HOUSE YF REPRESENTATIVES
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Republic of the Philippines pate? > JUN 20%
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATI Tz,
Quezon City, Metro Manila. { Tive_It

BY:

SEVENTEENTH conGREsS
First Regular Session er
House Bill No..76.1. | SLLS AND INDEX SERVICE

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Introduced by DIWA Party-list Representative Emmeline Y. Aglipay ~ Villar

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Under the Constitution, the State must protect and promote the right to health of the
people, with a particular emphasis toward mothers and children. Reproductive health
continues to be a vital part of a holistic drive toward national health, and the presence of
individuals with medical skill and training by the side of a mother in labor can go a long way
toward reducing infant and maternal deaths.

This bill — based on House Bill No. 2481 of the 16" Congress filed by Rep. Mareelino
R. Teodoro, with minor revisions to Sec. 4 -- charges the Barangay Captain to

ensure that proper care and preparations are made in order to increase the chances that any

birth that occurs in the Philippines will take place in the presence of a skilled birth attendant.

euucers . Vatlan
EMMELINE Y. AGLIPAY - VILLAR
Representative, DIWA Party-list

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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Metro Manila

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bilt No. 264

Introduced by DIWA Party-list Representative Emmeline Y. Aglipay — Villar

AN ACT TO GUARANTEE ACCESS TO A BIRTH ATTENDANT AT THE TIME OF
CHILDBIRTH AND IMMEDIATELY THEREAFTER

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

SECTIO.

1, Short Title. ~ This Act shall be known as the "Birth Attendant Act.”
SECTION 2. Definition of Terms. - For the purposes of this Act, the term:

a) "Maternal death/mortality” means the death of a woman while pregnant or within
42 days from the termination of pregnancy, regardless of the site or duration of
pregnancy, from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its
‘management.

b) "Skilled birth attendant" means a nurse, midwife, doctor or other practitioner with
professional training in obstetric care.

) "Referral system" means a mechanism by which the local government unit ensures
that the nearest hospital with adequate emergency obstetric care will accept the
pregnant woman in the event that complications arise from childbirth or if there
a need for other emergency procedures.

SECTION 4. Responsibilities of the Barangay Chairman, - It shall be the duty of
the Barangay Chairman to ensure that every pregnant woman has access to a skilled birth
attendant at the time of childbirth. The Barangay Chairman must carry out the following
tasks, directly or through appointed representatives:

a) Create and maintain a master list of pregnant women in the barangay. Each
pregnant woman must be assisted in drawing up a birth plan which includes

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pertinent information such as the mother’s general state of health, expected due
date or date of delivery, and possible blood donors. This master list must be
updated at least every two months

b) Ensure that there will be access to the services of a skilled birth attendant.

c) Place transportation facilities on call upon notification that the pregnant mother
has gone into labor.

d) Communicate with the nearest hospital or lying-in clinic that the woman is in
labor. Prior to this, a referral system or mechanism must be in place.

e) All barangay and municipal health workers shall be placed on standby alert. Only
when the outcome of a safe birth transpires will all alert signals be lowered.

SECTION S. Appropriations. —

a) The amount necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act is hereby authorized
to be appropriated from the General Appropriations Act of the year following the
enactment of this law and every year thereafter.

b) All local government units are likewise mandated to allot not less than five
percent (5%) of their gender and development budget for programs, projects and
activities aimed to support maternal health within their jurisdiction

SECTION 6. Separability Clause. — Should any provision of this Act be declared

invalid or unconstitutional, the validity or constitutionality of the other provisions shall not be
affected thereby.

SECTION 7. Repealing Clause. — All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and

regulations, and other issuances or parts thereof which are inconsistent with the provisions of
this Act are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

SECTION 8. Effectivity. — 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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