Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. 2135
Introduced by Representative Christopherson “COCO” M. Yap 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Municipality of Sogod, located in the heart of Southern Leyte, serves as a 
strategic center for business, education, and transportation in the province’s 
northern and eastern areas. Despite this, the residents of Sogod and its surrounding 
municipalities lack direct access to major hospitals in the region.  
The absence of a nationally managed and funded hospital in Southern Leyte means 
that residents must often travel as far as Tacloban City, Leyte—over 110 kilometers 
and 2.5 to 3 hours away—to seek specialized or higher-level care. This creates 
undue burden on patients, especially during emergencies, and poses a serious threat 
to timely and equitable healthcare access in this geographically challenging 
province. 
This proposed measure seeks to establish a Level II general hospital in the 
Municipality of Sogod, to be known as the Southern Leyte Regional Hospital, which 
shall be directly managed and funded by the Department of Health. As a Level II 
facility, it will be equipped to offer more advanced services including intensive care, 
general surgery, and internal medicine, among others—filling a critical gap in the 
local healthcare infrastructure. 
It must be noted that in the previous budget deliberations, the Secretary of Health 
expressed support for this initiative in principle. However, the Department 
submitted a different position on the matter of funding, recommending that the 
proposed hospital be administered and funded by the local government unit (LGU). 
This recommendation, while appreciated, does not sufficiently address the long-
standing healthcare gap in Southern Leyte—particularly in the context of equity in 
access to national health services. 
As such, this bill is being refiled to reaffirm the necessity of establishing a DOH-
retained and nationally funded general hospital in Sogod. Doing so will not only 
decentralize healthcare services in Region VIII, but also ensure that residents of 
Southern Leyte and its neighboring provinces including Samar, Bohol and Surigao, 
among others to receive the same level of care and access to public health resources. 
July 21, 2025
2:30 pm


The enactment of this measure will be a vital step toward realizing the government’s 
commitment to Universal Health Care, especially for underserved and 
geographically isolated communities. 
In view of the foregoing, the approval of this bill is earnestly sought. 
O 
CHRISTOPHERSON “COCO” M. YAP 


Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. 2135 
Introduced by Representative Christopherson “COCO” M. Yap 
AN ACT 
ESTABLISHING IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF SOGOD, PROVINCE OF SOUTHERN 
LEYTE, A LEVEL II GENERAL HOSPITAL TO BE KNOWN AS THE SOUTHERN 
LEYTE REGIONAL HOSPITAL, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR  
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. There shall be established in the Municipality of Sogod, Province 
of Southern Leyte, a Level II general hospital to be known as the Southern Leyte 
Regional Hospital, which shall be under the direct control and supervision of the 
Department of Health (DOH). 
SEC. 2. Any future increase in bed capacity, healthcare facilities, service 
capability, and human resource complement shall be based on the hospital 
development plan that shall be prepared by the DOH.  
SEC. 3. The Secretary of Health shall immediately include in the Department’s 
program the implementation of this Act, the funding of which shall be included in 
the annual General Appropriations Act.  
SEC. 4. If any provision or part of this Act is declared unconstitutional, the 
remaining parts or provisions not affected shall remain in full force and effect. 


 
SEC. 5. All laws, executive orders, issuances, and rules and regulations 
inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly. 
 
SEC. 6. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the 
Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
 
Approved,