Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. 2036 
Introduced by REPRESENTATIVE MERCEDES K. ALVAREZ, MNSA 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Violence against women and children (“VAWC”) remains a serious public 
health and human rights concern in the Philippines. Survivors of such violence often 
face barriers to accessing the medical and psychosocial services they urgently need. 
This bill seeks to address these challenges by institutionalizing the establishment of 
Women and Children Protection Units (“WCPUs”) in all government hospitals 
nationwide. 
This bill mandates the creation of specialized multidisciplinary units composed 
of trained medical professionals, social workers, mental health experts, and law 
enforcement to provide comprehensive care and protection for women and children 
who are victims of abuse. These units will ensure proper identification, treatment, 
documentation, and referral of VAWC cases, following standardized protocols and best 
practices. 
Through this measure, the State fulfills its constitutional duty to protect the 
rights and welfare of women and children, ensuring their access to critical health and 
protection services in a safe and supportive environment. 
ATTY. MERCEDES K. ALVAREZ, MNSA 
July 16, 2025
4:23 pm


Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. 2036 
Introduced by REPRESENTATIVE MERCEDES K. ALVAREZ, MNSA 
AN ACT 
INSTITUTIONALIZING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF WOMEN AND 
CHILDREN PROTECTION UNITS IN ALL GOVERNMENT HOSPITALS 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines 
in Congress assembled:  
Section 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be known as the “Women and Children 
1 
Protection Units Act”. 
2 
3 
Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. – It shall be the policy of the State to recognize 
4 
and promote the right to health of the people and prioritize the needs of the 
5 
underprivileged, sick, elderly, disabled, women, and children. The State shall support 
6 
the elimination of all forms of gender-based violence and promote social justice based 
7 
on the identification and treatment of violence against women and children (“VAWC”) 
8 
and in recognition of the rights of women and children as mandated by the 1987 
9 
Philippine Constitution, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of 
10 
Discrimination Against Women, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and the 
11 
Beijing Platform for Action. 
12 
13 
Sec. 3.  Definition of Terms. – As used in this Act, the following terms shall 
14 
mean the following: 
15 
a)
“Children” refer to persons below 18 years old or those over but are unable
16 
to fully take care of themselves or protect themselves from abuse, neglect,
17 


 
 
cruelty, exploitation, or discrimination because of physical or mental 
1 
disability; 
2 
b) 
“Violence Against Children” refers to all forms of physical or mental violence, 
3 
injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, 
4 
including sexual abuse. It shall also include the definitions in Republic Act 
5 
No. 7610, otherwise known as the Special Protection of Children Against 
6 
Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination Act, Republic Act No. 9208, 
7 
otherwise known as the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, Republic 
8 
Act No. 9775, otherwise known as the Anti-Child Pornography Act of 2009, 
9 
and other pertinent laws; 
10 
c) 
“Violence Against Women” refers to any act of gender-based violence that 
11 
results in, or is likely to result in physical, sexual, psychological harm or 
12 
suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion, harassment, or 
13 
arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.  
14 
d) 
“Women and Children Protection Unit” is a unit composed of a 
15 
multidisciplinary team of trained physicians, social workers, mental health 
16 
professionals, and police providing comprehensive medical and psychosocial 
17 
services to women and children victims of violence; 
18 
e) 
“Child Protection Management Information System” assures the retrieval 
19 
and management of reports, research, and data capture of the Women and 
20 
Children Protection Unit (“WCPU”); 
21 
f) 
”Standard Protocol” is a protocol that is a legally binding or otherwise 
22 
authoritative document that provides directions for the actions of a group or 
23 
groups as a benchmark of performance;  
24 
g) 
“4Rs” refer to the processes of Recognition, Recording, Reporting, and 
25 
Referral of VAWC Abuse Cases. 
26 
 
27 
Sec. 4. Coverage. – This shall apply to the entire health sector, including the 
28 
Department of Health (“DOH”) health care facilities, local government unit-supported 
29 
health facilities, private health care facilities, other attached agencies of the DOH, 
30 
development 
partners, 
and 
other 
relevant 
stakeholders 
involved 
in 
its 
31 
implementation. 
32 
 
33 
 
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Sec. 5. General Guidelines for the Establishment of Women and Children 
1 
Protection Units. – The following guidelines shall be followed in the establishment of 
2 
WCPU: 
3 
a) 
Policies and guidelines shall be developed in accordance with recent data 
4 
gathered through prevalence surveys, efficacy studies, and other research 
5 
done locally and internationally. Recommendations from international 
6 
organizations may also be utilized when appropriate; 
7 
b) 
Recognition, reporting, and care management of cases involving VAWC shall 
8 
be through medical and psycho-social teamwork, including mental health 
9 
intervention and local government unit response and cooperation, whenever 
10 
necessary; 
11 
c) 
Every province/chartered city shall establish at least one (1) Women and 
12 
Children Protection Unit; 
13 
d) 
All health facilities shall ensure to have competent and trained gender-
14 
responsive professionals who will coordinate the services needed by women 
15 
and children who were victims of violence; 
16 
e) 
The quality of health care services shall be standardized and maintained by 
17 
all women and children protection units; 
18 
f) 
A mechanism shall be created and a harmonized database shall be 
19 
maintained for all reports submitted by the different women and children 
20 
protection units; and a 
21 
g) 
Public-Private Partnership shall be enhanced by establishing a service 
22 
delivery network within their area to ensure the sustainability of human 
23 
resources of WCPUs. 
24 
 
25 
Sec. 6. Steering Committee on Women and Children Protection. – The Steering 
26 
Committee on Women and Children Protection, hereinafter referred to as the 
27 
“Committee” or “SCWP” shall be created primarily responsible for policy making, 
28 
coordinating, monitoring, and overseeing the implementation of this Order. The 
29 
Committee shall be composed of the following:  
30 
a) Undersecretary of the DOH or representative as chairperson of SCWCP; 
31 
b) Undersecretary of the Department of the Interior and Local Government or 
32 
representative; 
33 
c) Undersecretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development or 
34 


 
 
representative; 
1 
d) A director of the DOH - Disease Prevention and Control Bureau (“DPCB”); 
2 
e) A director of the Department of Education; 
3 
f) A director of a DOH-retained hospital; 
4 
g) A director of DOH-Legal Service; 
5 
h) Executive Director of the Philippine Commission for Women; 
6 
i) A representative duly appointed under the by-laws of an organization or 
7 
Foundation with expertise and experience in Women and Child protection 
8 
work; and 
9 
j) One representative each from the Philippine Obstetrics and Gynecological 
10 
Society, Inc., the Philippine Pediatric Society, the Philippine College of 
11 
Emergency Medicine, the Philippine College of Surgeons, the Philippine 
12 
Academy of Family Physicians, Inc., and the Philippine Psychiatric Association. 
13 
The Chairperson shall appoint a Vice Chairperson from among the Committee 
14 
members who shall preside over the meeting in the former's absence.  
15 
The Committee members shall hold office for three (3) years and may be 
16 
reappointed or until their successors shall have been appointed and duly qualified. 
17 
The Committee members shall designate the Director III of the DPCB-Family 
18 
Health Office (“FHO”) as the Chairperson of the Technical Working Group (“TWG”), 
19 
as well as the members of the TWG representing the non-government organizations 
20 
(“NGOs”), specialty organizations, faith-based, and community-based organizations. 
21 
The selected staff from the Family Health Office will act as the Secretariat as may be 
22 
necessary to discuss and address particular concerns to ensure functionality of 
23 
WCPUs.  
24 
 
25 
Sec. 7. Functions of the Steering Committee on Women and Children 
26 
Protection. –The Committee shall have the following functions: 
27 
a) Provide overall leadership, policy, and program directions; 
28 
b) Monitor the progress of the program with the assistance of the Health Facility 
29 
Development Bureau and the Center for Health Development using the 
30 
Performance Standards and Assessment Tools for Services Addressing Violence 
31 
Against Women in the Philippines;  
32 
c) Assist in the security/protection of WCPU staff from perpetrators; 
33 
d) Ensure that networking and inter-organizational linkages are available at the 
34 


 
 
national, regional, and local levels; 
1 
e) Resolve issues, concerns, and/or problems, make recommendations and 
2 
decisions that may affect the execution of the project in terms of strategic 
3 
direction, significant change of scope, timing, resource, and cost requirements; 
4 
f) Nominate the members of the Technical Working Group; 
5 
g) Draft, review, comment, and recommend approval of Resolutions, Circulars, 
6 
Memoranda, and Administrative Orders on VAWC for issuance by the relevant 
7 
Department(s); 
8 
h) Propose a Costed Implementation Plan, the whole or elements of which, upon 
9 
Committee approval, shall be inserted into relevant plans and budgets of the 
10 
department and which shall be funded fully before any other expenditures of 
11 
gender and development budgets in all levels and instrumentalities of 
12 
government; 
13 
i) Sustain Public-Private Partnership to assist in the sustainability of human 
14 
resources of WCPUs; 
15 
j) Submit to the Office of the Secretary of the DOH its annual report on policies, 
16 
plans, programs, accomplishments, and statistical reports, and narrative 
17 
description of activities on or before the last working day of February of every 
18 
year; and 
19 
k) Meet regularly at least once every quarter or as may be requested by the 
20 
Chairperson or any Committee member, as the need arises. 
21 
 
22 
Sec. 8. Technical Working Group. – A Technical Working Group (“TWG”) shall 
23 
be established to support the Committee by rendering the following services thereto: 
24 
a) Identify and map out health care facilities that need to establish WCPUs, using 
25 
demographic and population ratio criteria; 
26 
b) Formulate standard protocols and procedures for multidisciplinary care for 
27 
women and children victims of abuse and violence; 
28 
c) Set the criteria and procedures for certification standards of women and 
29 
children protection units; 
30 
d) Set minimum competency requirements for training programs that are gender-
31 
responsive, which include but shall not be limited to Certification for Women 
32 
and Child Protection Specialty Training Program; 
33 
e) Monitor and evaluate the efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability of the 
34 


 
 
WCPUs; 
1 
f) Recommend policy reforms and new guidelines anchored on evidence-based 
2 
interventions and approaches; and 
3 
g) Perform other functions as may be necessary for the implementation of the 
4 
revised issuance.  
5 
 
6 
Sec. 9. Secretariat – A Secretariat is hereby organized to assist the Committee 
7 
and the TWG in executing its activities. The selected staff from the FHO shall act as 
8 
the Secretariat, whose functions are the following:  
9 
a) Provide technical and administrative support to the Committee and TWG in all 
10 
their activities in furtherance of this Act; and 
11 
b) Facilitate and organize meetings, workshops, symposiums, and other activities 
12 
as instructed by the Committee and/or TWG. 
13 
The members of the TWG and the corresponding members of the Secretariat 
14 
previously appointed by the Committee members shall hold permanent appointments 
15 
for continuity purposes.  
16 
 
17 
Sec. 10. Minimum Requirements for All Hospitals. – The following are the 
18 
minimum requirements for all hospitals: 
19 
a) The Committee is mandated to ensure that all hospital personnel undergo 
20 
training on the 4Rs of cases of violence against women and children. 
21 
b) Hospitals without a WCPU must have a women and children's protection 
22 
coordinator responsible for coordinating the management and referral of all 
23 
violence against women and children cases in a hospital facility.  
24 
 
25 
Sec. 11. Coordination with Government Agencies and Non-Government 
26 
Organizations. – The Committee shall closely coordinate with the following entities 
27 
that are involved in WCPU programs for effective implementation of this Act: 
28 
a) DOH-DPCB; 
29 
b) DOH-Health Human Resource Development Bureau; 
30 
c) DOH-Epidemiology Bureau; 
31 
d) DOH-Information Management Service; 
32 
e) DOH-Legal Service; 
33 
f) DOH-Health Promotion Bureau; 
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g) DOH-Health Facility Development Bureau; 
1 
h) DOH-Health Facilities and Services Regulatory Bureau; 
2 
i) DOH-Centers for Health Development 
3 
j) Local government units; 
4 
k) The Child Protection Network Foundation, Inc.; 
5 
l) Women Protection Unit of University of the Philippines – Philippine General 
6 
Hospital; 
7 
m) Council for the Welfare of Children; 
8 
n) Philippine Commission on Women; and 
9 
o) Philippine Health Insurance Corporation. 
10 
 
11 
Sec. 12. Appropriations. – The fund needed to initially implement the 
12 
provisions of this Act must be sourced primarily from the General Appropriations Act. 
13 
This law shall be in the form of an automatic appropriation that shall be programmed 
14 
annually, without regard to the budget proposal or approved appropriations of the 
15 
concerned government agencies and any of their political subdivisions, government-
16 
owned and/or controlled corporations. 
17 
 
18 
Sec. 13. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – The DOH, in collaboration 
19 
with the entities mentioned in Section 11 herein, shall promulgate the necessary 
20 
implementing rules and regulations, including their respective functions, within 
21 
ninety (90) days from the effectivity of this Act. 
22 
 
23 
Sec. 14. Separability Clause. — If any provision of this Act is declared 
24 
unconstitutional, the remainder thereof not otherwise affected shall remain in full 
25 
force and effect. 
26 
 
27 
Sec. 15. Repealing Clause. — Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive 
28 
order, letter of instruction, rule or regulation inconsistent with the provisions of this 
29 
Act is hereby repealed or modified accordingly. 
30 
 
31 
Sec. 16. Effectivity. — This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
32 
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
33 
 
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1 
 
2 
Approved,