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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
2™ Regular Session

HOUSE BILL No. 7676

Introduced by Honorable JUAN MIGUEL MACAPAGAL ARROYO.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, there were 2.3 million Overseas
ino Workers (OFWs) in 2018 — 17.9 percent came from the CALABARZON region,
143 percent from Central Luzon, and the National Capital region and Ilocos region each with 9.7
percent share. Most OFWs worked in Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. Most
OFWs were in elementary occupations, or were service and sales workers, or were plant and
machine operators and assemblers. In 2018, the OFWs contributed around 235.9 billion pesos
in remittances during the period April to September alone.

Despite improvements in occupational health and safety worldwide, OFWs suffer
from a growing list of physical and mental health problems due to risks associated with the
nature of their employments. The Department of Health (DOH) in 2017 provided assistance
to 101 medically repatriated overseas Filipinos; neurologic, cardiovascular and cancer
problems were the top cases for medical repatriation. Claims from the OFWs and their
dependents from the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) amounted to 1.7
million pesos, including those who were confined in hospitals abroad. Renal failure,
community-acquired pneumonia, normal spontaneous delivery, acute gastroenteritis, and
urinary tract infection are the leading cases by PhilHealth claims.

The country’ s policy environment provides significant protections to the health of
OFWs. Republic Act (R.A.) No. 10022, which amended R.A. 8042, or " Migrant Workers
and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995," improved the standards of protection and promotion of
welfare of the OFWs and their families. A Joint Memorandum Circular was issued for the
Integrated Medical Repatriation Assistance Program, while the DOH established its
"National Policy on the Health of Migrants and Overseas Filipinos," and the Overseas
Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) established its MEDPlus program as
supplemental medical assistance for OWWA members. The country needs to do more,
especially in paving better access, and in providing higher quality of healthcare. The
establishment of a national hospital facility with departmentalized clinical services and select
specialty care for OFWs and their families is being proposed to fill in these gaps.

In view of the foregoing, and in order to make the country’ s commitment to
Universal Health Care more genuinely felt by the OFW_community, approval of his bill is

being sought att
Bo
ECE, {7 /
UEL MAGARAGAL ARROYO
Vv

Representative, 2" District of Pampanga



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
2™ Regular Session

HOUSEN BILL No, _7676

Introduced by Hon. JUAN MIGUEL MACAPAGAL ARROYO

AN ACT
ESTABLISHING THE OVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKERS HOSPITAL AND
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THERFOR

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

SEC. 1. Short Title. This Act shall be known as the Overseas Filipino Workers Hospital
(OFW) Act or OF W Hospital Act of 2020.

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. It is policy of the State to protect and promote the right to
health of the Filipino people and to instill health consciousness among them. The State shall adopt
an integrated and comprehensive approach to health development. Further, the state shall protect
the interest and promote the well-being of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) as recognition of
their importance and contribution on economic development and nation building.

SEC. 3. Establishment of the OFW Hospital. There shall be established a hospital with
at least tertiary level of care to be known as OFW Hospital, hereinafter referred to as the
Hospital. The Hospital shall be developed consistent with the health care needs of the OFW
and their dependents. The Hospital shall be under full administrative and technical supervision
of the Department of Health (DOH).

SEC. 4. Objectives. To ensure the availability, accessibility and affordability of quality
health care, the hospital shall have the following main objectives:

a. Provide comprehensive health care services to all migrant workers who are Overseas
Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) contributors and their legal dependents;

b. Conduct medical examinations to ensure the physical and mental capability of would-
be overseas contract workers duly covered by an approved job order;

©. Serve as primary referral hospital for repatriated OFW needing medical assistance and
support;

4d. Set up systems that will effectively monitor condition of patients and to generate
relevant health information and data for policy formulation; and

©. Participate in the health care provider networks and arrangements relative to the
implementation of Republic Act No. 11223, or the Universal Health Care Act.


SEC. 5. Medical Assistance. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) -
Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) shall strengthen its existing health
benefits and medical assistance programs to provide subsidies to the Hospital for qualified
OFW and legal dependent patients.

SEC. 6. Implementing Rules and Regulations. The DOH shall promulgate
implementing rules and regulations (IRR) to carry out the provisions of this Act upon
consultation with OWWA and other stakeholders, and shall be implemented consistent with
the Hospital's development plan.

SEC. 7. Appropriations. The Secretary of Health shall include in the Department’ s
program the implementation of this Act, the funding of which shall be included in the annual
General Appropriations Act. The OWWA shall also include in their benefits and medical
assistance programs for OFW the line item budget necessary to improve the access of OFW
and dependents to healthcare services.

SEC. 8. Exemption from Donor’s Taxes, Customs and Tariff Duties. All donations,
contributions or endowments which may be made by persons or entities to the Hospital, and the
importation of medical equipment and machineries, spare parts and other medical equipment not
hereto mentioned used solely and exclusively for the Hospital shall be exempt from income, gift,
direct and indirect taxes, wharfage fees and other charges and restrictions.

SEC. 9. Separability Clause. If any provision of this Act is held invalid or
unconstitutional, the same shall not affect the validity and effectivity of the other provisions
hereof.

SEC. 10. Repealing Clause. All other laws, decrees, executive orders, and rules and
regulations contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or
modified accordingly.

SEC. 11. Effectivity Clause. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication
in the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,