Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. _1398

INTRODUCED BY REP. MAXIMO JR. Y. DALOG

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Section 11, Article XII! of the 1987 Constitution states:

The State shall adopt an integrated and comprehensive approach
to health development which shall endeavor to make essential
goods, health and other social services available to all the people at
affordable cost. There shall be priority for the needs of the
underprivileged, sick, elderly, disabled, women, and children. The
State shall endeavor to provide free medical care to paupers.

A survey conducted in April 2020 shows that throughout the Philippines, there
are varying degrees of proportion of hospital beds per 1000 population. Among the
regions in the country, only the National Capital Region was able to comply with the
World Health Organization's prescribed proportion of at least one per 1,000 population.
The rest of the country are a far cry from the prescribed proportion. This only means
that the accessibility and availability of hospital services among Filipinos is inadequate.

An added burden to the solution of availability of hospital beds is the process of
increasing the bed capacity of hospitals which at present can only be done through
legislation. With the period needed for legislation which usually takes more than a year,
the Department of Health (DOH) cannot address the urgent need to increase the bed
capacity of hospitals.

This Bill seeks to expedite the process of increasing the authorized bed capacity
and corresponding service capabilities of DOH-retained hospitals by authorizing the
DOH to adjust and approve the same. This will ensure the availability of hospital beds
and accessibility of health services to all the regions in the country.

In view of the foregoing, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

TWENTIETH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. _1398

INTRODUCED BY REP. MAXIMO JR. Y. DALOG

AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH (DOH) TO SET AND
APPROVE THE BED CAPACITY AND SERVICE CAPABILITY OF ALL DOH-
RETAINED HOSPITALS.

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

Section 1. This Act shall be known as the "DOH Hospital Bed Capacity
and Service Capability Rationalization Act".

Section 2. This Act shall streamline the process for approving changes
in the authorized bed capacities and corresponding service capabilities of all
Department of Health (DOH)-retained hospitals.

Section 3. Authority is hereby granted to the DOH to adjust and
approve the authorized bed capacities and corresponding service
capabilities of all DOH-retained hospitals.

The DOH shall develop the Philippine Health Facility Development
Plan (PHFDP) to guide the modernization and development plans of all
government health facilities and to access capital outlays investment in
accordance with its Health Facilities Enhancement Program and other
national government capital outlays investment mechanisms.

Section 4. The Secretary of Health shall include in the Department's
programs the funding requirements for the adjustment in bed capacity and
service capability of each DOH-retained hospital in accordance with the
PHFDP and the hospital's modernization and development plan, the funding
of which shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.


Section 5. The DOH shall provide Congress, through the Committee
on Health of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Health and
Demography of the Senate, an annual report detailing the approved bed
capacities of all DOH-retained hospitals, along with the necessary funding
requirements.

Section 6. The DOH shall formulate the implementing rules and
regulations of this Act within ninety (90) days after its approval.

Section 7. All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations,
or -parts thereof which are inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed,
amended or modified accordingly.

Section 8. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,