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SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE ) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
First Regular Session 
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SENATE
803
S. No.
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Introduced by Senator Ralph G. Recto
AN ACT
GRANTING AUTOMATIC PHILHEALTH COVERAGE FOR ALL WOMEN ABOUT 
TO GIVE BIRTH AND THEIR NEWBORN CHILDREN, AMENDING FOR THE 
PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7875, AS AMENDED BY REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10606 
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE “NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE ACT OF 2013”’ 
PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Explanatory Note
In year 2000, the United Nations member states including the Philippines, came together 
and entered into a landmark commitment to "spare no effort to free our fellow men, women and 
children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty”} This commitment 
was later on translated into a comprehensive framework identifying the so-called eight 
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to address the different facets of poverty within a 15- 
year time frame. Two of these MDGs deal with the improvement of maternal and child health.
For the Philippines, the MDG on the improvement of maternal health was meant to 
reduce the maternal mortality ratio by seventy-five percent from 209 deaths for every 100,000 
live births in the 1990s to 52 deaths in 2015 . On the other hand, the MDG on improving child 
health was aimed at reducing mortality among children under five years old from about 80 per 
1,000 live births in the 1990s to 28 in 20151 2 3.
Through the years, our country has performed relatively well in attaining the aforesaid 
MDGs. Various programs were implemented by the government to attain the targets set for each 
of the goals. For maternal health, maternal care was included in the benefit packages under the 
state’s national health insurance program. Information campaign was likewise conducted 
aggressively to inform and influence pregnant women to seek the care and services of skilled 
professionals before, during and after childbirth.
In the same manner, immunization for infant and children was mandated by the 
government through the Department of Health. Moreover, health care for newborns was also 
incorporated in the national health insurance packages while at the same time intensified 
programs on micronutrient supplementation, breast feeding and birth spacing were used as 
strategies by the health department.
In spite of the gains, however, the Philippines’ scorecard on MDGs pertaining to 
maternal and child health would indicate that we are yet to achieve our targets after 15 years. 
Maternal care remains to be a big challenge considering that the percentage of women availing
1 See "T h e  M ille n n iu m  D e v e lo p m e n t G oals R e p o rt 2 0 1 5 ", U n ite d  N a tio n s, Accessed a t
http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/2015_MDG_Report/pdf/MDG%202015%20rev%20(July%201).pdf.
2 See "P h ilip p in e s  S corecard on  M DG s 4 and 5 ", Accessed a t h ttp ://w w w .p h ils ta r.c o m /s c ie n c e -a n d - 
te c h n o lo g y /2 0 1 4 /0 5 /2 9 /1 3 2 8 3 2 9 /p h ilip p in e -s c o re c a rd -m d g s -4 -a n d -5 .
3http://www.undp.org/content/dam /undp/library/M DG/english/M DG% 20Country% 20Reports/Philippines/Philippines M
D G R e p o rt_ 2 0 0 3 .p d f.