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FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
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First Regular Session 
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Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Every minute, and most often in a developing country, a woman dies from complications 
related to pregnancy or childbirth. That is 525,600 women, at a minimum, dying every year. 
And for every woman who dies, 30 to 50 women suffer injury, infection, or disease. 
The Philippines has a high maternal mortality rate of 172 deaths per 100,000 live births. 
According to the State ofthe Philippine Population Report 2000, 10 Filipino women die every 
24 hours from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. 
In September 2000, 189 countries at the United Nations Millennium General Assembly 
endorsed a series of Millennium Development Goals, one of which is the reduction of maternal 
mortality by 75 percent between 1990 and 2015. 
To achieve this, the state must respect and uphold the right of all women to: 
make decisions about their own health, free from coercion or violence, and based on 
full information; and 
have access to quality services and information before, during, and after pregnancy 
and childbirth. 
Experts from around the world now acknowledge that almost all maternal deaths could be 
prevented with appropriate care. The most essential intervention is to ensure that all women are 
cared for by a professional health worker (midwife, nurse, or doctor) with midwifery skills 
during the most dangerous period - during and immediately after childbirth. 
Yet in the Philippines today, less than half of all deliveries take place with the assistance 
of a skilled birth attendant. 
Experience shows, however, that the presence of skilled birth attendants needs to be part 
of a broader strategy, including functioning referral systems and back-up professional support. 


Slcilled attendants alone cannot effectively reduce maternal mortality; they need to be linked up 
with a larger health care system with the facilities, supplies, transport and professionals to 
provide emergency obstetric care when it is needed. 
Since every maternal death is a family and community tragedy, the community must 
involve itself in maternal care and guarantee that every resident pregnant woman will have 
access to safe delivery services at the time of her childbirth. The state and the local government 
unit concerned must be held accountable for the effective delivery of adequate, affordable and 
appropriate health services to all their residents.* 
* This bill was originally filed during the Thirteenth Congress, First Regular Session. 


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FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC) 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
1 
First Regular Session 
1 
Introduced by Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago 
AN ACT 
TO ENSURE EVERY PREGNANT WOMAN’S ACCESS TO A SKILLED BIRTH 
ATTENDANT AT THE TIME OF CHILDBIRTH AND IMMEDIATELY THEREAFTER 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Title. -This Act shall be known as “Bantay Buntis.” 
SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is the declared policy of the state to protect and 
promote the right to health of the people. Towards this end, the state shall ensure universal 
access to all individuals to a full range of high quality, affordable reproductive health services, 
with particular attention to maternal and emergency obstetric care, especially in underserved 
areas. Furthermore, the state shall establish or strengthen safe motherhood programs, within the 
context of primary health care, with the goal of reducing maternal mortality. 
SECTION 3. Definition of Terms. -For the purposes of this Act, the term: 
(A) “Maternal deatWmortality” means the death of a woman while pregnant or within 42 
days of termination of pregnancy, regardless of the site or duration of pregnancy, from any cause 
related to or aggravated by the pregnancy or its management. 
(B) “Skilled birth attendant” means a nurse, midwife, doctor or other practitioner with 
professional training in obstetric care. 
(C) “Referral system” means a mechanism by which the local government unit ensures 
that the nearest hospital with adequate emergency obstetric care will accept the pregnant woman 
in the event that complications arise from childbirth or if there is a need for other emergency 
procedures. 


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SECTION 4. Responsibilities of the Barangay Captain. - It shall be the duty of the 
Barangay Captain to ensure that every pregnant woman has access to a skilled birth attendant at 
the time of childbirth. The Barangay Captain must carry out the following tasks: 
(A) Draw up a master list of pregnant women in the barangay. Each pregnant woman 
must be assisted in drawing up a birth plan which includes pertinent information such as the 
mother’s general state of health expected due date or date of delivery, and possible blood donors. 
(B) Ensure that there will be access to the services of a trained professional health 
worker. 
(C) Place transportation facilities on call upon notification that the pregnant mother has 
gone into labor. 
(D) Communicate with the nearest hospital or lying-in clinic that the woman is in labor. 
Prior to this, a referral system or mechanism must be in place. 
(E) All barangay and municipal health workers shall be placed on standby alert. Only 
when the outcome of a safe birth transpires will all alert signals be lowered. 
SECTION 5. Appropriations. - 
(A) The amount necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act is hereby authorized to 
be appropriated from the General Appropriations Act of the year following the enactment of this 
law and every year thereafter. 
(B) All local government units are likewise mandated to allot not less than five percent 
(5%) of their gender and development budget for programs, projects and activities aimed to 
support maternal health within their jurisdiction. 
SECTION 6. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act is held invalid or 
unconstitutional, the remainder of the Act or the provision not otherwise affected shall remain 
valid and subsisting. 
SECTION 7. Repealing Clause. - Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive 
order, letter of instruction, administrative rule or regulation contrary to or inconsistent with the 
provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, modified or amended accordingly. 
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SECTION g. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifleen (15) days after its 
publication in at least two newspapers of general circulation. 
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Approved, 
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