House committee okays bill creating OFW Hospital

The House Committee on Ways and Means approved yesterday a bill seeking to establish an Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) hospital.

The House panel, chaired by Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, gave in to the request of Quezon Rep. Angelina Tan, chair of the House Committee on Health, who sought the immediate approval of House Bill 168.

"With the concurrence of this honorable committee, I move for the approval of this bill, specially the tax provision," Tan said.

Salceda, in response, said his panel "poses no amendments" to Section 7 of the bill.

In less than five minutes, the panel specifically passed the tax provision of House Bill 168, principally authored by Tan. It was Nueva Ecija Rep. Estrellita Suansing, vice chairman of the panel, who moved for the approval of the bill.

"The language was provided by the Committee in the previous Congress so may I move for the approval of Section 7, tax exemption of House Bill 168," Suansing said.

Section 7 of the proposed Act provides that all grants, bequests, endowments, donations and contributions made to the OFW Hospital to be used actually, directly and exclusively by the OFW Hospital shall be exempt from donor’s tax and the same shall be considered as allowable deduction from the gross income of the donor.

The importation of equipment, which shall be used solely for the operations of the establishment and are not available locally, shall also be exempt from value-added tax and customs duty, the bill provides.

HB 168 seeks to establish the OFW Hospital

with at least a tertiary level of care.

The OFW Hospital shall be under full administrative and technical supervision of the Department of Health (DOH), it provides.

Under the HB 168, the hospital is expected to provide comprehensive and total health care services to all migrant workers, including Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) contributors, and their legal dependents; conduct medical examinations to ensure the physical and mental capability of would-be overseas contract workers; and serve as the primary referral hospital for repatriated OFWs who need medical assistance.

The bill tasks the secretary of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) as chairman of the OWWA Board to guarantee that existing health benefits and medical assistance programs are strengthened to include subsidies on hospitalization and medical procedures for OFWs and qualified dependents, among others.

During the previous 17th Congress, the House of Representatives approved the bill on third and final reading.