Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ____ 
Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR. 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
This measure seeks to strengthen available support systems that facilitate the delivery 
of quality maternal and newborn health services in the country. The maternal mortality 
ratio for Philippines was reported in 2017 at 121 deaths per 100,000 live births, below 
our target reduction.  
The high rate of maternal deaths may be attributed to inadequate access to integrated 
reproductive health services. Births at home are still popular in the country, and a 
majority of poor women do not have access to skilled birth attendants. 
This bill proposes provide greater access and affordable childbirth in healthcare 
facilities by establishing birthing facilities that shall address obstetric care and delivery 
in Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDA), where distance and 
transportation makes travelling to a health facility unsafe and poses greater risk and 
danger to the mother and her unborn child. It also institutionalizes a lay-away program 
where a pregnant woman shall pay in portions the fees to cover for the expenses in 
delivery. 
In view of the foregoing, the approval of this bill is earnestly sought. 
LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR. 
May 22, 2023
11:39 am
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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ____ 
Introduced by HON. LUIS RAYMUND “LRAY” F. VILLAFUERTE, JR. 
AN ACT 
PROVIDING FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF MATERNAL AND CHILDBIRTH 
SERVICES BY ESTABLISHING BIRTHING CENTERS AND TRAINING 
TRADITIONAL BIRTH ATTENDANTS, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS 
THEREFOR 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Declaration of Policy. – It is the duty of the State to protect the life of 
the mother and the life of the unborn from conception. Towards this end, the State 
shall endeavor to provide quality health interventions and appropriate facilities as well 
as services that shall address maternal and neonatal mortalities and ensure efficient 
strategies to lessen the risk that continuously occur during pregnancy and childbirth, 
especially of the underprivileged. 
Sec. 2. Objective. – To emphasize the government's commitment to improve maternal 
and newborn health interventions, this Act shall undertake the following objectives: 
(a)
Ensure that all women and newborns have skilled care during pregnancy,
childbirth and the immediate post-natal period;
(b)
Promote pre-natal health education and safe birthing practices;
(c)
Improve the capacity of the local government units (LGUs) to deliver the basic
health service delivery from antenatal to post-partum care;
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(d) 
Upgrade health facilities, both in terms of additional human resource and 
infrastructure facilities suitably equipped to address basic and emergency 
services, when necessary; 
(e) 
Introduce local strategies to improve mechanisms for demand to access or seek 
care and health interventions in health clinics; 
(f) 
Train health workers, including traditional birth attendants, to deliver quality 
obstetric and newborn care services; 
(g) 
Develop incentives to entice and promote antenatal care in a Barangay Health 
Station (BHS), Rural Health Unit (RHU) and the District and Community 
Hospitals; 
(h) 
Establish an effective referral and monitoring system in barangays to monitor 
maternal and newborn care; and 
(i) 
Deploy birthing facilities equipped with trained obstetric and newborn care 
provider in areas where health facilities are unavailable. 
 
Sec. 3. Scope and Coverage. – This Act aims to improve maternal and newborn care 
by establishing birthing facilities as well as the training of the traditional birth attendants 
to become part of the formal health system. It seeks the improvement of local health 
facilities towards services that can provide comprehensive care in order to encourage 
underserved or underprivileged women access to safe maternal and newborn care 
delivery system. 
 
Sec. 4. Definition of Terms. – As used in this Act, the following shall mean: 
 
a.  
Birthing Center – a health facility that provides maternity service on pre-natal 
and post-natal care, spontaneous delivery and care of newborn babies. 
b.  
Neonatal Mortality – number of deaths within the first 28 days of life per 1000 
live births in a given period. 
c.  
Maternal Mortality – number of women who die from any cause related to or 
aggravated by pregnancy or its management during pregnancy and childbirth 
or within 42 days of termination of pregnancy. 
d.  
Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) – independent, non-formally trained 
community-based providers of care during pregnancy, childbirth, and 
postpartum period using conventional method. 


 
e.  
Newborn – a child from the time of complete delivery to 30 days old. 
f.  
Health Care Practitioner – refers to a physician, nurse, midwife, nursing aide 
and traditional birth attendant. 
g.  
Certification – a process and procedure of external assessment or examination 
by which an individual or facility is determined to possess a minimally 
acceptable body of knowledge and/or skills or the capacity to provide the 
standard of care with adequate resources. 
h.  
Local Health Board – its creation and composition are mandated under R.A. 
7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991.  
i.  
Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDA) – refer to 
communities with marginalized population physically and socio-economically 
separated from the mainstream society and characterized by physical factors 
(distance, weather conditions, transportation difficulties) and socio-economic 
factors (high poverty incidence, recovering from situation of crisis or armed 
conflict). 
j.  
Department of Health Physical facility requirement for Birthing Home – Annex 
D, DOH Administrative Order No. 2012-0012. 
 
Sec. 5. Role of the Local Government Unit. – The Local Health Board of every 
province, city or municipality, in accordance with their mandate, shall make an 
inventory of its existing facilities and ensure that health clinics shall be compliant with 
DOH standards in terms of strategic location, infrastructure and manpower. These 
facilities must be constructed in locations most accessible to women. It must upgrade 
existing infrastructures to accommodate improvements in facilities and equipment. 
With the support of the Department of Health, it shall provide technical assistance and 
advisory services in the continuous training of health workers or to contract out skilled 
health practitioners for an integrated system that addresses the risks identified with 
maternal and childbirth mortality, in terms of capability of health service providers. 
 
Sec. 6. Role of the Department of Health. – The DOH shall ensure that the LGU 
Rural Health Units, Barangay Health Stations, District Hospitals, Birthing Centers are 
fully compliant with the amenities and infrastructure requirements set by the DOH. 
 


 
The DOH shall, within two (2) years after the effectivity of this Act, train the traditional 
birth attendants with the modern method of delivery, to properly equip them with the 
skill to provide care during pregnancy, childbirth and postnatal periods in health clinics 
or birthing stations. The conduct of these trainings shall be made every two (2) years 
hereafter to facilitate the training of new ones upon the retirement of the other TBAs. 
A certification by the DOH of compliance with this requirement shall give the TBAs the 
authority to work alongside healthcare practitioners of the LGU. 
 
Sec. 7. Birthing Centers. – There shall be established birthing facilities that shall 
address obstetric care and delivery in Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged 
Areas (GIDA), where distance and transportation makes travelling to a health facility 
unsafe and poses greater risk and danger to the mother and her unborn child. These 
birthing facilities shall be required to operate twenty-four hours for seven days (24/7) 
or on an on call or as needed basis, depending on the pregnancy tracking. 
 
These centers shall be compliant with the Physical Facility requirements of the DOH 
with regards to the General Administrative and Clinical services. The facility shall 
likewise be supported by competent health care practitioners including DOH-trained 
traditional birth attendants. 
 
Clinical services to be rendered in these centers shall include pre-natal and post-natal 
care, normal spontaneous delivery for low-risk pregnant women, care of newborn and 
other similarly-related health care. 
 
There shall be barangay health workers formed into teams who shall regularly check 
on pregnant women in the community. They shall continuously advocate quality health 
care by accessing the maternal care delivery system established by the government 
and disseminate educational tools to facilitate the shift from basic societal dynamics 
of home-deliveries to childbirth in these centers equipped with facilities and skilled 
personnel. 
 
These ante-natal check-ups must identify at-risk pregnancies or anticipate 
complications in deliveries, which should directly be referred to clinics or tertiary 
hospitals with well-equipped facilities to handle emergencies. 


 
 
Sec. 8. Lay-Away Program. – In order to make these birthing centers sustainable, 
expectant mothers shall, during pre-natal visits, pay in portions the cost for her 
delivery. The scheme shall cover expenses for electricity and water bills, as well as 
payment for attending health workers. The cost shall be minimal and implementable 
through socialized user fees. 
 
Nothing in this Section shall however prevent the city, municipality or barangay with 
the capacity to provide full subsidies to its constituents to forego user fees, or seek for 
private partnerships, aid or donations to cut costs or subsidize the expenses for the 
deliveries in birthing centers. 
 
Sec. 9. Home-Births. – Pursuant to the objectives of this Act, home births shall be 
disallowed where health clinics and birthing centers are present in the community, and 
where there is absence of the risk contemplated under Section 7 paragraph 1. In cases 
where greater risk and danger to the life of the mother and the unborn is imminent if 
transport to a health facility is made, midwives and trained traditional birth attendants 
shall attend to the childbirth to ensure maternal and neonatal safety. 
 
Sec. 10. Incentives to Barangays. – The commitment to reduce maternal and 
neonatal mortality must generate the coordinated effort of the community, hence, the 
local health board shall assess and recommend economic incentives to promote the 
initiative and make zero maternal and neonatal death possible. 
 
Sec. 11. Appropriations. – The primary source of funding for the operation, 
maintenance and improvement of the health facilities shall be the LGU. It shall likewise 
cover the salaries and other benefits of the local human resource including the 
incentives for the barangay health workers and other community volunteer workers. 
 
The capital outlay for the birthing centers, additional health clinics, improvements of 
existing health facilities in terms of equipment and the amount to be expended for the 
training of the traditional birth attendants shall be included in the budget of the DOH in 
the year following the effectivity of this Act. 
 


 
Sec. 12. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – Within ninety (90) days from the 
approval of this Act, the Secretary of Health and the Secretary of the Interior and Local 
Government shall promulgate the necessary implementing rules and regulations (IRR) 
for the effective implementation of this Act. The IRR shall cover the implementation of 
performance-based incentive of rural communities toward achieving zero maternal 
and neonatal mortality and the program of training for the traditional birth attendants. 
The DOH shall provide the manual for the minimum requirements in terms of facilities 
and human resource for an efficient health clinic or birthing center. 
 
Sec. 13. Separability Clause. – If any section or provision of this Act is held 
unconstitutional or invalid, the remaining sections or provisions not affected shall 
remain in full force and effect. 
 
Sec. 14. Repealing Clause. – All laws, presidential decrees, executive orders and 
rules and regulations, or parts thereof, inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are 
hereby repealed or modified accordingly. 
 
Sec. 15. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days from the date of its 
complete publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
 
Approved,