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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
1st Regular Session 
House Bill No. ________ 
Introduced by Representatives PAOLO Z. DUTERTE, ERIC G. YAP, 
EDVIC G. YAP, and JEFFREY SORIANO 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The 1987 Constitution takes cognizance of the duty of the State to protect and promote 
the right to health of its citizens, with an endeavor to make health services available 
at an affordable cost, most especially to the underprivileged sick.    
Batasan Pambansa Bilang 702, as amended by Republic Act No. 8344 and Republic 
Act No. 10932, also known as the Anti-Hospital Deposit Law was enacted in order to 
penalize the refusal of hospitals or medical clinics to give immediate care or attention 
to patients owing to lack of advance payment. The said piece of legislation asserts the 
rights of an individual to be admitted to any hospital and be given basic emergency 
care without being asked to hand over an advance payment outright. This is 
consonance with the Hippocratic Oath that physicians take, pledging to help the sick 
in the best of their ability and knowledge. Hence, hospitals, in general, are duty-bound 
to provide care and treatment to those who are injured or suffering. 
However, notwithstanding the propensity of the Anti-Hospital Deposit Law to deter 
such acts, there are still a significant number of reports of hospitals violating the said 
law. Thus, this entails the creation of an oversight mechanism in order to ensure the 
enforcement of the law and hold more violators accountable than just increasing the 
penalties alone.   
August 3, 2022
8:40 am
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This bill seeks to strengthen the measures corresponding the Anti-Hospital Deposit 
Law through an increase in the penal sanctions, alongside the provision of a hotline 
number which shall oversee the said implementation.  
In view of the foregoing, approval of this bill is earnestly sought. 
PAOLO Z. DUTERTE 
ERIC G. YAP 
        EDVIC G. YAP 
           JEFFREY SORIANO 


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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
1st Regular Session 
House Bill No. ________ 
Introduced by Representatives ERIC G. YAP, PAOLO Z. DUTERTE, EDVIC G. 
YAP, and JEFFREY SORIANO 
AN ACT 
FURTHER STRENGTHENING THE ANTI-HOSPITAL DEPOSIT LAW BY 
INCREASING THE PENALTIES FOR THE REFUSAL OF HOSPITALS AND 
MEDICAL CLINICS TO ADMINISTER APPROPRIATE INITIAL MEDICAL 
TREATMENT AND SUPPORT IN EMERGENCY OR SERIOUS CASES AND BY 
CREATING A GOVERNMENT-RUN HOTLINE, AMENDING FOR THE 
PURPOSE BATAS PAMBANSA BILANG 702, AS AMENDED, OTHERWISE 
KNOWN AS "AN ACT PROHIBITING THE DEMAND OF DEPOSITS OR 
ADVANCE PAYMENTS FOR THE CONFINEMENT OT TREATMENT OF 
PATIENTS IN HOSPITALS AND MEDICAL CLINICS IN CERTAIN CASES" 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
SEC. 1. Section 4 of Batas Pambansa Bilang 702, as amended, is hereby further 
amended to read as follows: 
"SEC 4. Any official, medical practitioner or employee of the 
hospital or medical clinic who violates the provisions of this Act shall, 
upon conviction by final judgement, be punished by imprisonment of 
four (4) to six (6) years, or a fine of not less than Five hundred thousand 
pesos (P500,000.00) but not more than One million pesos (P1,000,000.00) 
or both, at the discretion of the court: 
"Provided, however, That if such violation was committed pursuant 
to an established policy of the hospital or clinic or upon instruction of its 
management, the director or officer of such hospital or clinic responsible 
for the formulation and implementation of such policy shall, upon 
conviction by final judgement, suffer imprisonment of six (6) years and 
one (1) day to twelve (12) years, or a fine of not less than Two million 
pesos (P2,000,000.00) but not more than Five million pesos 
(P5,000,000.00) or both, at the discretion of the court, without prejudice 
to damages that may be awarded to the patient-complainant: 
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"Provided, further, That upon three (3) repeated violations 
committed pursuant to an established policy of the hospital or clinic or 
upon the instruction of its management, the health facility's license to 
operate shall be revoked by the DOH. This shall be without prejudice to 
any administrative case that may be filed against said hospital or clinic 
official or employee with the corresponding penalty of the following, 
without limitation, such as suspension, cancellation, or revocation of 
professional licenses such as those issued by the Professional Regulation 
Commission. 
 
"The president, chairman, board of directors, or trustees, and 
other officers of the health facility shall be solidarily liable for damages 
that may be awarded by the court to the patient-complainant." 
 
SEC. 2. New Section 9 shall be inserted after Section 8 of Batas Pambansa Bilang 
702, as amended, to read as follows: 
 
"SEC. 9. Anti-Hospital Deposit Law Hotline. - The Department of 
Health, with the assistance of the National Telecommunications 
Commission 
(NTC) 
and 
Department 
of 
Information 
and 
Communications Technology (DIT) shall establish a national hotline 
aimed at providing telephone and cellphone numbers which the public 
may call for immediate assistance and intervention regarding their 
concerns on anti-hospital deposit. The hotline shall run twenty-four 
hours a day, seven days a week, and shall be available to answer calls 
and provide assistance in the fastest possible time." 
 
SEC. 3. Separability Clause. - If any part or provision of this Act is declared 
unconstitutional or invalid, other parts or provisions hereof which are not affected 
shall continue to be in full force and effect. 
 
SEC. 4. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive orders, statues, 
provisions, regulations and other issuances or parts thereof inconsistent with the 
provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. 
 
SEC. 5. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspaper of general 
circulation. 
 
Approved,