FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC) 
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OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
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Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
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EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Constitution, Article 11, provides: 
Section 15. The State shall protect and promote the right of health of the 
people and instill health consciousness among them. 
The Constitution, Article I1 further provides: 
Section 18. The State affirms labor as a primary social economic force. It 
shall protect the rights of workers and promote their welfare. 
Health workers are constantly exposed to the risk of acquiring deadly disease such as 
hepatitis and the Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) caused by bloodbome 
pathogens. These diseases can be transmitted to health care workers who are exposed to sharp 
related injuries when caring for patients. 
Considering the important role of health workers in keeping our citizens healthy, the 
legislature needs to pass measures that will protect them from occupational health risks that will 
endanger their lives.* 
' This bill was originally filed during the Thirteenth Congress, First Regular Session. 


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FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
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First Regular Session 
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Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
AN ACT 
TO REQUIRE THE SECRETARIES OF HEALTH AND LABOR TO 
ISSUE REGULATIONS TO ELIMINATE OR MINIMIZE THE SIGNIFICANT RISK 
OF NEEDLESTICK INJURY TO HEALTH CARE WORKERS 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be cited as the “Health Care Worker 
Needlestick Prevention Act.” 
SECTION 2. Declaration ofpolicy. -It is the policy of the State to: 
(A) Protect and promote the right of health of the people and instill health consciousness 
among them; and 
(B) Protect the rights of workers and promote their welfare. 
Harmonizing these two policies, the State clearly has the role of protecting the health of 
the people, particularly the workers, in specific job-related risks. 
SECTION 3. Definitions. -For purposes of this Act, the term: 
(A) “Bloodbome pathogens” means pathogenic microorganisms that are present in 
human blood and can cause disease in humans. These pathogens include hepatitis B 
virus, hepatitis C virus, and human immunodeficiency virus; 
(B) “Contaminated” means the presence of the reasonably anticipated presence of blood 
or other potentially infectious materials on an item or surface; 
(C) “Direct care health care worker” means an employee responsible for direct patient 
care with potential occupational exposure to sharps related injuries; 
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(D) “Employer” means each employer having an employee with occupational exposure 
to human blood or other material potentially containing bloodborne pathogens; 
(E) “Engineered sharps injury protection” means - 
(1) A physical attribute built into a needle device used for withdrawing body 
fluids, accessing a vein or artery, or administering medications or other fluids 
that effectively reduces the risk of exposure incident by a mechanism such as 
a barrier creation. Blunting, encapsulation, withdrawal, retraction, destruction, 
or other effective mechanisms; or 
(2) A physical attribute built into any type of needle device, or into a non-needle 
sharp, which effectively reduces the risk of an exposure incident; 
(F) “Needleless system” means a device that does not use needles for - 
(1) The withdrawal of body fluids after initial venous or arterial access is 
established; 
(2) The administration of medication or fluids; and 
(3) Any other procedure involving the potential for an exposure incident; 
(G) “Sharp” means any objects used or encountered in a health care setting that can be 
reasonably anticipated to penetrate the skin or any other part of the body, and to 
result in an exposure incident, including, but not limited to, needle devices, scalpel, 
lancets, broken gals, broken capillary tubes, exposed ends of dental wires and dental 
knives, drills and burs; 
(H) “Sharps injury” means any injury caused by a sharp, including cuts, abrasions, or 
needlesticks; and 
(I) “Sharps injury log” means a written or electronic record satisfying the requirements 
of Section 4. 
SECTION 4. Requirements. - 
(A) Bloodborne Pathogens Standard. - Except as provided in paragraph (B) the 
Secretary of Health and the Secretary of Labor, shall prescribe the bloodborne pathogens 
standard to require that: 
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(1) Employers utilize needleless systems and sharps with engineered sharps injury 
protections in their work sites to prevent the spread of bloodborne pathogens; 
and 
(2) To assist employers in meeting the above requirement, non-managerial direct 
health care workers of employers participate in the identification and 
evaluation of needleless systems and sharps with engineered sharps injury 
protections. 
(B) Exception. - The bloodborne pathogens standard requirements of paragraph (A) shall 
apply to any employer, except where the employer demonstrates, to the Secretary's satisfaction, 
that - 
(1) There are circumstances in the employer's work facility in which the 
needleless systems and sharps with engineered sharps injury protections do 
not promote employee safety, interfere with patient safety, or interfere with 
the success of a medical procedure; or 
(2) The needleless systems and sharps with engineered sharps injury protections 
required are not commercially available to the employer. 
(C) Exposure Plan Control. - The employer shall include in their exposure ,plan control 
an effective procedure for identifying and selecting existing needleless systems and sharps injury 
protecting and other methods of preventing bloodborne pathogens exposure. 
(D) Sharps Injury Log. - The employer shall maintain a separate contaminated sharps 
injury log containing the following information, to the extent such information is known to the 
employer, with regard to each exposure incident: 
(1) The date and time of the exposure incident; 
(2) The type and brand of sharp involved in the exposure incident; 
(3) The description of the exposure incident which shall include - 
(a) The job classification of the exposed employee; 
(b) The department or work area where the exposure incident occurred; 
(c) The procedure that the exposed employee was performing at the time 
of the incident; 
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(d) How the incident occurred; 
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(e) The body part involved in the exposure incident; 
(0 If the sharp had engineered sharp injury protections, whether the 
protective mechanism was activated, and whether the injury occurred 
before the protective mechanism was activated, during the activation 
of the mechanism, or after activation of the mechanism, if applicable; 
and whether the employee received training on how to use the device 
before use, and a brief description of the training. 
(8) If the sharp had no engineered sharps injury protections, the injured 
employee’s opinion as to whether and how such a mechanism could 
have prevented the injury, as well as basis for the opinion; and 
(h) The employee’s opinion about whether any other engineering, 
administrative, or work practice control could have prevented the 
injury as well as the basis for the opinion. 
(E) Training. - A requirement that all direct care health care workers shall be provided 
adequate training on the use of all needleless systems and sharps with engineered sharps injury 
protections which they may be required to use. 
SECTION 5. Clearing House on Safer Needle Technology. - 
(A) In General. - The Department of Health and the Department of Labor and 
Employment shall establish and maintain a national database on existing needleless systems and 
sharps with engineered sharps injury protections. 
(B) Evaluation Criteria. - The Secretary of Health and the Secretary of Labor and 
Employment shall develop a set of evaluation criteria for use by employers, employees, and 
other persons when they are evaluating and selecting needleless systems and sharps with 
engineered sharps injury protections, 
(C) Training. - The Secretary of Health and the Secretary of Labor and Employment 
shall develop a model training curriculum to train employers, employees, and other persons on 
the process of evaluating needleless systems and sharps with engineered sharps injury protection 
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and shall, to the extent feasible, provide technical assistance to persons who request such 
assistance. 
(D) Monitoring. - The Secretary of Health and the Secretary of Labor and Employment 
shall establish a national system to collect comprehensive data on needlestick injuries to health 
care workers, including data mechanisms to analyze and evaluate prevention interventions in 
relation to needlestick injury occurrence. In canying out its duties under this paragraph, the 
Department of Health and the Department of Labor and Employment shall have access to 
information recorded by employers on the sharps injury log as required by Section 4. 
SECTION 6. Appropriation. - To carry out the provisions of this Act, such amount as 
may be necessary is hereby authorized to be appropriated from the National Treasury. 
Thereafter, the amount necessary for the continuous operation of the Act shall be included in the 
annual appropriation of the Department of Health and the Department of Labor and 
Employment. 
SECTION 7. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part hereof, is held invalid or 
unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or provision not otherwise affected shall remain valid 
and subsisting. 
SECTION 8. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive 
order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to or inconsistent 
with the provisions ofthis Act is hereby repealed, modified or amended accordingly. 
SECTION 9. Eflectivity CZause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved, 
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