Republic of the Philippines 
House of Representatives 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
House Bill No. _______ 
INTRODUCED BY REP. PM VARGAS 
AN ACT 
CREATING THE NATIONAL EYE CENTER 
AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Blindness and poor vision have a tremendous impact on one’s quality 
of life, particularly for those living in poverty. Eye diseases usually lead to the 
loss of productivity, which in turn lead to the loss of income and low standards 
of living. This then limits the patient’s access to quality healthcare services 
and deprives their families with educational and other opportunities. 
Therefore, blindness leads to shortened life span and loss of economic 
productivity of a nation as a whole. 
An estimated 2.2 billion people around the world suffer from vision 
impairment. Yet the first World Report on Vision by the World Health 
Organization (WHO) reveals that half or about1.1 billion do not receive the 
care they need for conditions like near and far sightedness, glaucoma, and 
cataracts1. 
It is the overall vision of the Philippines’ National Prevention of’ 
Blindness Program that all Filipinos shall enjoy the right to sight by year 
2020. To achieve this, the State commits to providing access to quality eye   
care services, strengthen partnerships with stakeholders to eliminate 
avoidable blindness, empower communities to promote eye health, and to 
work towards the preservation and restoration of sight of indigent Filipinos as 
a strategy in poverty alleviation.2 
1 World Health Organization. 2019. “World Report on Vision” 
2 Department of Health (DOH) Administrative Order 2013-0010. 
October 14, 2022
12:45 pm
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As we reached 2020, the country’s Prevention of Blindness Program is 
revamped with the issuance of revised policies, aligning the program with 
Universal Health Care (UHC) and WHO’s goal of universal eye health, while 
ensuring that it remains responsive to the changing trends in blindness and 
visual impairment. 
In the efforts of providing the people quality eye care, this bill seeks to 
create the National Eye Center. The proposed institution will specialize in 
preventing, treating, and rehabilitating people with eyesight problems and will 
undertake research and training on the cure and prevention of eye diseases. 
This initiative will help the State in achieving its goal to reduce the prevalence 
of avoidable blindness. 
In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this bill is earnestly 
sought.  
REP. PM VARGAS   
Fifth District, Quezon City


Republic of the Philippines 
House of Representatives 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
House Bill No. _______ 
INTRODUCED BY REP. PM VARGAS 
AN ACT 
CREATING THE NATIONAL EYE CENTER 
AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR 
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 the “National Eye 
Center Act.”  
SECTION 2. The National Eye Center. – There is hereby created a National 
Eye Center, hereinafter referred to as ‘the Center’, which is a quasi-
government institution attached to the Office of the President. 
The Center shall have its principal office in Metro Manila, and may have such 
branch offices, hospitals, clinics or subsidiaries in other areas in the 
Philippines as it may deem proper and necessary. 
SECTION 3. Purpose and Objectives. – The Center shall have the following 
purpose and objectives: 
(a) To specialize in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, care,
rehabilitation and/or relief of eye and allied diseases;
(b) To promote medical and scientific research relative to the
prevention and treatment of eye and aimed diseases, and to
encourage planning, invention and development of artificial means
of eye support and transplantation;
(c) To conduct fact finding investigations on eye diseases, and related
fields throughout the country or elsewhere, and to report, publish
and disseminate information on eye and other related diseases;
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(d) To 
finance, 
sponsor, hold 
or 
participate 
in congresses, 
conventions, conferences, seminars, ivoi’1‹-shops and training 
programs on eye diseases and/or related field in the Philippines or 
abroad; and 
 
(e) To stimulate the formation of other organizations on the national, 
provincial, city, and/or local levels, and to coordinate the various 
efforts and activities of each organization for the purpose of 
achieving a more effective approach to the common problem 
relative to the purposes and objectives enumerated herein. 
 
SECTION 4. Powers and Functions. – For the attainment and/or 
furtherance of the above-enumerated purpose and objectives, the Center as a 
corporate body acting through its Board of Trustees, shall have the following 
powers and functions. 
 
(a)  To adopt and use a corporate seal; 
 
(b) To sue and be sued in its corporate name; 
 
(c) To adopt its by-laws rules and regulations as it may deem proper 
and necessary for the implementation of the purposes and 
objectives of this Act; 
 
(d) To succeed by its corporate name, and to acquire and possess 
properties, rights and interests of whatever kind and nature, and 
mortgage, pledge, alienate, encumber or otherwise dispose of the 
same; 
 
(e) To award, enter into, make, execute, perform and carry out 
domestic or foreign contracts of whatever kind and nature; 
 
(f) To invest in, and purchase or otherwise acquire, own, hold, use, 
lease, grant, mortgage, pledge, sell, assign, convey, transfer, 
exchange or otherwise deal with, real and/or personal properties 
of every kind and nature, including share of stock, bonds, notes, 
securities and other evidences of indebtedness or obligations of 
other corporations, whether domestic or foreign and whether go 
government or private; 
 
(g) To obtain loans, borrow funds and/or arrange financing or credit 
assistance of whatever kind and nature from all sources, Whether 
domestic or foreign and whatever government or private, arid 
mortgage, pledge or otherwise encumber any of its pi operates and 
assets for the purpose of securing or guaranteeing the 
performance of any obligation it may undertake for itself or for 
other entities in which it may be interested; 
 


(h) To levy, assess and collect such fees, charges and assessments as 
may be necessary or proper to support, finance and maintain its 
operations; and 
 
(i) To exercise such other powers and functions as may be incidental 
or necessary to carry out the purposes and objectives of this Act. 
 
SECTION 5. Board of Trustees. – The Center shall be governed, and its 
activities and properties shall be directed, controlled and managed by a Board 
of Trustees, hereinafter referred to as the Board, which shall be composed of 
a Chairperson and ten (10) members, all of whom shall be appointed by the 
President of the Philippines. The Chief Executive Officer of the Center, who 
shall be appointed front among the members of the Board in accordance 
hereof, shall be the ex-officio Vice Chairperson of the Board. 
 
The members of the Board shall serve for a term of three (3) years, with a right 
to hold-over until their respective successors shall have been duly appointed 
and qualified. The President of the Philippines may, however, remove any 
member of the Board for cause. Whenever a vacancy shall occur in the Board, 
the person appointed to fill the vacancy shall hold office for the unexpired 
term of the member replaced. 
 
SECTION 6. Powers and Functions of the Board. – The Board shall have 
the following powers and functions: 
 
(a) To formulate policies, guide lines and programs to effectively 
implement and carry out the purposes and objectives of this Act; 
 
(b) To prescribe, review and revise the amount of the fees, charges, 
and assessments levied and collected for the support and 
maintenance of the operations of the Center; 
 
(c) To control the management, operation and administration of the 
Center; 
 
(d) To promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary or 
proper for the effective exercise of power and functions as well as 
the discharge of the duties, responsibilities of the Center, its 
officers and employees; 
 
(e) To authorize such expenditures of the Center as may be necessary 
or 
proper 
for 
the 
effective 
management, 
operation 
and 
administration of the Center; 
 
(f) To determine and organize the Center’s organizational and 
administrative structure or pattern, and to establish and fix, 
review, revise and adjust the appropriate compensation scheme of 
the officers and employees of the Center, with reason able 
allowances, bonuses and other incentives; 


 
(g) To adopt the annual and supplemental budget of receipts and 
expenditures of the Center; 
 
(h) To appoint, remove, suspend or otherwise discipline officers of the 
Center occupying executive and senior management positions; 
(i) To exercise all the general powers necessary or incidental to the 
attainment of the purposes and objectives of this Act, and 
 
(j) To do any and all acts as may be necessary or proper for the 
attainment of the powers and functions of the Center. 
 
SECTION 7. Seeking Assistance. – The Center may call upon any 
Department, Bureau, Office, Agency or instrumentality of the Government, 
including government-owned or controlled corporations, for such assistance 
as it may need in the pursuit of the purposes and objectives of this Act. 
 
SECTION 8. Authorization for Grants. – The Center is hereby authorized to 
solicit and receive donations, grants, contribution, gifts or endowments from 
all sources whether foreign or domestic, and whether government or private, 
without the need of securing a permit, approval or registration from any 
government agency. 
 
SECTION 9. Books and Accounts. – The books and accounts of the Center 
shall be under the charge of a Resident Auditor, subject to periodic auditing 
by the Chairman of the Commission on Audit, or his duly authorized 
representative. 
 
SECTION 10. Civil Service. – The Center and its officers and employees shall 
be covered by the Civil Service Law, rules and regulations. 
 
SECTION 11. Annual Report. – The Center shall render to the President of 
the Philippines an annual report on its operations and accomplishments. 
 
SECTION 12. General Corporation. – The provisions of the general 
corporation law, insofar as they are not inconsistent with the provisions of 
this Act of with the purposes and objectives for which the Center is formed, 
shall apply to the Center. 
 
SECTION 13. Effect of Dissolution of the Center. – If for any reason, the 
Center is dissolved, properties and assets shall revert to the National 
Government for disposition in accordance with law. 
 
SECTION 14. Appropriations. – The amount of One Hundred Million Pesos 
(P100,000,000.00) is hereby appropriated for the necessary initial operating 
expenses and maintenance of the National Eye Center. Thereafter such sum 
as maybe necessary for the continued operation of the Center shall be 
included in the annual General Appropriations Act. 
 


SECTION 15. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – Within sixty (60) 
days from the effectivity of this Act, the Secretary of the Department of Health, 
and other appropriate government agencies, in consultation with relevant 
stakeholders, shall promulgate the rules and regulations for the effective 
implementation of this Act.  
 
SECTION 16. Separability Clause. – If any provision or part thereof is held 
invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not 
otherwise affected shall remain valid and subsisting. 
 
SECTION 17. Repealing Clause. – All laws, presidential decree or issuance, 
executive orders, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule and 
regulation contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are 
hereby repealed, modified, or amended accordingly. 
 
SECTION 18. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after 
its publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general 
circulation. 
 
Approved,