Press Release
February 21, 2007

EIGHT CAYETANO BILLS READY TO BE SIGNED INTO LAW

A total of eight measures on health and the environment that were authored and/or sponsored by Senator Pia S. Cayetano have been approved on third and final reading in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, and are now ready to be signed into law by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

But Cayetano, chairperson of both the committees on health and demography and on environment and natural resources, said there's still much work to be done and that it was still possible for other relevant measures to be passed under the 13 th Congress.

Four of her approved measures are national in scope, including:

1. Senate Bill No.2600 or the "Oil Pollution Compensation Act of 2007" Institutes a mechanism for the prevention, abatement, mitigation and control of oil pollution within the territorial boundaries of the country. It creates an Oil Pollution Management Fund (OPMF), which will be created to cover containment and cleanup operations by the Philippine Coast Guard in the case of an oil spill. Requires any person who has received more than 150,000 tons of contributing oil in a calendar through carriage by sea to report and pay contributions to the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund (IOPC) in accordance with the provisions of the 1992 IOPC Fund Convention.

2. House Bill No.68 adopted under Committee Report No.302 or "An Act Prohibiting the Detention of Patients in Hospitals and Clinics on grounds of Non-payment of Hospital Bills or Medical Expenses" Makes it unlawful for any hospital or medical clinic in the country to detain, directly or indirectly, patients who have fully or partially recovered or who may have died, for reasons of nonpayment, in part or in full, of their hospital bills or medical expenses. Patients who have fully or partially recovered and who already wish to leave the hospital but are financially incapable to settle, in part or in full, their hospitalization expenses, including professional fees and medicines, shall be allowed to leave upon the execution of a promissory note covering the unpaid obligation. The promissory note shall be secured by either a mortgage or by a guarantee of a co-maker, who will be jointly and severally liable with the patient for the unpaid obligation. However, patients who stay in private rooms are not covered.

3. Senate Bill No. 2541 or the "National Anti-Rabies Bill of 2007" - Makes it mandatory for dog owners to have their pets immunized against rabies and registered with their local government unit. It mandates the establishment of local dog pounds which will house stray and unvaccinated dogs, and launches an information and education campaign on rabies prevention and control, provisions on pre-exposure treatment to high risk personnel and post-exposure treatment to animal bite victims, and the encouragement of the practice of responsible dog ownership.

4. Senate Bill No.2012 "Mandatory Hepa-B Immunization" Expands the reach of the national immunization program by making basic immunization services against Hepatitis-B mandatory for infants within 24 hours after childbirth.

The remaining four bills are local in scope, including:

1. SBN 2532 or "The Cebu Central Protected Landscape Act of 2007" - Consolidates the management of Cebu province's five remaining forest areas and critical watersheds to be known as the "Cebu Central Protected Landscape." It creates a single policy-making body, called the Central Cebu Protected Landscape-Protected Area Management Board (CCPL-PAMB), which will oversee the following areas: Sudlon National Park, Cebu Central National Park, Mananga River Watershed Forest Reserve, Kotkot-Lusaran Watershed Forest Reserve and Buhisan Watershed Forest Reserve. Co-sponsored with Cebu Reps. Eduardo Gullas (1D) and Raul Del Mar (1D, Cebu City) and Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Joel Virador.

2. HBN 4190 adopted under Committee Report No. 213 - Seeking to convert the VGH, a 100-bed secondary hospital, into a tertiary hospital with a 200-bed capacity to be known as the " Valenzuela Medical Center." Co-authored with the late Rep. Antonio "Tony" Serapio (Valenzuela, 2D), who died in a vehicular accident last Monday.

3. HBN 1395 adopted under Committee Report No. 214 "An Act converting two hundred beds of the 200-bed Dr. Jose N. Rodriguez Memorial Hospital and Sanitarium for tertiary general health care." Co-sponsored with Rep. Oca Malapitan ( Caloocan, 1D).

4. HBN 1352 adopted under Committee Report No. 268 Increasing the bed capacity of the of the 'Amang' Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center from 150 to 300 beds. Co-authored with Rep. Del De Guzman ( Marikina, Lone District).

Asked to assess her performance in her first three years in the Senate, the lady senator said: "I am quite happy with our output, and I'm very thankful for the support of my colleagues in both chambers in passing all these bills."

She added: "I hope we can still approve a few more important measures before the 13th Congress adjourns, like the Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act, which is my main advocacy; the bill lowering drug prices which I co-authored with Sen. Mar Roxas III; and several other pending measures seeking to create protected areas in different provinces across the country."

Cayetano concluded by saying that she was looking forward to the 14th Congress to help pass more meaningful legislations and be more actively involved in social and political issues affecting the people.

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