Research and Development (PCHRD) and the
10 
Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health (lA-NIH);
11 
f) Conduct and participate in international and local gerontological research
12 
activities;
13 
g) Provide consultancy service and technical assistance in the setting of standards
14 
for geriatric wards in every tertiary level hospital, nursing home, and residential
15 
center catering to the health and functioning needs of senior citizens, in
16 
coordination with the PCHRD and the lA-NIH;
17 
h) Develop and maintain a core information hub on geriatrics and gerontological
18 
studies in coordination with the lA-NIH and concerned offices in the DOH and
19 
its attached agencies, such as the Disease Prevention and Control Bureau and
20 
the Knowledge Management and Information Technology Service;
21 
i) Extend medical services to senior citizens pursuant to the goals, objectives, and
22 
rules of the National Health Insurance Program and in accordance with Republic
23 
Act No. 11223, otherwise known as the "Universal Health Care Act";
24 
j) Provide an integrated and effective approach in the delivery of geriatric health
25 
services in collaboration with other government agencies, local government
26 
units (LGUs), and other stakeholders;
27 
k) Conduct specialty training and technical assistance in collaboration with
28 
concerned DOH offices and other relevant professional organizations;
29 
I) Finance, sponsor, hold, or participate in congresses, conventions, conferences,
30 
seminars, workshops, and training programs on geriatric heaith services or
31 
related fields in the Philippines and abroad; and
32 
m) Establish a standardized referral system for psychosocial services.


1
2 
Sec. 6. Scope of Services. - The NCGHRI shall provide the following services:
3 
a) Hospital-based services to ensure the availability of medical facilities and
4 
equipment for senior citizens needing acute and sub-acute care, geriatric
5 
palliative care, transitional and outpatient care services, and such other
6 
necessary services;
7 
b) Community-based services utilizing multidisciplinary team approaches such as
8 
home-based healthcare and reablement programs, research and external
9 
resources outsourcing for community-based integrated geriatric health
10 
services, and training necessary for the psycho-social functioning of senior
11 
citizens and their families, in coordination with LGUs'
12 
c) Technical assistance and capacity building in the establishment and
13 
maintenance of nursing homes and residential care facilities and senior citizen's
14 
wards in government hospitals pursuant to Republic Act No. 9994, otherwise
15 
known as the "Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010";
16 
d) Technical assistance and capacity building in the establishment of geriatric
17 
specialty centers and services to strengthen the network of geriatric care
18 
service providers across the country and ensure the delivery of quality health
19 
service for senior citizens;
20 
e) Education programs and scholarships to pursue excellence and the highest level
21 
of quality in the practice of the specialized filed of geriatrics and other related
22 
fields, including postgraduate training and short-term courses for medical
23 
doctors and other allied medical health professionals, in coordination with the
24 
lA-NIH; and
25 
f) Education programs in geriatrics and gerontology subjects in undergraduate
26 
health and allied professions, including training of students, as well as
27 
postgraduate medical education of physicians, nurses, allied professionals,
28 
pharmacist, dentists, and social workers.
29 
The Geriatric Specialty Fellowship Training Program of the NCGHRI shall seek
30 
and maintain full accreditation status in the Philippine College of Geriatric Medicine.
31 
The NCGHRI shall ensure the accessibility of all its program and services and
32 
take into consideration the special needs of senior citizens with disabilities.


1 
Sec. 7. Organizational Structure and Staffing Pattern. - The Secretary of the
2 
DOH shall determine the organizational structure and staffing pattern of the NCGHRI
3 
in accordance with the revised compensation and position classification system subject
4 
to the evaluation and approval of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM)
5 
and in compliance with the civil service laws, rules and regulations.
6 
Sec. 8. Establishment of Geriatric Specialty Centers. -Geriatric specialty centers
7 
are hereby established in DOH regional hospitals, which shall serve as apex or end-
8 
referral hospitals of the health care provider networks and training and research
9 
facilities on geriatric specialty care services. Geriatric health services shall be available
10 
in ail government primary health facilities.
11 
The level of geriatric service and corresponding facilities in specialty centers
12 
and their respective health human resource requirements shall be determined by the
13 
DOH, in coordination with NCGHRI and other stakeholders: Provided, That the
14 
standards to be adopted thereon shall be consistent with the Philippine Health Facility
15 
Development Plan and Section 6 of this Act.
16 
Sec. 9. Categorization of Patients. -The DOH shall ensure that the NCGHRI
17 
shall adopt and enforce a categorization of paying and non-paying patients. The
18 
allocation of beds for non-paying patients shall not be less than seventy percent (70%)
19 
of the total number of hospital beds.
20 
Sec. 10. Income Retention. - All income generated from the operations of the
21 
NCGHRI shall be deposited in an authorized government depository bank and shall be
22 
used to augment the funds allocated for its maintenance, other operating expenses,
23 
and capital outlay requirements, subject to the guidelines set by the DOH and the
24 
DBM.
25 
Sec.ll. Privilege.-The NCGHRI may request and receive assistance from the
26 
different agencies, bureaus, offices, or instrumentalities of the government including
27 
the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and Philippine Amusement and Gaming
28 
Corporation, in pursuit of its purposes and objectives.
29 
Sec. 12. Tax Exemptions. - All donations, endowments, contributions, grants
30 
and bequests used actually, directly, and exclusively for and in accordance with the
31 
purposes and functions of the NCGHRI shall be exempt from donors tax, and the
32 
same shall be considered as allowable deductions from gross income for purposes of


1 
computing the taxable income of the donor, in accordance with the provisions of the
2 
National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended.
3 
The NCGHRI shall be exempt from income tax and customs duty levied by the
4 
government and its political subdivisions, agencies, and instrumentalities subject to
5 
the provisions of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended and
6 
Republic Act No. 10863, otherwise known as the "Customs Modernization and Traffic
7 
Act".
8 
The NCGHRI shall avail of tax expenditure subsidy administered by the Fiscal
9 
Incentives Review Board (FIRB), subject to the provisions of Title XIII (Tax Incentives)
10 
of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended. Executive Order No. 93,
11 
and the General Appropriations Act.
12 
Sec. 13. Coordination with and Assistance from Other Government Agencies. -
13 
The NCGHRI shall collaborate with the National Commission of Senior Citizens (NCSC)
14 
in the development of its programs and services. It may likewise call upon any
15 
department, bureau, office, agency, or instrumentality of the government for
16 
assistance in the pursuit of the purposes and objectives of this Act.
17 
Sec. 14. Appropriations. -The amount necessary for the implementation of this
18 
Act shall be charged against the current year's appropriation of the DOH. Thereafter,
19 
the funding of which shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.
20 
Sec. 15. Annual Report. - The NCGHRI shall submit annual report to the
21 
President of the Philippines, the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, the
22 
House of Representatives Committee on Health, and the NCSC, on tis activities,
23 
accomplishments, and recommendations to further improve the delivery of geriatric
24 
health services.
25 
Sec. 16. Transitory Provisions. - In accomplishing, organization change and
26 
improvements that have to be implemented, the following transitory provisions shall
27 
be complied with;
28 
a) The National Center for Geriatric Health (NCGH), currently under the Jose R.
29 
Reyes Memorial Medical Center (JRRMMC), shall be absorbed by NCGHRI,
30 
including its existing personnel, regardless of status, and all buildings and
31 
equipment, fixtures and furnishings, other assets and liabilities, and current
32 
appropriations;


1 
b) The independence of the NCGHRI from the JRRMMC shall be fully realized
2 
within two (2) years. The DOH shall ensure that no disruption of service will
3 
occur during this transitory period;
4 
c) The existing officials and employees of NCGH shall continue to assume the
5 
duties of their positions until new appointments are issued. They shall be placed
6 
in the new staffing pattern of the NCGHRI in accordance with R.A. No. 6656,
7 
entitled "An Act to Protect the Security of Tenure of Civil Service Officers and
8 
Employees in the Implementation of Government Reorganization", and the
9 
rules and regulations governing reorganization. Officials and employees,
10 
including casual and temporary employees, who shall not be absorbed in the
11 
new staffing pattern due to redundancy shall avail of the applicable retirement
12 
benefits and separation incentives as provided under existing laws; Provided,
13 
That officials and employees holding permanent appointments shall also be
14 
given the option to be transferred to other units or offices within the DOH
15 
without reduction in rank, status, pay, and benefits;
16 
d) Research grants acquired by the NCGHRI during the transition shall be utilized
17 
solely for their intended purposes and of the affected units of offices; and
18 
e) Existing contracts and agreements entered into with third parties prior to the
19 
enactment of this Act shall remain valid.
20 
Sec. 17. Implementing Rules and Regulations.- The Secretary of Health shall,
21 
in consultation with the Secretary of Budget and Management, Secretary of Social
22 
Welfare and Development, and the Chairperson of the NCSC, promulgate rules and
23 
regulations for the effective implementation of this Act within ninety (90) days after
24 
its effectivity.
25 
Sec. 18. Separability Clause. - If any portion or provision of this Act is declared
26 
unconstitutional or invalid, the portions or provisions which are not affected shall
27 
continue to be in full force and effect.
28 
Sec. 19. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, orders, issuances, circulars, rules
29 
and regulations or parts thereof, which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act
30 
are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.


1
2
3
Sec. 20. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) day after its 
publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspaper of general circulation 
in the Philippines.
Approved,