Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

"© pare, OS MAY 2014 ©
TIME: f
16" Congress

First Regular Session

HOUSE BILLNO.__ 4343

Introduced by Representative WESLIE T. GATCHALIAN

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Philippine Constitution provides that “The State shall protect and promote the
right to health of the people and instill health consciousness among them”.

Also, Art. XIll, Sec. 11, in particular states that “The State shall adopt an integrated
and comprehensive approach to health development which shall endeavor to
make essential goods, health and other social services available to all the people
at affordable cost. There shall be priority for the needs of the under-privileged,
sick, elderly, disabled, women, and children. The State shall endeavor to provide
free medical care to paupers”.

Accordingly, the government must ensure that specialty hospitals (level 3) should
be widely distributed geographically across the country being an archipelagic
country instead of its concentration in the National Capital Region.

It calls for the decentralization of hospital services, particularly that of the
Philippine Lung Center whose establishment was aimed at providing the Filipino
people the state-of-the-art specialized care for lung and other chest diseases.


It is worth noting that the National TB Control Program (NTP) surveillance data for
the period 2003 to 2011 reveals that the Philippines is one of the highest
tuberculosis (TB) burden countries in the world. Though significant progress has
been achieved, there is still an urgent need to provide effective pulmonary care to
patients and vulnerable groups such as the urban and rural poor particularly in
the Visayas and Mindanao region.

Hospitals are among the primary social facilities that developing communities
should have. By providing an arm of the Philippine Lung Center in Visayas and
Mindanao, the bill hopes for constituents of the Visayas and Midanao regions to
feel the presence of the national government in their midst. Though there have
been continuous efforts by the national government and state agencies in
addressing lung-related maladies, there is still a handful of Filipino citizens who do
not have the financial means to travel and consult with medical experts in Metro
Manila. Thus, through this bill, we hope to address this wreaking problem of
insufficient medical hospitals all over the Philippine archipelago.

The immediate passage of this bill is earnestly requested.

ph QHALIAN


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

16" Congress
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO.. 4343

Introduced by Representative WESLIE T. GATCHALIAN

AN ACT
ESTABLISHING THE VISAYAS AND MINDANAO HOSPITAL FACILITIES OF THE LUNG
CENTER OF THE PHILIPPINE, AMENDING FOR THAT PURPOSE PRESIDENTIAL DECREE
NO, 1832, PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND OTHER PURPOSES.

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

Section 1. Section 1 of Presidential Decree No. 1832, is hereby amended to read as follows:

Section 1. Creation of the Lung Center of the Philippines. There is hereby
created a trust, under the name and style of Lung Center of the Philippines,
which shall be administered, according to the Articles of Incorporation, By-
Laws and Objectives of the Lung Center of the Philippines, Inc., duly
registered (reg. No, 85886) with the Securities and Exchange Commission of
the Republic of the Philippines, by the Office of the President, in
coordination with the Department of Health.

The Foundation shall have its hospital facilities and principal office in
Metro Manila, and shall establish branch hospitals, in Cebu City for
Visayas and Davao City for Mindanao.

Section 2. Funding. To carry out the purpose of this Act, including the operation of LCP-
Visayas, and the LCP-Mindanao, the land acquisition, construction, and the acquisition of hospital
equipments, furniture and fixtures, the sum of Five Hundred Million (500,000,000.00) pesos for
each hospital is hereby appropriated. Thereafter the expenses for the LCP-Visayas and LCP-


Mindanao shall be provided in the General Appropriations Acts intended for the Lung Center of the
Philippines.

Section 3. Implementing Rules and Regulations, — The Board of Foundation shall formulate
the implementing rules and regulations to carry out the implementation of this Act.

Section 4. Separability Clause. ~ |f, for any reason, any provision of this Act is declared
unconstitutional or invalid, the other parts or provisions hereof which are not affected shall

continue to be in full force and effect.

Section 5. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations or portions
thereof, inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Section 6, Effectivity.~ This Act shall take effect on the day following its complete
publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Adopted,