House panels focus on health service system under BBL

House pushes life jail term for terrorist groups (28 February 2018)

In an effort to reinforce the fight against terrorism, the House committee on public order and safety has begun deliberation on a measure imposing life imprisonment for membership in a terrorist organization.

House Bill No. 5507 or “An Act Declaring as Unlawful the Membership in Any Philippine Court Proscribed or United Nations Security Council-Designated Terrorist Organization and Providing Penalties Therefor,” seeks to declare as unlawful the membership in organizations deemed to threaten the security of the Philippines and the Filipino people.

Committee Chair Romeo Acop, in his preliminary remarks, stressed that the duty of Congress is to strengthen anti-terrorism legislation that will protect the Filipino people from future terrorist attacks.

“In a post-Marawi era, even as the whole of Mindanao remains under Martial Law, many continue to doubt the effectivity of Republic Act No. 9372 (Human Security Act of 2007) as a tool in the  government’s effort to combat terrorism and protect the people from terrorist acts,” Acop said.

HB 5507 has been declared by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas as a priority bill.

HB 5507 states, “Section 2. Unlawful Membership in Terrorist Organizations. - It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly become a member or manifest his/her intention to become a member of any Philippine court proscribed or United Nations Security Council-Designated Terrorist Organization.”

The bill further states, “Section 3. Penalty – Any person found guilty under this Act shall suffer the penalty of reclusion perpetua.”

Furthermore, the bill states, “Section 4. Period of Detention without Judicial Warrant of Arrest. -- The provisions of Article 125 of the Revised Penal Code to the contrary notwithstanding, any police or law enforcement personnel, who, having been duly authorized in writing by the Anti-Terrorism Council has taken custody of a person charged with or suspected of violating Section 2 of this Act, shall without incurring any criminal liability for delay in the delivery of detained persons to proper judicial authority within a period of three days counted from the moment the said charged or suspected person has been apprehended or arrested, detained, and taken into custody by the said police, or law enforcement personnel.”

Reps. Rozzano Rufino Biazon Juliet Marie Ferrer, Joseph Stephen Paduano, Ruwel Peter Gonzaga, and Winston Castelo have expressed full support for the bill.

The House members urged the committee to create a Technical Working Group (TWG) to expedite deliberation on the measure.

HB 5507 authored by Rep. Amado Espino, Jr.   is known in its short title as the “Unlawful Membership in Terrorist Organizations Act of 2018.”     / ABR

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Photo Release

28 February 2018

BBL HEALTH SERVICES: The House committees on local government and Muslim affairs as well as special committee on peace, reconciliation and unity in a joint hearing on Tuesday focused on a well-coordinated health service system under the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL). The panels were on their 12th meeting and 3rd leg of public consultation on the BBL. Photo shows Reps. Gary Alejano, Pedro Acharon and Ruby Sahali. In another photo is Rep. Mauyag Papandayan Jr. conferring with Rep. Mohamad Khalid Dimaporo. Third photo shows Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) Undersecretary Nabil Tan, Bangsamoro Transition Commissioners Atty. Hussin Amin and Hon. Hatimil Hassan who were resource persons during the hearing. EAG/DM

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REP. JOSEPHINE “NENE” Y. RAMIREZ SATO – ‎(0918) 9068294

‘Bulilit Centers’ soon to rise in 3 Occidental Mindoro towns - Sato

The Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Council has recently approved the construction of the National Child Development Center (NCDC) in the Municipalities of Calintaan, Rizal and Abra de Ilog in the Province of Occidental Mindoro.

Rep. Josephine “Nene” Ramirez – Sato of the Lone District of Occidental of Mindoro on Tuesday led key officials of the province and the three municipalities during simple ceremonies to highlight the awarding of the NCDC project at the Early Childhood Care and Development Council Office in Ortigas, Pasig City.

“The establishment of a child development center is a must for every barangay in town and city in the country,” Sato said, adding that she is willing to file a bill in the House of Representatives for that purpose.

Construction of an NCDC building, including provisions for furniture and fixtures, teaching materials and module is funded by the National government.  It will be manned by a qualified teacher or a child development professional.

“The center will help prepare parents to raise their young ones properly by educating them about basic child care and education,” Sato said, at the same time urging the local officials to mobilize its local ECCD counterparts to make sure that parents will be properly informed to avail of the program.

A former Governor of Occidental Mindoro, Sato lauded the ECCD for its effort making the NCDC for the three towns of Occidental Mindoro a reality.

Also called the Bulilit Center, the NCDC is the community-based flagship initiative of the ECCD Council.

It is the ground-level venue of the implementation of ECCD activities, particularly the Early Learning Program and the Family Support Program strategies.

The awarding of the project was led by Dr. Teresita G. Inciong, Executive Director of ECCD Council and Rommel J. Isip, head of the NCDC Project Unit.

Sato was joined by Mayors Jesus A. Valdez of Rizal and Maria Gloria M. Constantino of Abra de Ilog.  Mayor Eric C. Labrador of Calintaan was represented by Vice Mayor Dante Esteban,

The lady solon has been pushing for the construction of the “Bulilit Centers” by linking concerned national government agencies with local government units and local stakeholders in the province to work together.

ECCD is a government organization established by virtue of EO No. 778.

The Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) was initially tasked to serve as a national ECCD coordinating council in 2000 through RA 8980 or the ECCD Act.

EO No. 806 or “Affirming the Roles of the ECCD Council and the CWC and EO No. 778  or “Transforming the CWC into the ECCD Council mandate the ECCD Council as the primary agency to support the government’s ECCD programs, covering health, nutrition, and early learning for children below 8 years old.

The ECCD Council is responsible for children between age 0-4 years while children between 5-8 years are the responsibility of the Department of Education.

Since the enactment of RA 10410 in 2013, ECCD Council currently has more than 600 facilities in different municipalities and cities all over the country, nearing their total target of 700 at the end of 2018.

In Occidental Mindoro, Bulilit Center Projects were previously awarded to the Municipalities of Palauan and Sablayan.

Sato is working for Occidental Mindoro to have more “Bulilit Centers” by the end of 2018.  ###

NEWS Release

28 February 2018

House OKs mandatory report of notifiable diseases

Voting 192-0 without abstention, the House of Representatives on Tuesday approved House Bill 7134, seeking to provide policies and prescribe procedures on surveillance and response to notifiable diseases, epidemics, and health events of public health concern.

The bill refers to notifiable disease as “a disease that by legal requirements, must be reported to public health authorities.” It refers to health event of public health concern as “either a public health emergency or a public health threat.”

The proposed “Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act,” seeks to protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health consciousness among them.

Likewise, the State shall endeavor to 1) protect the people from public health threats through the efficient and effective disease surveillance of notifiable diseases, including emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases, diseases for elimination and eradication, epidemics and health events of public health concern; and 2) provide effective response system in compliance with the 2005 International Health Regulations (IHR) of the World Health Organization (WHO).

The State also recognizes epidemics and other public health emergencies as threats to public health and national security, which can undermine the social, economic, and political functions of the State.

The State recognizes as well the disease surveillance and response system of the Department of Health (DOH) and its local counterparts as the first line of defense against epidemics and health events of public health concern that pose risk to public health and security.

The bill aims to continuously develop and upgrade the list of nationally notifiable diseases and health events of public health concern with their corresponding definitions; enforce mandatory reporting of notifiable diseases and health events of public health concern to the DOH and its local counterparts; and expand collaborations beyond traditional public health partners to include others who may be involved in disease surveillance and response, such as agricultural agencies, veterinarians, law enforcement entities, and transportation agencies, among others.

It mandates the Epidemiology Bureau under the DOH to regularly update and issue a list of nationally notifiable health events of public health concern with their corresponding case definitions.

The Philippine Integrated Database Surveillance and Response (PIDSR) System and other duly institutionalized diseases surveillance and response systems of the DOH for notifiable diseases and health events of public health concern shall be recognized as the official information systems for mandatory notification of terms provided in the Act.

The DOH, in coordination with the local government units (LGUs), shall ensure that Epidemiology and Surveillance Units (ESUs) are established and functional in all levels of the DOH and its local counterparts, and in public and private health facilities and laboratories as well as ports and airports in all provinces, cities, and municipalities throughout the country.

The bill prohibits breach of privacy and confidentiality; tampering of records or intentionally providing misinformation; non-performance of persons and entities that should report and/or respond to notifiable diseases or health events of public health concern; and non-cooperation of the person or entities identified as having the notifiable disease, or affected by the health event of public health concern.

Any person or entity found to have violated any of the prohibited acts shall pay a fine of P20,000 to P50,000 or face imprisonment of one month to six months, or both, at the discretion of the court.

The Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) shall have the authority to suspend or revoke the license to practice the profession of erring medical professionals. Likewise, the business permit and license to operate of erring institutions and agencies shall be cancelled.

Committee on health chairperson Rep. Angelina Tan, M. D. and Deputy Speaker Linabelle Ruth Villarica are the principal authors of the bill. / RBB

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NEWS Release

28 February 2018

House panels focus on health service system under BBL

The House committees on local government and Muslim affairs as well as special committee on peace, reconciliation and unity on Tuesday focused on ensuring an efficient and well-coordinated health service system under the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

During the hearing, Department of Health (DOH) Assistant Secretary Abdullah Dumama said the DOH fully supports the proposed BBL especially on matters of health.

Since the DOH is the national policy making body for health issues, Dumama said the BBL should implement health policies in a manner that will respect their culture and religion, practices and beliefs.

“The intention is to provide continuity of quality health care and effective use of resources, and maintenance of health standards and protocol because diseases recognize no boundaries,” said Dumama.

Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) Commissioner Atty. Hussin  Amin, chairman of the committee on basic rights, interposed no objection, although he said health services are not enumerated under basic rights.

However, Amin clarified that the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region Government should also uphold the people’s right to have access to essential health and other social services that would promote their well-being.

Rep. Mohamad Khalid Dimaporo (1st District, Lanao del Norte) asked the BTC commissioners whether the  health care system under the proposed BBL would be an improvement of the existing ARMM health care system. BTC Commissioner Atty. Jose Lorena said the specific intention of BBL is to give more health services and affordable access to the community.

“We believe that even at the present ARMM, there is already an integrated health program. We want it to improve more in terms of the capacity of hospitals and to provide health programs to our communities,” said Lorena.

Rep. Ruby Sahali (Lone District, Tawi-Tawi), chairperson of the special committee on peace, reconciliation and unity, said the committees  already held 12 committee meetings and the third leg of public consultations on the proposed BBL. Sahali said the committees have gone through the most substantial issues contained in the four versions of the proposed BBL.

The BBL draft version of the BTC defines Bangsamoro people as the “Muslim, Christian and lumad residents in Mindanao coexisting for decades.” (EAG)

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Photo Release

28 February 2018

DRUG SMUGGLING PROBE:  House Majority Leader Rodolfo Fariñas expressed alarm over the recovery of high-grade drug cache in Philippine waters which he warned could end up in the hands of drug pushers and addicts. The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) requested for an executive session during the hearing conducted on Wednesday by the committee on dangerous drugs to discuss illegal drug smuggling issues. Committee chairman Surigao del Norte Rep. Robert Ace Barbers granted PDEA's request so as not to jeopardize the anti-illegal drug operations of law enforcers. Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and Fariñas filed House Resolution 1674, seeking an inquiry, in aid of legislation, on the reported smuggling of illegal drugs off the coastal waters of Isabela, as well as similar incidents in other parts of the country. (PC/JAM)

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