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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Constitution Hills, Quezon City

NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

acotr | TSB5

” House Bill No.

Introduced by Representatives ANTHONY ROLANDO T. GOLEZ, JR., and
ALBERT S. GARCIA.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The World Health Organization in 1948 established that the enjoyment
of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of
every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief,
economic or social condition. Since then, all member countries including the
Philippines have worked towards this goal to provide timely, adequate,
affordable, and quality health care to all its citizens. In the past decades, we
have seen how the global community have worked together to bring this
standard into fruition through various treaties, international cooperation,
multisectoral involvement, and the implementation of Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) which were then replaced by the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs).

Here in the Philippines in the past few decades, we have introduced
radical pieces of legislations, instituted reforms, implemented programs, and
worked with national and international stakeholders to sustainably increase
the standard of health of all Filipinos. We have mandated comprehensive
iodization of table salt which decreased the incidence of goiter which
previously ravaged the population. We have eradicated polio through massive
immunization campaign. We have also reduced the risk of youth of dying
premature deaths through increasing the price of tobacco through sin taxes.

More recently, we have made strides in ensuring the universal access to
timely and adequate health care of all Filipinos through the Universal Health
Care Act promulgated during the administration of Former President Rodrigo
Roa Duterte. Through this piece of legislation, all Filipinos have basic financial
protection against the financial cost of health care in the Philippines which is
equally as debilitating as the disease itself. With the current agenda of the
administration of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., wherein full economic


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recovery and resiliency amidst the pandemic is of prime importance, the full
and efficient implementation is of crucial importance.

One of the key implementors of the UHC law is the Philippine Health
Insurance Corporation or commonly known as PhilHealth. A few years before
the passage of the UHC Law, this Representation have introduced a bill to
shorten the term of the President of PhilHealth from six (6) years to one (1)
year. At that time, this move was driven by the desire to make PhilHealth more
accountable and to ensure that the President of PhilHealth would not immune
from political pressures by his/her appointment. Everything changed when the
UHC was subsequently enacted.

When the UHC was being deliberated, it was the primal consideration of
the law that PhilHealth would be one of its lead implementors to ensure the
universal access to care of all Filipinos. The good legislators and colleagues at
that time failed to incorporate a key amendment in the structure of PhilHealth
which is its leadership and governance. The UHC also created a gap and
confusion as to the role of its President/CEO with both the amended NHIC law
and the UHC law have confusing provisions which might be detrimental to its
implementation.

As what we can presently observe, leadership and governance in
PhilHealth is vital to its continued success and to the success of the achieving
Universal Health Care in the Philippines. Presently and during the height of the
COVID-19 pandemic, our countrymen relied heavily on the benefits and
coverage of PhilHealth to protect themselves from the devastating cost of
health brought by the pandemic and other diseases. It cannot be stressed
enough that the success of the PhilHealth is of primal national importance.

This bill is also a step forward in the current agenda of the present
administration which is to improve public trust in government agencies and to
improve the services to the Filipino people. By securing the appointment of the
President/CEO of PhilHealth in a fixed six-year term and by elevating its rank
to the rank of a Cabinet Secretary, it will empower PhilHealth to implement
multi-sectoral and radical reforms that will outlive the current administration.
Since the President/CEO will be able to attend Cabinet meetings, it will
empower the President/CEO to coordinate with other heads of agencies and to
immediately elevate its concerns to the President for quick and efficient
resolution.

This bill seeks not only to harmonize and close the gap between the NHIC
law, as amended, and the UHC law, but it also seeks to amend the position of the
President/CEO of PhilHealth to ensure that the leadership and governance of


the institution would be immune from political pressures and to ensure that
programs and reforms would be continuous despite changes in administration.

Considering that the quality of care and the implementation of UHC can
be substantially improved by ensuring good governance and stable leadership
in PhilHealth, the approval of this measure is earnestly sought.

ao
ANTHONY ROLANDO T. GOLEZ, JR. ‘ARCIA
Representative tepresentative

Party List, Malasakit@Bayanihan 2m District, Bataan


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Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Constitution Hills, Quezon City

NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

*. "House Bill No? 985

Introduced by Representatives ANTHONY ROLANDO T. GOLEZ, JR., and
ALBERT S. GARCIA.

AN ACT AMENDING SECTION 14, CHAPTER III, OF REPUBLIC ACT NO.
11223, AN ACT INSTITUTING UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE FOR ALL
FILIPINOS, PRESCRIBING REFORMS IN THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM, AND
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR

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

SECTION 1. Section 14 of Republic Act No. 11223 otherwise known as
“AN ACT INSTITUTING UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE FOR ALL FILIPINOS,
PRESCRIBING REFORMS IN THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM, AND
APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR’, is hereby amended to read as follows:

SEC. 14. The President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of

PhilHealth. -

a) Appointment and Tenure - The President of the

Philippi L int f i 7 fsix (6)
Presiden’ PhilHealth the Board's

non-ex_officio_ members, hereinafter referred to as the

Presi CE Sneha



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SECTION 2. Section 19 of Republic Act No. 7875 otherwise known as “AN
ACT INSTITUTING A NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE PROGRAM FOR ALL


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FILIPINOS AND ESTABLISHING THE PHILIPPINE HEALTH INSURANCE
CORPORATION FOR THE PURPOSE” is hereby repealed by Section 14 of
Republic Act No. 11223, as hereby amended.

SECTION 3. Repealing Clause. - All acts, executive orders, memorandum
circulars/guidelines and other issuances or parts thereof, which are
inconsistent with this Act, are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SECTION 4. 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,