Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Constitution Hills, Quezon City 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO.  ________ 
Introduced by Lone District of Agusan del Norte Representative 
HON. DALE B. CORVERA 
AN ACT 
CONVERTING THE AGUSAN DEL NORTE PROVINCIAL HOSPITAL IN 
BUTUAN CITY, PROVINCE OF AGUSAN DEL NORTE INTO A LEVEL III 
TEACHING AND TRAINING HOSPITAL TO BE KNOWN AS THE AGUSAN 
DEL NORTE GENERAL HOSPITAL AND TRAINING CENTER AND 
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
With Population being one of the key elements of the State, no less than the supreme 
law of the land recognizes the importance of a healthy citizenry.  
Section 11, Article XIII of the 1987 Constitution provides 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 underprivileged sick, elderly, disabled, women, and 
children. The State shall endeavor to provide free medical care to paupers. 
Furthermore, Section 15, Article II of the Constitution declares that the State shall 
protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health consciousness among 
them. 
At present, the Agusan del Norte Provincial Hospital, located at the center of the 
province in Butuan City, caters to the medical and health needs of the people of the highly 
urbanized city of Butuan, the Province of Agusan del Norte, and nearby provinces in the Caraga 
and Northern Mindanao Regions. The Hospital is a Level 1 medical institution with a one 
hundred (100) bed capacity. For the past five years, the hospital is operating on a 120.4% bed 
occupancy rate which is far from the 85% standard.  
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hospital is spending average per patient cost of 
P14,847.19 and P17,720.96 in years 2018 and 2019, respectively. During the pandemic these 
figures doubled. Average per patient cost jumped to P28,211.99 in 2020 and P34,119.75 in 
2021. Since 2020, the Province of Agusan del Norte has been allocating more than P200 million 
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annually for the operation of the Hospital, which is difficult to sustain, especially that the 
economy is still recovering from the pandemic. 
The proposed conversion of the Hospital will upskill and train not only the medical 
personnel of the hospital but also doctors and other health workers serving in other government 
hospitals and medical facilities surrounding the Hospital, thereby improving the access of the 
citizens of Agusan del Norte and nearby provinces to quality healthcare and decreasing the 
mortality rate. 
Integrating the budget of the Hospital directly into the budget of the Department of 
Health not only guarantees the continuous delivery of health services to the people but also 
rectifies a long-standing fiscal injustice – the Hospital is being funded by the money from 
taxpayers of the Province of Agusan del Norte but the Hospital is located in the independent 
highly-urbanized City of Butuan which is equally empowered to raise funds and provide 
services to its constituents. Although the Hospital does not discriminate on which patients will 
be the beneficiaries of its medical services, mere proximity and accessibility favor those living 
in the City of Butuan. These data on the origin of patients availing the Out Patient Services of 
the Hospital are convincing: 
Origin 
Share in Total 
2019 
2020 
2021 
Butuan City 
63% 
70% 
72% 
Agusan del Norte 
35% 
28% 
26% 
Other Neighboring Places 
2% 
2% 
2% 
For these reasons, Hon. Ma. Angelica M. Amante-Matba and Hon. Imee R. Marcos also 
deemed it proper to file bills during the 18th Congress on the same matter - House Bill (HB) 
No. 5501 and Senate Bill (SB) No. 1657, respectively. HB 5501 was approved by the House 
of Representatives on third and final reading on 17 March 2022. Unfortunately, its counterpart 
bill, SB 1657, was still pending with the Committees on Health and Demography and Finance 
when the 18th Congress concluded. 
In view of the foregoing, approval of this bill is earnestly sought. 
DALE B. CORVERA 
Representative 
Lone District of Agusan del Norte 


Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Constitution Hills, Quezon City 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO.  ________ 
Introduced by Lone District of Agusan del Norte Representative 
HON. DALE B. CORVERA 
AN ACT 
CONVERTING THE AGUSAN DEL NORTE PROVINCIAL HOSPITAL IN 
BUTUAN CITY, PROVINCE OF AGUSAN DEL NORTE INTO A LEVEL III 
TEACHING AND TRAINING HOSPITAL TO BE KNOWN AS THE AGUSAN 
DEL NORTE GENERAL HOSPITAL AND TRAINING CENTER AND 
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
SECTION 1. The Agusan del Norte Provincial Hospital in Butuan City, Province of 
Agusan del Norte is hereby converted into a Level III hospital with capacity as a teaching and 
training facility, in accordance with the standards of the Department of Health, to be known as 
the Agusan del Norte General Hospital and Training Center (hereinafter referred to as the 
Hospital). 
SEC. 2. The authorized bed capacity of the Hospital shall be increased from one hundred 
(100) to three hundred (300) beds, to be implemented for a period of not more than two (2)
years from the effectivity of this Act. 
SEC. 3. The existing professional health care services, medical equipment and facilities, 
operating funds and construction of the needed infrastructure of the Hospital shall be upgraded 
to conform with and be commensurate to the increase in its bed capacity as provided in the 
immediately preceding Section. 
SEC. 4. The DOH shall, in coordination with the Department of Budget and Management 
and the Civil Service Commission, and upon prior consultation with the Chief of Hospital of 
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the Hospital, determine the additional plantilla positions to be created and filled upon for the 
effective implementation of this Act. 
SEC. 5. The amount necessary for the upgrade, including the acquisition of additional 
medical equipment and facilities, and the construction of needed infrastructure shall be charged 
against the current year’s appropriations of the DOH. Thereafter, such sum as may be necessary 
for the continued implementation of this Act and continuous operation of the Hospital shall be 
included in the annual General Appropriations Act. 
SEC. 6. If, for any reason, any section, clause or term of this Act is held to be illegal, 
invalid, or unconstitutional, such parts not affected by such declaration shall remain in full 
force and effect. 
SEC. 7. All laws, presidential decrees, issuances, executive orders, letters of instruction, 
rules and regulations, or parts thereof, inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby 
repealed or modified accordingly. 
SEC. 8. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official 
Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
Approved,