Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ______ 
INTRODUCED BY REP. HARRIS CHRISTOPHER M. ONGCHUAN 
       EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The State recognizes the right of every Filipino to have access to quality and 
affordable healthcare. More importantly, the Philippine Constitution highlights the 
duty of the State to prioritize the needs of the elderly, along with other 
underprivileged groups, sick persons, the disabled, women, and children.  
In the Philippines, there has been a number of programs by the government to 
ensure the wellness of the elderly. An example of which is Republic Act 9257 or the 
Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2004, and  Republic Act 9994 or the Expanded Senior 
Citizens Act of 2010 which “focuses on promoting the health and wellness of senior 
citizens and alleviating the conditions of older persons.” In line with the commitment 
of the State, this measure seeks to establish the National Center for Geriatric Health 
and Research Institute. The National Center for Geriatric Health and Research 
Institute will be a healthcare facility that will be focused on the needs of the elderly. 
An institute that will not only ensure their wellbeing, but will also focus on how to 
improve gereatric healthcare in the country.  
This bill was first filed in the 18th Congress by Rep. Ron Salo. With the lack of 
enactment of the measure, this representation echoes the need for a specialized 
healthcare facility for the elderly. 
In view of the foregoing, immediate passage of the bill is hereby sought. 
HARRIS CHRISTOPHER M. ONGCHUAN 
August 30, 2022
8:02 am
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 Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. _________ 
Introduced by Representative 
HARRIS CHRISTOPHER M. ONGCHUAN 
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:  
SECTION 1. Short Title. This Act shall be known as the “Geriatric Health Act.” 
Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the policy of the State to protect and promote 
the right to health of senior citizens all over the country by ensuring that holistic health 
services are available and accessible to them through the establishment of a 
specialized hospital and research institute as well as geriatric specialty centers in the 
Department of Health (DOH) - retained hospitals in every region. 
Sec. 3. Definition of Terms. - As used in this Act: 
a. Acute care refers to a specialized program that addresses the needs of
hospitalized older adults in a multidisciplinary team approach to prevent
functional and cognitive decline and improve outcomes;
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b. Apex or end-referral hospital refers to a hospital offering specialized services 
as determined by DOH, which is contracted as a stand-alone facility by the 
Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHcalth): 
 
c. Geriatric health services refer to the medical services or interventions 
provided by a multidisciplinary team to older adult patients; 
 
d. Geriatric medicine or Geriatrics refers to the sub-specialty of internal and 
family medicine that diagnoses and treats a wide range of conditions and 
diseases that affect people as they age and aims to promote health and treat 
disabilities of older adults; 
 
e. Geriatric palliative care refers to a specialized medical care that focuses on 
providing clderly patients relief from pain and other symptoms of a serious 
illness, regardless of diagnosis or stage of disease, and provided alongside 
curative and other forms of treatment. It is a field of inter-specialty 
collaboration to respond to the socio-demographic changes and challenges of 
older adults with severe and life-limiting conditions; 
 
f. Geriatric specialty center refers to a unit or department in a DOH-retained 
hospital that offers socialized care to the aging population, particularly to frail 
older persons, addressing their particular conditions and providing specific 
procedures and management of cases, requiring specialized training and/or 
equipment; 
 
g. Geriatrician refers to a medical doctor who has passed the nocessary training 
and specialty licensure examination for the practice of Geriatric Medicine; 
 
h. Gerontology refers to the study of the biological, psychological, spiritual, 
social, economic, and the demographic aspects of the aging process;  
 
i. Home-based healthcare and reablement program refers to a community-
based service which primarily caters to the frail older persons who have lost or 
are experiencing problems with mobility; 
 
j. Integrated delivery of geriatric health services refers to hospital and 
community-based medical and psycho-social services provided to senior 
citizens by a multidisciplinary team; 
k. Multi-disciplinary team refers to a team composed of health professionals 
headed by a geriatrician and includes surgeons, organ-system specialists, 


nurses, clinical pharmacists, rehabilitation therapists, nutritionists, dentists, 
social workers, caregivers, family members and patients themselves; 
 
l. People-centered service refers to an approach to geriatric care that 
consciously adopts the perspectives of individuals, families, and communities, 
and sees them as participants as well as beneficiaries of trusted health systems 
that respond to their needs and preferences in holistic and humane ways; 
 
m. Senior citizen refers to an elderly Filipino who is at least sixty (60) years old; 
 
n. Sub-acute care refers to care for patients who no longer require 
hospitalization, but still need skilled medical care through rehabilitative 
medicine. Sub-acute rehabilitation is recommended when a patient is not 
functionally able to return home; and, 
 
o. Transitional care refers to a form of health care in geriatric medicine designed 
to ensure coordination and continuity of care as patients transfer between 
different locations or different levels of care, and the safe and effective 
management of both chronic and acute illness in older adults. 
 
Sec. 4. National Center for Geriatric Health and Research Institute. - The 
National Center for Geriatric Health (NCGH) is hereby classified as a teaching, 
rescarch, and training hospital that shall specialize in goristric care and serve as an 
apex hospital or end-referral facility for senior citizens in the country. The NCGH shall 
be renamed as the National Center for Geriatric Health and Research Institute 
(NCGHRI) and shall be under the direct control and supervision of the DOH. 
 
The bed capacity, service capabilities, healthcare facilities, expansion, 
organizational structure and human resource requirements of the NOGHRI shall be 
based on the hospital and human resource development plan to be prepared by the 
NCGHRI and approved by the DOH. 
 
Sec. 5. Powers and Functions. - To carry out the provisions of this Act, the 
NCGHRI shall have the following powers and functions: 
a. Serve as an apex hospital or end-referral facility which shall specialize in 
geriatric health services; 
 
b. Formulate a hospital development plan which shall be regularly updated to 
reflect the expansion and future development of the NCGHRI; 
 


c. Provide and maintain affordable, quality, and timely people-centered 
hospital care through an efficient health service delivery system for senior 
citizens; 
 
d. Provide higher and up-to-date geriatric training for professionals, 
postgraduates, academics and allied healthcare providers especially from the 
geriatric specialty centers in the regions and LGUs, and other government 
hospitals; 
 
e. Develop and implement cutting edge research studies on diseases related to 
old age with a view to translating research outcomes into policy and 
specialized health care solutions, and publish research studies that shall serve 
as critical information resource for the medical and research community, in 
coordination with the Philippine Council on Health Research and 
Development (PCHRD) and the Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of 
Health (IA-NIH);: 
 
f. Conduct and participate in international and local gerontological research 
activities; 
 
g. Provide consultancy service and technical assistance in the setting of 
standards for geriatric wards in every tertiary level hospital, nursing home and 
residential center catering to the health and functioning needs of senior 
citizens, in coordination with the PCHRD and the IA-NIH: 
 
h. Develop and maintain a core information hub on geriatrics and 
gerontological studies in coordination with the LA-NIH and concemed offices 
in the DOH and its attached agencies, such as the Disease Prevention and 
Control Burcau and the Knowledge Management and Information Technology 
Service;  
 
i. Extend medical services to senior citizens pursuant to the goals, objectives, 
and rules of the National Health Insurance Program and in accordance with 
Republic Act No. 11223, otherwise known as the "Universal Health Care Act": 
 
j. Provide an integrated and effective approach in the delivery of geriatric 
health services in collaboration with other government agencies, local 
government units (LGUs) and other stakeholders;  
 


k. Conduct specialty training and technical assistance in collaboration with 
concerned DOH offices and other relevant professional organizations; 
 
l. Finance, sponsor, hold or participate in congresses, conventions, conferences, 
seminars, workshops, and training programs on geriatric health services or 
related fields in the Philippines and abroad; and 
 
m. Establish a standardized referral system for psychosocial services. 
 
Sec. 6. Scope of Services. - The NCGHRI shall provide the following services: 
a. Hospital-based services to ensure the availability of medical facilities and 
equipment for senior citizens needing acute and sub-acute care, geriatric 
palliative care, transitional and outpatient care services, and such other 
necessary services;  
 
b. Community-based services utilizing multidisciplinary team approaches 
such as home- based healthcare and reablement programs, research and 
external resource outsourcing for community-based integrated geriatric health 
services and trainings necessary for the psycho-social/functioning of senior 
citizens and their families, in coordination with LGUs; 
 
c. Technical assistance and capacity building in the establishment and 
maintenance of nursing homes and residential care facilities and senior 
citizens' wards in government hospitals pursuant to Republic Act No. 9994, 
otherwise known as the "Expanded Senior Citizens Act of 2010"; 
 
d. Technical assistance and capacity building in the establishment of geriatric 
specialty centers and services to strengthen the network of geriatric care service 
providers across the country and ensure the delivery of quality health services 
for senior citizens; 
 
e. Education programs and scholarships to pursue excellence and the highest 
level of quality in the practice of the specialized field of geriatrics and other 
related fields, including postgraduate training and short-term courses for 
medical doctors and other allied medical health professions, in coordination 
with the lA-NIH; and 
 
f. Education programs in geriatrics and gerontology subjects in undergraduate 
health and allied professions, including training of students, as well as 


postgraduate medical education of physicians, nurses, allied professionals, 
pharmacists, dentists, and social workers. 
 
The Geriatric Specialty Fellowship Training Program of the NCGHRI shall seek 
and maintain full accreditation status in the Philippine College of Geriatrie Medicine. 
 
The NCGHRI shall ensure the accessibility of all its programs and services and 
take into consideration the special needs of senior citizens with disabilities. 
 
Sec. 7. Organizational Structure and Staffing Pattern. - The Secretary of the 
DOH shall determine the organizational structure and staffing pattern of the NCGHRI 
in accordance with the revised compensation and position classification system 
subject to the evaluation and approval of the Department of Budget and Management 
(DBM) and in compliance with the civil service laws, rules and regulations. 
 
Sec. 8. Establishment of Geriatric Specialty Centers. - Geriatric specialty 
centers are hereby established in DOH regional hospitals, which shall serve as apex 
or end-referral hospitals of the health care provider networks and training and 
research facilities on geriatric specialty care services. Geriatric health services shall be 
available in all government primary health facilities. 
 
The level of geriatric services and corresponding facilities in specialty centers 
and their respective health human resource requirements shall be determined by the 
DOH, in coordination with NCGHRI and other stakeholders: Provided, That the 
standards to be adopted thercon shall be consistent with the Philippine Health Facility 
Development Plan and Section 6 of this Act. 
 
Sec. 9. Categorization of Patients. - The DOH shall ensure that the NCGHRI 
shall adopt and enforce a categorization of paying and non-paying patients. The 
allocation of beds for non-paying patients shall be not less than seventy percent (70%) 
of the total number of hospital beds.  
 
Sec. 10. Income Retention. - All income generated from the operations of the 
NCGHRI shall be deposited in an authorized government depository bank and shall 
be used to augment the funds allocated for its maintenance, other operating expenses 
and capital outlay requirements, subject to the guidelines set by the DOH and the 
DBM. 
 
Sec. 11. Privilege. - The NCGHRI may request and receive assistance from the 
different agencies, bureaus, offices or instrumentalities of the government, including 


the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and Philippine Amusement and Gaming 
Corporation, in pursuit of its purposes and objectives. 
 
Sec. 12. Tax Exemptions. - All donations, endowments, contributions, grants 
and requests used actually, directly and exclusively for and in accordance with the 
purposes and functions of the NCGHRI shall be exempt from donor's tax, and the 
same shall be considered as allowable deductions from gross income for purposes of 
computing the taxable income of the donor, in accordance with the provisions of the 
National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended. 
 
The NCGHRI shall be exempt from income tax and customs duty levied by the 
government and its political subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities subject to 
the provisions of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended and 
Republic Act No. 10863, otherwise known as the "Customs Modernization and Tariff 
Act. 
 
The NCGHRI shall avail of the tax expenditure subsidy administered by the 
Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB), subject to the provisions of Title XilI (Tax 
Incentives) of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997. as amended, Executive 
Order No. 93, as amended, and the General Appropriations Act. 
 
Sec. 13. Coordination with and Assistance from Other Government Agencies. 
- The NCGHRI shall collaborate with the National Commission of Senior Citizens 
(NCSC) in the development of its programs and services. It may likewise call upon 
any department, bureau, office, agency, or instrumentality of the government for 
assistance, in the pursuit of the purposes and objectives of this Act. 
 
Sec. 14. Appropriations. - The amount necessary for the implementation of this 
Act shall be charged against the current year's appropriation of the DOH. Thereafter, 
the funding of which shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act. 
 
Sec. 15. Annual Report. - The NCGHRI shall submit an annual report to the 
President of the Philippines, the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, the 
House of Representatives Committee on Health, and the NCSC, on its activities, 
accomplishments and recommendations to further improve the delivery of geriatric 
health services. 
 
Sec. 16. Transitory Provisions. - In accomplishing organizational changes and 
improvements that have to be implemented, the following transitory provisions shall 
be complied with: 


 
a. The National Center for Geriatric Health (NCGH) currently under the Jose 
R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center (JRRMMC) shall be absorbed by NCGHRI 
including its existing personnel regardless of status, and all buildings and 
equipment, fixtures and furnishings, other assets and liabilities, and current 
appropriations; 
 
b. The independence of the NCGHRI from the JRRMMC shall be fully realized 
within a period of two (2) years. The DOH shall ensure that no disruption of 
service will occur during this transitory period; 
 
c. The existing officials and employees of NCGH shall continue to assume the 
duties of their positions until new appointments are issued. They shall be 
placed in the new staffing pattern of the NCGHRI in accordance with R.A. No. 
6656, entitled "An Act to Protect the Security of Tenure of Civil Service Officers 
and Employees in the Implementation of Government Reorganization" and the 
rules and regulations governing reorganization. Officials and employees, 
including casual and temporary employees, who shall not be absorbed in the 
new staffing pattern due to redundancy shall avail of the applicable retirement 
bERefits and separation incentives as provided under existing laws: Provided, 
That officials and employces holding permanent appointment shall also be 
given the option to be transferred to other units or offices within the DOH 
without reduction in rank, status, pay and benefits; 
 
d. Research grants acquired by the NCGHRI during the transition shall be 
utilized solely for their intended purposes and of the affected units or offices; 
and  
 
e. Existing contracts and agreements entered into with third parties prior to the 
enactment of this Act shall remain valid. 
 
Sec. 17. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The Secretary of Health shall, 
in consultation with the Secretary of Budget and Management, Secretary of Social 
Welfare and Development, the Chairperson of the NSC, promulgate rules and 
regulations for the effective implementation of this Act within ninety (90) days after 
its effectivity, 
 
SEC. 18.  Separability Clause. – If any portion or provision of this Act is declared 
invalid or unconstitutional, other provision hereof shall remain in full force and effect. 
 


SEC. 19. Repealing Clause. – All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and 
regulations, issuances or part thereof inconsistent with the provision of this Act are 
hereby repealed, amended, or modified accordingly. 
  
SEC. 20. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after the 
completion of its publication in the Official Gazette or at least two (2) newspapers of 
general circulation.  
Approved.