Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. _3216

Introduced by CIBAC Party-List Representatives
Eduardo ‘Bro. Eddie’ C. Villanueva and Domingo C. Rivera

AN ACT
ESTABLISHING SPECIAL HEALTH FACILITIES FOR OVERSEAS
FILIPINO WORKERS (OFWS) AND THEIR DEPENDENTS
TO BE KNOWN AS BAGONG BAYANING FILIPINO HOSPITAL,
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Our Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) have been tagged as the nation’s
bagong bayani. They brave the thousands of miles away from home just so they could
provide a brighter future for their children and better living condition for their families.
In addition, their remittances and contributions to the economy continue to be one of
the drivers of the country’s growth and progress.

From April 1 to September 30, 2018, the Philippine Statistics Authority recorded
a total of 2.3 million OFWs who worked abroad’ and calculated a total amount of
Php235.9 billion remittances,” which was translated to a significant contribution to our
economy.

+ 2010, Apa 20. Total Number of OFWs Estimated at 2:3 Main (Rasuts from the 2018 Survey on Oversees
Filipinos) Retrieved from: psa. gov phistati -and-employment/survey-overseas-filipi
(date last accessed: June 25, 2018)

Zid


‘Since our OFWs battle different working conditions in foreign lands, their health
is even more at risk. Consider the accounted 1,000 Filipinos who are diagnosed with
cancer from the United Arab Emirates* by NMC Hospital, a hospital based in Abu
Dhabi. Moreover, studies by the Overseas Worker Welfare Association (OWWA) in
Davao showed that OFWs are prone to suffer from hypertension, heart attack, breast,
and ovarian cancers, which was either diagnosed during their work abroad or upon
their return back home.*

This bill aims to give prime importance to the health of our OFWs, being our
modern-day heroes, as well as their dependents through the building of the Bagong
Bayaning Filipino Hospital. This bill will also complement the Department of Labor and
Employment's initiative in establishing a hospital for OFWs, which is set to open in
2020,° and mandates the establishment of regional hospitals that will prioritize the
needs of the OFWs and their dependents.

In view of the abovementioned concerns, the passage of this bill is eagerly
sought.

sa by

HON. EDUARDO “BRO. EDDIE” C. VILLANUEVA

* 2017, December 28. Around 1,000 OFWs diagnosed with cancer in UAE every year ~ doctors. Retrieved from:
httos /www.rappler. com/nation/192112-uae-ofws-cancer-1000-every-vear (date last accessed: June 25, 2019)

* 2016, 21 November. OFWs medical assistance program to launch in January. Retrieved from:
hnttos:/www_sunstar.com,ph/article/111291 (date last accessed: June 25, 2019)

2019, May 1. OFW hospital to open in Pampanga. Retrieved from: hitps:/iwww.

overseas filpino-workers-hospital-to-open-pampanga. (date last accessed: June 25, 2019)



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House BillNo._

Introduced by CIBAC Party-List Representatives
Eduardo ‘Bro. Eddie’ C. Villanueva and Domingo C. Rivera

AN ACT ESTABLISHING SPECIAL HEALTH FACILITIES FOR
OVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKERS (OFWS) AND THEIR
DEPENDENTS TO BE KNOWN AS BAGONG BAYANING FILIPINO
HOSPITAL, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES

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

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the “Bagong Bayaning Filipino
Hospital Act.”

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. — It is hereby declared the policy of the State to
adopt an integrated and comprehensive approach to health development which shall
endeavor to make health, overall wellness and other important social services
available to all the people at affordable cost. Toward this end, the State shall protect
the right to health and promote and enhance the welfare and well-being of overseas
Filipino workers and their dependents through the provision of personal health care
and social welfare services.

SECTION 3. Definition of Terms. — As used in this Act, the following terms shall have
the following meaning

a. Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) shall refer to a person who is to be engaged,
is engaged, or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a state of which
he or she is not a legal resident. A person “to be engaged in a remunerated


activity” refers to an applicant worker who has been promised or assured
employment overseas and acting on such promise or assurance sustains
damage and/or injury.

b. Dependents shall refer to any of the following: (1) the legal spouse entitled by
law to receive support from the overseas Filipino worker; (2) the legitimate,
legitimated, or legally adopted, and illegitimate child who is unmarried, not
gainfully employed, and has not reached twenty-one (21) years of age, or if over
twenty-one (21) years of age, is congenitally incapacitated or while still a minor
has been permanently incapacitated and incapable of self-support, physically or
mentally; or (3) the parents who are receiving regular support from the overseas
Filipino worker.

c. Health facility shall refer to a facility that is devoted primarily to the provision of
services for health promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation,
and palliation of individuals suffering from illness, disease, injury, disability or
deformity, or are in need of obstetrical or other medical and nursing care, as well
as the provision of mental health care services.

SECTION 4. Creation of Special Health Facility for Overseas Filipino Workers
and their Dependents. - There is hereby created a special health facility for overseas
lipino workers to be known as Bagong Bayaning Filipino Hospital (the “Hospital”) to
be located in the National Capital Region or in any province as may be determined by
the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) in consultation with the Department
of Health (DOH) and other concerned government agencies and stakeholders.

The Hospital shall primarily cater to the physical, mental and over-all well-being of
overseas Filipino workers and their dependents; Provided, That nothing herein shall
prevent the Hospital from accommodating patients other than overseas Filipino
workers and their dependents.

The Hospital shall be under the control and supervision of the DOH; Provided, That in
the performance of its mandate as herein provided, the DOH shall closely coordinate
with the DOLE and its attached agencies with regard the medical and mental needs
of the overseas Filipino workers and their dependents.

SECTION 5. Regional Hospitals. — Within five (5) years from the effectivity of this
Act, the DOH, in coordination with DOLE and other relevant agencies, shall establish
regional hospitals in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao to cater to the needs of overseas
Filipino workers and their dependents who are located in these regions.

SECTION 6. Prioritization and Additional Health Coverage of Overseas Filipino
Workers and their Dependents. - Each of the Hospitals to be established under this
Act shall provide an express or priority lanes for overseas Filipino workers and their
dependents senior citizens. They shall be given priority in the assignment of hospital
beds, without prejudice to the rules on emergency cases as may be determined by the
DOH and the Hospital Administrator.

Pursuant to the objectives of this Act, the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration
(OWWA) shall broaden the existing medical assistance given to duly registered


OWWA members and their dependents, and as far as practicable, endeavor to make
the hospitalization, confinement, medical treatment and medical care of duly
registered OWWA members in the Hospital or any of its regional hospitals free of
charge.

SECTION 7. Administration and Composition of Board Members. — The day-to-
day operations of the Hospital shall be overseen by an Administrator to be appointed
by the Board.

The powers and the administration of the Hospital shall be vested in a Board.

a. Composition — The Board shall be composed of the following members:
1. The Secretary of the DOH as Chairperson;
2. The Secretary of the DOLE as Vice-Chairperson;

3. The Secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development as
member;

4. The Administrator of the OWWA as member;

5. The Administrator of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration
as member;

6. The Administrator of the Philippine General Hospital (PGH) as member;

7. Four (4) Representatives from the overseas Filipino workers sector: one
(1) from National Capital Region; one (1) from Luzon; one (1) from Visayas;
and one (1) from Mindanao as members, all of whom shall be appointed by
the President of the Philippines from a list of nominees prepared by the
other members of the Board; and

8. The Administrator of the Bagong Bayaning Filipino Hospital as ex officio
member.

b. Term — The members of the Board shall have a term of three (3) years without
reappointment. Except for members whose terms shall be co-terminus with
their respective positions in government, any vacancy in the Board shall be
filled in the manner in which the original appointment was made and the
appointee shall serve only the unexpired term of his predecessor.

c. Meetings and Quorum — The Board shall hold regular meetings at least once
a month. Special meetings may be convened at the call of the Chairperson or
by a majority of the members of the Board. The presence of six (6) voting
members shall constitute a quorum. In the absence of the Chairman and Vice-
Chairman, a temporary presiding officer shall be designated by the majority of
the members present during such meeting.


d. Allowances and Per Diems — The members of the Board shall receive a
reasonable per diem for every meeting actually attended subject to the
pertinent budgetary laws, rules and regulations on compensation, honoraria
and allowances.

SECTION 8. Responsibilities and Powers. — The Board of Directors of the Hospital
shall have the following responsibilities and powers:

a. To formulate and implement measures and programs to attain the objectives
and purposes of the Hospital, with due regard to giving utmost priority and
providing the best quality of service to overseas Filipino workers and their
dependents;

b. To formulate and promulgate policies for the sound administration,
maintenance, and operations of the Hospital;

c. To determine the staffing pattern of the Hospital, subject to the approval by the
Department of Budget and Management;

d. To appoint the officials, employees and other personnel of the Hospital and the
regional hospitals, subject to civil service laws, rules and regulations, and to
prescribe their duties and fix their compensation subject to the provisions of
Republic Act No. 6758, otherwise known as the Salary Standardization Law;

e. To enter into agreements and contracts in connection with its establishment,
maintenance and operations of the Hospital;

f. To formulate and implement guidelines on the proper disposition of
contributions, donations, bequests, subsidies or financial aids/assistance
received by the Hospital; and

g. To perform such other duties and functions as it may deem appropriate for the
attainment of the objectives of the Hospital.

SECTION 9. Referral System. - The DOLE and OWWA shall establish a referral
system with the Hospitals and its regional hospitals to ensure proper delivery of
services to qualified overseas Filipino workers and their dependents.

SECTION 10. Pre-employment Medical Examinations for OFWs. — The DOH and
the POEA, shall, as far as practicable, develop a system to allow and facilitate the
conduct of all pre-employment medical examinations of departing OFWs in the
Hospital and its regional hospitals.

SECTION 11. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — Within sixty (60) days from
the effectivity of this Act, DOH and DOLE, in consultation with relevant government
agencies and stakeholders, shall promulgate the rules and regulations for the proper
implementation of this Act.

SECTION 12. Appropriations. — A sum of One Billion Pesos (Php1,000,000,000.00)
is hereby appropriated to fund the initial budgetary requirements of this Act.


Thereafter, the budget for the Hospital and its regional hospitals shall be included in
the annual General Appropriations Act (GAA).

SECTION 13. 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 its regional hospitals and for the proper implementation of this Act
shall be exempted from donor's tax. The importation of medical equipment and
machineries, spare parts and other medical equipment for the exclusive use of the
Bagong Bayaning Filipino Hospital shall be exempted customs duties, other direct and
indirect taxes, wharfage fees and other charges and restrictions.

SECTION 14. Annual Report. — The Hospital shall submit an annual report to the
President and to the Congress on or before April 30 of each year.

SECTION 15. Congressional Oversight Committee. — A Congressional Oversight
Committee (Committee) is hereby constituted in accordance with the provisions of this
Act. The Committee shall be composed of the Chairman of the Senate Committee on
Labor, Employment and Human Resources Development and the Chairman of the
House of Representatives Committee on Overseas Workers Affairs, who shall jointly
chair the Committee, and three members each from each house, to be designated by
the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives,
respectively.

The Committee shall monitor and ensure the proper implementation of this Act, review
the performance of the Bagong Bayaning Filipino Hospital and its regional hospitals,
review the proper implementation of the programs of the hospital, as well as the
utilization of its funds, and require the submission of reports and other documents as
it deem proper in connection with its oversight functions as herein provided.

SECTION 16. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and
regulations or part thereof deemed inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are
hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SECTION 17. Effectivity Clause. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days from its

publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) national newspapers of general
circulation.

Approved,