1Tamayo R. L. J., Quintin-Gutierrez M. K. F., Campo M. B., Lim M. J. F., Labuni P. T. (2022). Rationing of nursing care and its relationship to nurse practice 
environment in a tertiary public hospital. Acta Medica Philippina, 56(3), 64–71.
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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
3rd Regular Session 
House Bill No. ________ 
Introduced by Representatives ERIC GO YAP and EDVIC G. YAP 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The 1987 Constitution guarantees the protection and promotion of the right to health of 
the people and availability of health services to its citizens at an affordable cost. The 
pursuit towards this constitutional mandate primarily includes the role of health workers 
in our country in order to swiftly and effectively deliver health services. 
The country is witness to the heroic deed of healthcare workers in order uplift the state of 
health services in the country, more so during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. 
Prominent among these healthcare workers are the nurses, whom through the years have 
been substantially declining in number due to depressed working conditions. A study 
conducted by Rowalt Alibudbud entitled “Empowering Nurses to Engage in Self-Care 
Practices During and Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Philippines” in 2023 
highlighted that in the Philippines, burnout has emerged as an ongoing challenge 
confronting Filipino nurses which led to decreased work productivity, resignation, 
change of profession, and eventual migration to other countries, which can further 
exacerbate the shortage of local nurses and pose a significant threat to the Philippine 
healthcare system. This situation is even worsened by the incomprehensible nurse to 
patient ratio which typically stands at 1:20 but can escalate to 1:50, far exceeding the 1:12 
standard set by the Philippine Department of Health and can lead to shifts lasting 12 to 
16 hours without overtime pay.1 
It is in this regard that as Legislators, we put the rights and welfare of our nurses at the 
forefront which include, but are not limited to, mobilizing resources to accommodate 
permanent positions for the nurses’ security of tenure; ensuring that they are provided 
with good pay and benefits and working conditions; and most especially, standardizing 
the salaries between private and public health workers to avoid distinction across the 
different cadres of our health workers. Hence, it is in this pursuit that this Bill seeks to 
regulate and limit the consecutive working hours of nurses, especially without 
corresponding pay.  
In view of the foregoing, the approval of this Bill is earnestly sought. 
HON. ERIC GO YAP 
HON. EDVIC G. YAP
10993
October  21, 2024
10:25 am


1 
Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
3rd Regular Session 
House Bill No. ________ 
Introduced by Representatives ERIC GO YAP and EDVIC G. YAP 
AN ACT  
PROMOTING THE RIGHTS AND WELFARE OF NURSES BY REGULATING 
AND LIMITING THEIR CONSECUTIVE HOURS OF WORK 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
SECTION 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be known as “Care for Nurses Welfare 
Act of 2024.” 
SEC 2. Definition of Terms. – As used in this Act, the following terms shall be 
defined as follows: 
a) “Emergency” is defined as an unforeseen event that could not be prudently
planned for and does not regularly occur in the facility;
b) “Health Care Employer” shall mean any individual, partnership,
association, corporation, or any person or group of persons acting directly
or indirectly on behalf of or in the interest of the employer, which provides
Health care services in a facility licensed to operate as such including any
facility operated by the State, a Political Subdivision or a Public
Corporation;
c) “Nurse” shall mean a registered professional nurse as certified by the
Professional Regulatory Board;
d) “Regularly Schedule Work Hours” shall mean those hours a nurse has
agreed to work and is normally scheduled to work pursuant to the
budgeted hours allocated to the nurse’s position by the health care
employer; and if no such allocation system exists, some other measure
generally used by the health care employer to determine when an employee
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2 
 
is minimally supposed to work, consistent with the collective bargaining 
agreement, if any; 
  
SECTION 3. Prohibition of Excessive Work Hours. – Not withstanding any 
other provision of law: 
 
a) No health care employer shall require a nurse to remain an duty for a period 
longer than eight consecutive hours, or forty hours in a seven day work week, 
except as consistent with the nurse’s regularly schedule work hours; and 
b) No health care employer shall require a nurse to work more than that nurse’s 
regularly schedule work hours, except pursuant to subdivision three of this 
Act. 
 
SEC 4. Exceptions to the Prohibition. —The Limitation provided for in this 
section shall not apply in the case of: 
 
a) Health care Disaster such as a natural or other type of disaster that increases 
the need for health care personnel, unexpectedly affecting the country; or 
b) A declaration of emergency in effect in the region in which the licensed health 
care employee is employed; or 
c) Where a health care employer determines there is an emergency necessary to 
provide safe patient care, in which case the health care provider shall, before 
requiring an on-duty employee to remain, make a good faith effort to be have 
overtime covered on a voluntary basis, including, but not limited to, calling per 
diems, agency nurses, assigning floats, or requesting an additional day off work 
from off-duty employees; 
 
SEC 5. No Prohibition Against Voluntary Overtime. – Nothing in this Act shall 
prohibit a nurse from voluntarily working overtime. 
 
SEC 6. Penalty. – The Health Care Employer found guilty of violating this Act 
shall be fined the amount of One Hundred Thousand Pesos (P100,000.00) in addition 
to other damages that shall be imposed by the imposed court. 
 
SEC. 7. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The Department of Health and 
Department of Labor and Employment shall jointly issue the implementing rules and 
regulations necessary for the effective implementation of this Act, including the 
supervision and monitoring of compliance among healthcare facilities.  
 


 
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SEC 8. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act or any part thereof 
shall be declared unconstitutional or invalid, the other provisions, as far as they are 
separable, shall remain in force and effect. 
 
SEC 9. Repealing Clause. – All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations or 
thereof which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, 
amended or modified accordingly. 
  
SEC 10. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general 
circulation. 
 
Approved,