Laws Affecting Public Health and Practice of

Community Health Nursing

NCM 113/L Community Health Nursing II ( Population and Groups)

Prepared by: Mary Ann B. Guyot, RN,MN
R.A. 7160 – or the Local Government Code
This involves the devolution of powers, functions and responsibilities to
the local government both rural & urban. The Code aims to transform
local government units into self-reliant communities and active
partners in the attainment of national goals thru’ a more responsive
and accountable local government structure instituted thru’ a system
of decentralization. Hence, each province, city and municipality has a
LOCAL HEALTH BOARD (LHB) which is mandated to propose annual
budgetary allocations for the operation and maintenance of their own
health facilities.
Composition of Local Health Board
Provincial Level
1.Governor- chair
2.Provincial Health Officer – vice chairman
3.Chairman, Committee on Health of
Sangguniang Panlalawigan
4.DOH representative
5.NGO representative
City and Municipal Level
1.Mayor – chair
2.MHO – vice chair
3.Chairman, Committee on Health of Sangguniang
Bayan
4.DOH representative
5.NGO representative
Effective Local Health System Depends on:
1.The LGU’s financial capability
2.A dynamic and responsive political leadership
3.Community empowerment
RA 2382- Philippine Medical Act
THE MEDICAL ACT OF 1959
This act defines the practice of medicine in the country
ARTICLE I
Objectives and Implementation
Section 1. Objectives. This Act provides for and shall govern (a) the
standardization and regulation of medical education; (b) the examination for
registration of physicians; and (c) the supervision, control and regulation of the
practice of medicine in the Philippines.
RA 2382- Philippine Medical Act
Section 2. Enforcement. For the purpose of implementing the provisions of this
Act, there are created the following agencies: the Board of Medical Education
under the Department of Education, and the Board of Medical Examiners under
the Commissioner of Civil Service.
RA 2382- Philippine Medical Act
Section 12. Limited practice without any certificate of registration. Certificates of
registration shall not be required of the following persons:
(a) Physicians and surgeons from other countries called in consultation only and
exclusively in specific and definite cases, or those attached to international
bodies or organization assigned to perform certain definite work in the
Philippines provided they shall limit their practice to the specific work assigned
to them and provided further they shall secure a previous authorization from
the Board of Medical Examiners.
RA 2382- Philippine Medical Act
(b) Commissioned medical officers of the United States armed forces stationed in
the Philippines while rendering service as such only for the members of the
said armed forces and within the limit of their own respective territorial
jurisdiction.
RA 2382- Philippine Medical Act
(c) Foreign physicians employed as exchange professors in special branches of
medicine or surgery whose service may in the discretion of the Board of
Medical Education, be necessary.
(d) Medical students who have completed the first four years of medical course,
graduates of medicine and registered nurses who may be given limited and
special authorization by the Secretary of Health to render medical services
during epidemics or national emergencies whenever the services of duly
registered physicians are not available. Such authorization shall automatically
cease when the epidemic or national emergency is declared terminated by the
Secretary of Health.
R.A. 1082 – Rural Health Act.
It created the 1st 81 Rural Health Units.
amended by RA 1891; more physicians, dentists, nurses, midwives and sanitary
inspectors will live in the rural areas where they are assigned in order to raise
the health conditions of barrio people ,hence help decrease the high incidence
of preventable diseases

AN ACT STRENGTHENING HEALTH AND DENTAL SERVICES IN THE RURAL AREAS,

AND PROVIDING FUNDS THEREFORE
Section 1. Nomenclature. — The District Health Officers shall henceforth be
called Provincial Health Officers, and the Presidents of Sanitary Divisions,
Municipal Maternity and Charity Clinic Physicians and Heads of Units of the
Rural Health Units (FOA/PHILCUSA) of the Bureau of Health shall henceforth be
named Municipal Health Officers.cralaw
Sec. 2. (a) There shall be in each province a Provincial Health Officer, and in
each congressional district, a Public Health Dentist: Provided, however, That a
congressional district having a population of over one hundred fifty thousand
shall have an additional Public Health Dentist.
(b) There shall be created rural health units of two classes: one of category one
or senior rural health unit consisting of one municipal health officer as head of
the unit, one public health nurse, one mid-wife and one sanitary inspector;
another of category two or junior rural health unit consisting of one physician
or public health nurse as head of the unit and one midwife or sanitary
inspector.
(c) To take care of the distribution of drugs and medicines for the use in the
rural areas, there shall be created four positions of pharmacists to be detained
in the central office of the Bureau of Health. These pharmacists may, from time
to time, be assigned to the provinces as conditions warrant.cralaw
 R.A. 6425 – Dangerous Drugs Act
This Act shall be known and cited as "The Dangerous Drugs Act of 1972."
Section 2. Definitions. As used in this Act, the term:
a) "Administer" refers to the act of introducing any dangerous drug into the
body of any person, with or without his knowledge, by injection, ingestion
or other means or of committing any act of indispensable assistance to a
person in administering a dangerous drug to himself;
(b) "Board" refers to the Dangerous Drugs Board created under Section 35,
Article VIII of this Act;
(c) "Centers" refers to any of the treatment and rehabilitation centers for drug
dependents referred to in Section 34, Article VII of this Act;
(d) "Cultivate or culture" means the act of knowingly planting, growing, raising or
permitting the planting, growing or raising of any plant which is the source of a
prohibited drug;
(e) "Dangerous drugs" refers to either:
(1) "Prohibited drug," which includes opium and its active components and
derivatives, such as heroin and morphine; coca leaf and its derivatives,
principally cocaine; alpha and beta eucaine; hallucinogenic drugs, such as
mescaline, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) and other substances producing
similar effects; Indian hemp and its derivates; all preparations made from any
of the foregoing; and other drugs, whether natural or synthetic, with the
physiological effects of a narcotic drug; or
2) "Regulated drug," which includes self-inducing sedatives, such as secobarbital,
phenobarbital, pentobarbital, barbital, amobarbital and any other drug which
contains a salt or a derivative of a salt of barbituric acid; any salt, isomer or salt
of an isomer, of amphetamine, such as benzedrine or dexedrine, or any drug
which produces a physiological action similar to amphetamine; and hypnotic
drugs, such as methaqualone or any other compound producing similar
physiological effects;
f) "Deliver" refers to a person's act of knowingly passing a dangerous drug to
another, personally or otherwise, and by any means, with or without
consideration;
(g)"Drug dependence" means a state of psychic or physical
dependence, or both, on a dangerous drug, arising in a person
following administration or use of that drug on a periodic or
continuous basis;
h) "Employee" of a prohibited drug den, dive or resort includes the
caretaker, helper, watchman, lookout and other persons employed
by the operator of a prohibited drug den, dive or resort where any
prohibited drug is administered, delivered, distributed, sold or used,
with or without compensation, in connection with the operation
thereof;
(i) "Indian hemp," otherwise known as "Marijuana," embraces every kind and
class of the plant cannabis sativa L. from which the resin has not been
extracted, including cannabis americana, hashish, bhang, guaza, churrus and
ganjah, and embraces every kind, class and character of Indian hemp,
whether dried or fresh, flowering or fruiting tops of the pistillate plant, and
all its geographic varieties, whether as a reefer, resin, extract, tincture or in
any form whatsoever;
(j) "Manufacture" means the production, preparation, compounding or
processing of a dangerous drug either directly or indirectly or by extraction
from substances of natural origin, or independently by means of chemical
synthesis or by a combination of extraction and chemical synthesis, and shall
include any packaging or repackaging of such substance or labeling or
relabelling of its container; except that such term does not include the
preparation, compounding, packaging, or labeling of a drug or other substance
by a duly authorized practitioner as an incident to his administration or
dispensing of such drug or substance in the course of his professional practice;
(k) "Narcotic drug" refers to any drug which produces insensibility, stupor,
melancholy or dullness of mind with delusions and which may be habit-
forming, and shall include opium, opium derivatives and synthetic opiates;
(l) "Opium" refers to the coagulated juice of the opium poppy (papaver
somniferum) and embraces every kind and class of opium, whether crude or
prepared; the ashes or refuse of the same; narcotic preparations thereof or
therefrom; morphine or any alkaloid of opium; preparations in which opium,
morphine or any alkaloid of opium enters as an ingredient; opium poppy straw;
and leaves or wrappings of opium leaves, whether prepared for use or not;
(m) "Pusher" refers to any person who sells, administers, delivers, or gives away
to another, on any terms whatsoever, or distributes, dispatches in transit or
transports any dangerous drug or who acts as a broker in any of such
transactions, in violation of this Act;
(n) "School" includes any university, college, or institution of learning, regardless
of the course or courses it offers;
(o) "Sell" means the act of giving a dangerous drug, whether for money or any
other material consideration;
(p) "Use" refers to the act of injecting, intravenously or intramuscularly, or of
consuming, either by chewing, smoking, sniffing, eating, swallowing, drinking,
or otherwise introducing into the physiological system of the body, any of the
dangerous drugs.
R.A. 9165 – the new Dangerous
Drug Act of 2002
AN ACT INSTITUTING THE COMPREHENSIVE DANGEROUS DRUGS ACT OF
2002, REPEALING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 6425, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE
DANGEROUS DRUGS ACT OF 1972, AS AMENDED, PROVIDING FUNDS
THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
 This Act shall be known and cited as the "Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act
of 2002".
Definitions. As used in this Act, the following terms shall mean:
(a) Administer. – Any act of introducing any dangerous drug into the body of any
person, with or without his/her knowledge, by injection, inhalation, ingestion
or other means, or of committing any act of indispensable assistance to a
person in administering a dangerous drug to himself/herself unless
administered by a duly licensed practitioner for purposes of medication.
(b) Board. - Refers to the Dangerous Drugs Board under Section 77, Article IX of
this Act.
(c) Centers. - Any of the treatment and rehabilitation centers for drug
dependents referred to in Section 34, Article VIII of this Act.
(d) Chemical Diversion. – The sale, distribution, supply or transport of legitimately
imported, in-transit, manufactured or procured controlled precursors and essential
chemicals, in diluted, mixtures or in concentrated form, to any person or entity
engaged in the manufacture of any dangerous drug, and shall include packaging,
repackaging, labeling, relabeling or concealment of such transaction through fraud,
destruction of documents, fraudulent use of permits, misdeclaration, use of front
companies or mail fraud.
(e) Clandestine Laboratory. – Any facility used for the illegal manufacture of any
dangerous drug and/or controlled precursor and essential chemical.
(f) Confirmatory Test. – An analytical test using a device, tool or equipment with a
different chemical or physical principle that is more specific which will validate and
confirm the result of the screening test.
(g) Controlled Delivery. – The investigative technique of allowing an unlawful or
suspect consignment of any dangerous drug and/or controlled precursor and
essential chemical, equipment or paraphernalia, or property believed to be derived
directly or indirectly from any offense, to pass into, through or out of the country
under the supervision of an authorized officer, with a view to gathering evidence to
identify any person involved in any dangerous drugs related offense, or to facilitate
prosecution of that offense.
(h) Controlled Precursors and Essential Chemicals. – Include those listed in Tables
I and II of the 1988 UN Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances as enumerated in the attached annex, which is an
integral part of this Act.
(i) Cultivate or Culture. – Any act of knowingly planting, growing, raising, or
permitting the planting, growing or raising of any plant which is the source of a
dangerous drug.
(j) Dangerous Drugs. – Include those listed in the Schedules annexed to the 1961
Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, as amended by the 1972 Protocol, and in
the Schedules annexed to the 1971 Single Convention on Psychotropic
Substances as enumerated in the attached annex which is an integral part of
this Act.
(k) Deliver. – Any act of knowingly passing a dangerous drug to another,
personally or otherwise, and by any means, with or without consideration.
l) Den, Dive or Resort. – A place where any dangerous drug and/or controlled
precursor and essential chemical is administered, delivered, stored for illegal
purposes, distributed, sold or used in any form.
(m) Dispense. – Any act of giving away, selling or distributing medicine or any
dangerous drug with or without the use of prescription.
(n) Drug Dependence. – As based on the World Health Organization definition, it
is a cluster of physiological, behavioral and cognitive phenomena of variable
intensity, in which the use of psychoactive drug takes on a high priority thereby
involving, among others, a strong desire or a sense of compulsion to take the
substance and the difficulties in controlling substance-taking behavior in terms
of its onset, termination, or levels of use.
(o) Drug Syndicate. – Any organized group of two (2) or more persons forming or
joining together with the intention of committing any offense prescribed under
this Act.
(p) Employee of Den, Dive or Resort. – The caretaker, helper, watchman, lookout,
and other persons working in the den, dive or resort, employed by the
maintainer, owner and/or operator where any dangerous drug and/or
controlled precursor and essential chemical is administered, delivered,
distributed, sold or used, with or without compensation, in connection with the
operation thereof.
(q) Financier. – Any person who pays for, raises or supplies money for, or
underwrites any of the illegal activities prescribed under this Act.
(r) Illegal Trafficking. – The illegal cultivation, culture, delivery, administration,
dispensation, manufacture, sale, trading, transportation, distribution,
importation, exportation and possession of any dangerous drug and/or
controlled precursor and essential chemical.
(s) Instrument. – Any thing that is used in or intended to be used in any manner
in the commission of illegal drug trafficking or related offenses.
(t) Laboratory Equipment. – The paraphernalia, apparatus, materials or
appliances when used, intended for use or designed for use in the manufacture
of any dangerous drug and/or controlled precursor and essential chemical,
such as reaction vessel, preparative/purifying equipment, fermentors,
separatory funnel, flask, heating mantle, gas generator, or their substitute.
(u) Manufacture. – The production, preparation, compounding or processing of
any dangerous drug and/or controlled precursor and essential chemical, either
directly or indirectly or by extraction from substances of natural origin, or
independently by means of chemical synthesis or by a combination of
extraction and chemical synthesis, and shall include any packaging or
repackaging of such substances, design or configuration of its form, or labeling
or relabeling of its container; except that such terms do not include the
preparation, compounding, packaging or labeling of a drug or other substances
by a duly authorized practitioner as an incident to his/her administration or
dispensation of such drug or substance in the course of his/her professional
practice including research, teaching and chemical analysis of dangerous drugs
or such substances that are not intended for sale or for any other purpose.
v) Cannabis or commonly known as "Marijuana" or "Indian Hemp" or by its any
other name. – Embraces every kind, class, genus, or specie of the
plant Cannabis sativa L. including, but not limited to, Cannabis
americana, hashish, bhang, guaza, churrus and ganjab, and embraces every
kind, class and character of marijuana, whether dried or fresh and flowering,
flowering or fruiting tops, or any part or portion of the plant and seeds thereof,
and all its geographic varieties, whether as a reefer, resin, extract, tincture or in
any form whatsoever.
(w) Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) or commonly known as
"Ecstasy", or by its any other name. – Refers to the drug having such chemical
composition, including any of its isomers or derivatives in any form.
(x) Methamphetamine Hydrochloride or commonly known as "Shabu", "Ice",
"Meth", or by its any other name. – Refers to the drug having such chemical
composition, including any of its isomers or derivatives in any form.
(y) Opium. – Refers to the coagulated juice of the opium poppy (Papaver
somniferum L.) and embraces every kind, class and character of opium,
whether crude or prepared; the ashes or refuse of the same; narcotic
preparations thereof or therefrom; morphine or any alkaloid of opium;
preparations in which opium, morphine or any alkaloid of opium enters as an
ingredient; opium poppy; opium poppy straw; and leaves or wrappings of
opium leaves, whether prepared for use or not.
(z) Opium Poppy. – Refers to any part of the plant of the species Papaver
somniferum L., Papaver setigerum DC, Papaver orientale, Papaver
bracteatum and Papaver rhoeas, which includes the seeds, straws, branches,
leaves or any part thereof, or substances derived therefrom, even for floral,
decorative and culinary purposes.
(aa) PDEA. – Refers to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency under Section 82,
Article IX of this Act.
(bb) Person. – Any entity, natural or juridical, including among others, a
corporation, partnership, trust or estate, joint stock company, association,
syndicate, joint venture or other unincorporated organization or group capable
of acquiring rights or entering into obligations.
(cc) Planting of Evidence. – The willful act by any person of maliciously and
surreptitiously inserting, placing, adding or attaching directly or indirectly,
through any overt or covert act, whatever quantity of any dangerous drug
and/or controlled precursor and essential chemical in the person, house,
effects or in the immediate vicinity of an innocent individual for the purpose of
implicating, incriminating or imputing the commission of any violation of this
Act.
(dd) Practitioner. – Any person who is a licensed physician, dentist, chemist,
medical technologist, nurse, midwife, veterinarian or pharmacist in the
Philippines.
(ee) Protector/Coddler. – Any person who knowingly and willfully consents to the
unlawful acts provided for in this Act and uses his/her influence, power or
position in shielding, harboring, screening or facilitating the escape of any
person he/she knows, or has reasonable grounds to believe on or suspects, has
violated the provisions of this Act in order to prevent the arrest, prosecution
and conviction of the violator.
(ff) Pusher. – Any person who sells, trades, administers, dispenses, delivers or
gives away to another, on any terms whatsoever, or distributes, dispatches in
transit or transports dangerous drugs or who acts as a broker in any of such
transactions, in violation of this Act.
(gg) School. – Any educational institution, private or public, undertaking
educational operation for pupils/students pursuing certain studies at defined
levels, receiving instructions from teachers, usually located in a building or a
group of buildings in a particular physical or cyber site.
(hh) Screening Test. – A rapid test performed to establish potential/presumptive
positive result.
(ii) Sell. – Any act of giving away any dangerous drug and/or controlled precursor
and essential chemical whether for money or any other consideration.
(jj) Trading. – Transactions involving the illegal trafficking of dangerous drugs
and/or controlled precursors and essential chemicals using electronic devices
such as, but not limited to, text messages, email, mobile or landlines, two-way
radios, internet, instant messengers and chat rooms or acting as a broker in any
of such transactions whether for money or any other consideration in violation
of this Act.
(kk) Use. – Any act of injecting, intravenously or intramuscularly, of consuming,
either by chewing, smoking, sniffing, eating, swallowing, drinking or otherwise
introducing into the physiological system of the body, and of the dangerous
drugs.
P.D. No. 651
Requires that all health workers shall identify and encourage the registration of
all births within 30 days following delivery.
PRESIDENTIAL DECREE No. 651 January 31, 1975
REQUIRING THE REGISTRATION OF BIRTHS AND DEATHS IN THE PHILIPPINES
WHICH OCCURED FROM JANUARY 1, 1974 AND THEREAFTER
P.D. No. 996
Requires the compulsory immunization of all children below 8 yrs. of age against
the 6 childhood immunizable diseases.
WHEREAS, the Child is one of the most important assets of the nation and every
effort should be exerted to promote his welfare and enhance his opportunities for
a useful and happy life;
WHEREAS, the Child can be protected against death, disease, and disability through
an integrated and comprehensive basic immunization program for infants and
children below eight years of age;
WHEREAS, immunization against tuberculosis, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis,
poliomyelitis, measles, rubella, and other diseases is proven and universally
applied and generally accepted to be efficient, safe, and economical measures
against the morbid and devastating effects of these diseases on infants and
children;
WHEREAS, the Department of Health has the necessary resources for nationwide BCG
Vaccination and resources can be developed for other immunizations to meet the
needs for preventive services for infants and children;
Section 1. Coverage. Basic immunization against certain diseases shall be compulsory for
infants and children below eight years of age;
Section 2. Scope. Basic immunization services shall include: (a) BCG Vaccination against
tuberculosis; (b) Inoculation against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis; (c) Oral
poliomyelitis immunization; (d) Protection against measles; (e) Immunization against
rubella; and (f) such other basic immunization services for infants and children below
eight years of age which the Council for the Welfare of Children may recommend to the
Secretary of Health.
Section 3. Implementation by the Department of Health. The Department of
Health shall provide free basic immunization services under this Decree,
subject to rules and regulations as the Secretary of Health shall issue on the
immunization, ages, schedules, procedures, and available resources to carry
out the purposes of this Decree.
Section 4. Responsibility of Parents, the Guardian, or Person Having Custody of
the Infant or Child. It shall be the duty of the parents, guardian, or person
having custody of the infant or child to see to it that such infant or child is
presented for basic immunization services at such place and time as specified
by the Department of Health.
Section 5. Responsibility of the Head of a School or Institution. The head of an
institution where infants or children are educated, treated, cared for, or
committed by law for preventive or rehabilitative services shall provide basic
immunization services: Provided, that arrangements may be made by the said
institution with the Department of Health for free immunization services.
Section 6. Immunization of School Entrants. It shall be the duty of all schools,
public and private, to provide basic immunization services to all pre-school and
primary school entrants who have not received such immunization, subject to
rules and regulations as the Secretary of Health may promulgate.
Section 7. Penalty. Violations of any provision of this Decree shall be punished by
imprisonment not exceeding one month or a fine not exceeding two hundred
pesos, or both such fine and imprisonment at the discretion of the court, unless
a higher penalty is provided for in the Revised Penal Code or special laws.
Section 8. Repealing Clause. All laws or any parts of any laws inconsistent with
the provisions of this Decree are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
Section 9. Separability Clause. If any provision of this Decree is held invalid, the
other provisions not affected thereby shall continue in operation.
Section 10. Effectivity Clause. This Decree shall take effect upon its approval.
P.D. No. 825
Provides penalty for improper disposal of garbage.
PROVIDING PENALTY FOR IMPROPER DISPOSAL OF GARBAGE AND OTHER
FORMS OF UNCLEANLINESS AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
Section 1. Any provision of existing laws to the contrary notwithstanding, all
citizens and residents of the Philippines; all universities, colleges and schools
and other similar institutions, private as well as public; all commercial and
industrial establishments such as hotels, restaurants, hospitals, cinema houses,
public markets, department stores, groceries and the like; all public
conveyances; all residential houses; and all other establishments of any kinds,
shall undertake the cleaning of their own surroundings, their yards and
gardens, as well as the canals, roads or streets in their immediate premises.
All garbages, filth and other waste matters, shall be placed in the proper
receptacles for the disposition thereof by garbage collectors.
Section 2. Any person, who shall litter or throw garbage, filth, or other waste
matters in public places, such as roads, canals esteros or parks, shall suffer an
imprisonment of not less than 5 days nor more than one year or a fine of not
less than P100 nor more than P2,000.00 or both such fine and imprisonment at
the discretion of the Court or tribunal, without prejudice to the imposition of a
higher penalty under any other law or decree.
If the violator is a corporation, firm, or other corporate entities, the maximum
penalty shall be imposed upon the president, manager, director or persons
responsible for its operation.
Section 3. Owners of idle lots in Greater Manila are required to keep their idle
lots clean to prevent them from becoming the breeding places of mosquitos,
flies, mice, rats and other scavengers. In the event of their failure or inability to
comply with this obligation, the government shall undertake the cleaning of
said lots at the expense of the owners. The government may, through the
Barangay Council, further utilize the land for its food production program.

ection 4. The Secretary of Public Works, Transportation and Communications,

with the assistance of health officials and local governments concerned, shall
supervise the implementation of this Decree.
 R.A. 8749 – Clean Air Act of 2000
This Act shall be known as the "Philippine Clean Air Act of 1999.”
Definitions. - As used in this Act:
a) "Air pollutant" means any matter found in the atmosphere other than oxygen,
nitrogen, water vapor, carbon dioxide, and the inert gases in their natural or normal
concentrations, that is detrimental to health or the environment, which includes but
not limited to smoke, dust, soot, cinders, fly ash, solid particles of any kind, gases,
fumes, chemical mists, steam and radio-active substances;
b) "Air pollution" means any alteration of the physical, chemical and biological
properties of the atmospheric air, or any discharge thereto of any liquid,
gaseous or solid substances that will or is likely to create or to render the air
resources of the country harmful, detrimental, or injurious to public health,
safety or welfare or which will adversely affect their utilization for domestic,
commercial, industrial, agricultural, recreational, or other legitimate purposes;
P.D. No. 856 – Code on
Sanitation
It provides for the control of all factors in man’s environment that affect health
including the quality of water, food, milk, insects, animal carriers, transmitters
of disease, sanitary and recreation facilities, noise, pollution and control of
nuisance
R.A 6758
Standardizes the salary of government employees including the nursing
personnel.
This Act shall be known as the "Compensation and Position Classification Act of
1989.”
The memorandum issued by Malacañang on June 1, 2021 increases the salary of
Nurse II from SG 15 (starting at PHP33,575 per month as of January 2021) to SG
16 (PHP36,628) while it retains the position titles of Nurse III to Nurse VII with
their corresponding salary grades.
Republic Act 6675: Generics Act
of 1988
Which promotes, requires and ensures the production of an
adequate supply, distribution, use and acceptance of drugs
and medicines identified by their generic name.
R.A. 6713 – Code of Conduct and Ethical
Standards of Public Officials and Employees
It is the policy of the state to promote high standards of ethics in public office.
Public officials and employees shall at all times be accountable to the people
and shall discharges their duties with utmost responsibility, integrity,
competence and loyalty, act with patriotism and justice, lead modest lives
uphold public interest over personal interest.
Section 4. Norms of Conduct of Public Officials and Employees. - (A) Every public
official and employee shall observe the following as standards of personal
conduct in the discharge and execution of official duties:
(a) Commitment to public interest. - Public officials and employees shall always
uphold the public interest over and above personal interest. All government
resources and powers of their respective offices must be employed and used
efficiently, effectively, honestly and economically, particularly to avoid wastage
in public funds and revenues.
(b) Professionalism. - Public officials and employees shall
perform and discharge their duties with the highest degree
of excellence, professionalism, intelligence and skill. They
shall enter public service with utmost devotion and
dedication to duty. They shall endeavor to discourage
wrong perceptions of their roles as dispensers or peddlers
of undue patronage.
(c) Justness and sincerity. - Public officials and employees shall remain true to the
people at all times. They must act with justness and sincerity and shall not
discriminate against anyone, especially the poor and the underprivileged. They
shall at all times respect the rights of others, and shall refrain from doing acts
contrary to law, good morals, good customs, public policy, public order, public
safety and public interest. They shall not dispense or extend undue favors on
account of their office to their relatives whether by consanguinity or affinity
except with respect to appointments of such relatives to positions considered
strictly confidential or as members of their personal staff whose terms are
coterminous with theirs.
(d) Political neutrality. - Public officials and employees shall provide service to
everyone without unfair discrimination and regardless of party affiliation or
preference.
(e) Responsiveness to the public. - Public officials and employees shall extend
prompt, courteous, and adequate service to the public. Unless otherwise
provided by law or when required by the public interest, public officials and
employees shall provide information of their policies and procedures in clear
and understandable language, ensure openness of information, public
consultations and hearings whenever appropriate, encourage suggestions,
simplify and systematize policy, rules and procedures, avoid red tape and
develop an understanding and appreciation of the socio-economic conditions
prevailing in the country, especially in the depressed rural and urban areas.
(f) Nationalism and patriotism. - Public officials and employees shall at all times
be loyal to the Republic and to the Filipino people, promote the use of locally
produced goods, resources and technology and encourage appreciation and
pride of country and people. They shall endeavor to maintain and defend
Philippine sovereignty against foreign intrusion.
(g) Commitment to democracy. - Public officials and employees shall commit
themselves to the democratic way of life and values, maintain the principle of
public accountability, and manifest by deeds the supremacy of civilian authority
over the military. They shall at all times uphold the Constitution and put loyalty
to country above loyalty to persons or party.
(h) Simple living. - Public officials and employees and their families shall lead
modest lives appropriate to their positions and income. They shall not indulge
in extravagant or ostentatious display of wealth in any form.
R.A. 7305 – Magna Carta for
Public Health Workers
This act aims: to promote and improve the social and economic well-
being of health workers, their living and working conditions and
terms of employment; to develop their skills and capabilities in
order that they will be more responsive and better equipped to
deliver health projects and programs; and to encourage those with
proper qualifications and excellent abilities to join and remain in
government service.
R.A. 8423 Traditional and
Alternative Medicine Act (TAMA)
of 1997
Created the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care.
Section 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is hereby declared the policy of
the State to improve the quality and delivery of health care services
to the Filipino people through the development of traditional and
alternative health care and its integration into the national health
care delivery system.
It shall also be the policy of the State to seek a legally workable basis by which
indigenous societies would own their knowledge of traditional medicine. When
such knowledge is used by outsiders, the indigenous societies can require the
permitted users to acknowledge its source and can demand a share of any
financial return that may come from its authorized commercial use.
Section 3. Objectives. - The objectives of this Act are as follows:
(a) To encourage scientific research on and develop traditional and alternative
health care systems that have direct impact on public health care;
(b) To promote and advocate the use of traditional, alternative, preventive and
curative health care modalities that have been proven safe, effective, cost
effective and consistent with government standards on medical practice;
(c) To develop and coordinate skills training courses for various forms of
traditional and alternative health care modalities;
d) To formulate standards, guidelines and codes of ethical practice
appropriate for the practice of traditional and alternative health
care as well as in the manufacture, quality control and marketing of
different traditional and alternative health care materials, natural
and organic products, for approval and adoption by the appropriate
government agencies;
(e) To formulate policies for the protection of indigenous and natural
health resources and technology from unwarranted exploitation, for
approval and adoption by the appropriate government agencies;
(f) To formulate policies to strengthen the role of traditional and
alternative health care delivery system; and
(g) To promote traditional and alternative health care in international
and national conventions, seminars and meetings in coordination
with the Department of Tourism, Duty Free Philippines,
Incorporated, Philippine Convention and Visitors Corporation and
other tourism-related agencies as well as non-government
organizations and local government units.
P.D. No. 965
A ddecree requiring applicant for marriage license to receive instructions on family Planning and
responsible parenthood.
P.D. NO. 79
The legal basis of the Philippine Population Program is Republic Act 6365, otherwise known as
the “Population Act of 1971.” It created the Commission on Population (POPCOM). It was
amended in 1972 by Presidential Decree No. 79.
As mentioned in PD 79, the tandem of Responsible Parenthood and Family Planning is the basic
program of the Philippine Population Program (PPP). The PPP was later renamed the Philippine
Population Management Program (PPMP).
Defines, objectives, duties and functions of POPCOM
RA 4073 An Act Further Liberalizing the Treatment of Leprosy by Amending and
Repealing Certain Sections of the Revised Administrative Code
Section 1. Sections one thousand fifty-eight and one thousand fifty-nine of the
Revised Administrative Code, as amended, are further amended to read as
follows:
"Sec. 1058. Persons afflicted with leprosy not to be segregated. -Except when
certified by the Secretary of Health or his authorized representatives that the
stage of the disease requires institutional treatment, no persons afflicted with
leprosy shall be confined in a leprosarium: Provided, That such person shall be
treated in any government skin clinic, rural health unit or by a duly licensed
physician.
"Sec. 1059. Confinement and treatment in sanitarium when necessary. -
Whenever a person afflicted with leprosy shall have developed the disease to
such stage as to require institutional treatment and the leprosy officer shall so
certify, the said person shall forthwith be sent to a government operated
"Sec. 1059. Confinement and treatment in sanitarium when necessary. -
Whenever a person afflicted with leprosy shall have developed the disease to
such stage as to require institutional treatment and the leprosy officer shall so
certify, the said person shall forthwith be sent to a government operated
sanitarium and be treated therein until such time as the Secretary of Health or
his authorized representative decides that institutional treatment is no longer
necessary."
Letter of Instruction No. 949
legal basis of PHC dated OCT. 19, 1979
promotes development of health programs on the community level
Letter of Instruction No. 949
legal basis of Primary Health Care ( PHC ) dated OCT. 19, 1979
promotes development of health programs on the community level

Rationale for Adopting Primary Health Care:

ü Magnitude of Health Problems
ü Inadequate and unequal distribution of health resources
ü Increasing cost of medical care
ü Isolation of health care activities from other development activities
Definition of Primary Health Care
essential health care made universally accessible to individuals and families in the
community by means acceptable to them, through their full participation and at
cost that the community can afford at every stage of development.
a practical approach to making health benefits within the reach of all people.
an approach to health development, which is carried out through a set of
activities and whose ultimate aim is the continuous improvement and
maintenance of health status
Goal of Primary Health Care

HEALTH FOR ALL FILIPINOS by the year 2000 AND HEALTH IN THE HANDS OF THE
PEOPLE by the year 2020.
An improved state of health and quality of life for all people attained
through SELF RELIANCE.
Key Strategy to Achieve the Goal:

Partnership with and Empowerment of the people – permeate as the core

strategy in the effective provision of essential health services that are
community based, accessible, acceptable, and sustainable, at a cost, which the
community and the government can afford.
Objectives of Primary Health Care
• Improvement in the level of health care of the community
• Favorable population growth structure
• Reduction in the prevalence of preventable, communicable and other disease.
• Reduction in morbidity and mortality rates especially among infants and children.
• Extension of essential health services with priority given to the underserved sectors.
• Improvement in Basic Sanitation
• Development of the capability of the community aimed at self- reliance.
• Maximizing the contribution of the other sectors for the social and economic development of
the community.
Mission
•To strengthen the health care system by increasing
opportunities and supporting the conditions wherein people will
manage their own health care.
Two Levels of Primary Health Care Workers
1.Barangay Health Workers – trained community health workers or
health auxiliary volunteers or traditional birth attendants or
healers.
2.Intermediate level health workers- include the Public Health
Nurse, Rural Sanitary Inspector and midwives.
Principles of Primary Health Care
1. 4 A’s = Accessibility, Availability, Affordability & Acceptability, Appropriateness
of health services.

•The health services should be present where the supposed recipients

are. They should make use of the available resources within the
community, wherein the focus would be more on health promotion and
prevention of illness.
2. Community Participation-heart and soul of PHC
3.People are the center, object and subject of development.
>Thus, the success of any undertaking that aims at serving the people is
dependent on people’s participation at all levels of decision-making; planning,
implementing, monitoring and evaluating. Any undertaking must also be based
on the people’s needs and problems (PCF, 1990)
>Part of the people’s participation is the partnership between the community
and the agencies found in the community; social mobilization and
decentralization.
>In general, health work should start from where the people are and building on
what they have. Example: Scheduling of Barangay Health Workers in the health
center
Barriers of Community Involvement

Lack of motivation
Attitude
Resistance to change
Dependence on the part of community people
Lack of managerial skills
 4. Self-reliance

Through community participation and cohesiveness of people’s organization they

can generate support for health care through social mobilization, networking
and mobilization of local resources. Leadership and management skills should
be develop among these people. Existence of sustained health care facilities
managed by the people is some of the major indicators that the community is
leading to self reliance.
5. Partnership between the community and the health agencies in the provision
of quality of life.

Providing linkages between the government and the nongovernment

organization and people’s organization.
6. Recognition of interrelationship between the health and development
Health- Is not merely the absence of disease. Neither is it only a state of physical
and mental well-being. Health being a social phenomenon recognizes the
interplay of political, socio-cultural and economic factors as its determinant.
Good Health therefore, is manifested by the progressive improvements in the
living conditions and quality of life enjoyed by the community residents (PCF,
 Development- is the quest for an improved quality of life for all. Development is
multidimensional. It has political, social, cultural, institutional and
environmental dimensions (Gonzales 1994). Therefore, it is measured by the
ability of people to satisfy their basic needs.
. Social Mobilization
It enhances people participation or governance, support system provided by
the Government, networking and developing secondary leaders.
7. Social Mobilization
It enhances people participation or governance, support system provided by
the Government, networking and developing secondary leaders.
8. Decentralization
This ensures empowerment and that empowerment can only be
facilitated if the administrative structure provides local level
political structures with more substantive responsibilities for
development initiators. This also facilities proper allocation of
budgetary resources.
Elements of Primary Health Care
1. Education for Health

Is one of the potent methodologies for information dissemination. It promotes

the partnership of both the family members and health workers in the
promotion of health as well as prevention of illness.
Elements of Primary Health Care
2. Locally Endemic Disease Control
The control of endemic disease focuses on the prevention of its occurrence to
reduce morbidity rate. Example Malaria Control and Schistosomiasis Control
3. Expanded Program on Immunization
This program exists to control the occurrence of preventable illnesses
especially of children below 6 years old. Immunizations on poliomyelitis,
measles, tetanus, diphtheria and other preventable disease are given for free
by the government and ongoing program of the DOH
Elements of Primary Health Care
4. Maternal and Child Health and Family Planning

The mother and child are the most delicate members of the community. So the
protection of the mother and child to illness and other risks would ensure good
health for the community. The goal of Family Planning includes spacing of
children and responsible parenthood.
Elements of Primary Health Care

5. Environmental Sanitation and Promotion of Safe Water Supply

Environmental Sanitation is defined as the study of all factors in the man’s

environment, which exercise or may exercise deleterious effect on his well-
being and survival. Water is a basic need for life and one factor in man’s
environment. Water is necessary for the maintenance of healthy lifestyle. Safe
Water and Sanitation is necessary for basic promotion of health.
Elements of Primary Health Care
6. Nutrition and Promotion of Adequate Food Supply

One basic need of the family is food. And if food is properly prepared then one
may be assured healthy family. There are many food resources found in the
communities but because of faulty preparation and lack of knowledge
regarding proper food planning, Malnutrition is one of the problems that we
have in the country.
Elements of Primary Health Care
7. Treatment of Communicable Diseases and Common Illness

The diseases spread through direct contact pose a great risk to those who can be
infected. Tuberculosis is one of the communicable diseases continuously
occupies the top ten causes of death. Most communicable diseases are also
preventable. The Government focuses on the prevention, control and
treatment of these illnesses.
Elements of Primary Health Care
8. Supply of Essential Drugs

This focuses on the information campaign on the utilization and acquisition of

drugs.
In response to this campaign, the GENERIC ACT of the Philippines is enacted. It
includes the following drugs: Cotrimoxazole, Paracetamol, Amoxycillin, Oresol,
Nifedipine, Rifampicin, INH (isoniazid) and Pyrazinamide,Ethambutol,
Streptomycin,Albendazole,Quinine
Major Strategies of Primary
Health Care
1. Elevating Health to a Comprehensive and Sustained National Effort.
Attaining Health for all Filipino will require expanding participation in health
and health related programs whether as service provider or beneficiary.
Empowerment to parents, families and communities to make decisions of their
health is really the desired outcome.
Advocacy must be directed to National and Local policy making to elicit support
and commitment to major health concerns through legislations, budgetary and
logistical considerations.
Major Strategies of Primary
Health Care
2. Promoting and Supporting Community Managed Health Care

The health in the hands of the people brings the government closest to the
people. It necessitates a process of capacity building of communities and
organization to plan, implement and evaluate health programs at their levels.
Major Strategies of Primary Health Care
3. Increasing Efficiencies in the Health Sector

Using appropriate technology will make services and resources required for their
delivery, effective, affordable, accessible and culturally acceptable. The
development of human resources must correspond to the actual needs of the
nation and the policies it upholds such as PHC. The DOH will continue to
support and assist both public and private institutions particularly in faculty
development, enhancement of relevant curricula and development of standard
teaching materials.
Major Strategies of Primary Health Care
4. Advancing Essential National Health Research

Essential National Health Research (ENHR) is an integrated strategy for organizing

and managing research using intersectoral, multi-disciplinary and scientific
approach to health programming and delivery.
Four Cornerstones/Pillars in Primary Health
Care
Active Community Participation
Intra and Inter-sectoral Linkages
Use of Appropriate Technology
Support mechanism made available
RA 3573
requires reporting of all cases of communicable
diseases and administration of prophylaxis
Ministry Circular No. 2 of 1986

includes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome ( AIDS ) as notifiable disease

R.A. 7875 – National Health Insurance Act

- An act instituting a National Health Insurance Program for all filipinos and
establishing the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation for the purpose
R.A. 7432 – Senior Citizens Act
=An act to maximize the contribution of Senior Citizens to nation building, grants
benefits and special priveleges
Sec. 3. Contribution to the Community. — Any qualified senior citizen as
determined by the Office for Senior Citizen Affairs (OSCA) may render his/her
services to the community which shall consist of, but not limited to, any of the
following:
(a) tutorial and/or consultancy services;
(b) actual teaching and demonstration of hobbies and income generating skills;
(c) lectures on specialized fields like agriculture, health, environmental
protection and the like
 (d) the transfer of new skills acquired by virtue of their training mentioned in
Section 4, paragraph d;
(e) undertaking other appropriate services as determined by the Office of
Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) such as school traffic guide, tourist aid, pre-school
assistant, etc.
In consideration of the services rendered by the qualified elderly, the Office for
Senior Citizens Affairs (OSCA) may award or grant benefits or privileges to the
elderly, in addition to the other privileges provided for under Section 4 hereof.
Sec. 4. Privileges for the Senior Citizens. — The senior citizens shall be entitled to
the following:
(a) the grant of twenty percent (20%) discount from all establishments relative
to utilization of transportation services, hotels and similar lodging
establishment, restaurants and recreation centers and purchase of medicine
anywhere in the country: Provided, That private establishments may claim the
cost as tax credit;

(b) a minimum of twenty percent (20%) discount on admission fees charged

by theaters, cinema houses and concert halls, circuses, carnivals and other
similar places of culture, leisure, and amusement;
(c) exemption from the payment of individual income taxes: Provided, That their
annual taxable income does not exceed the property level as determined by the
National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) for that year;
(d) exemption form training fees for socioeconomic programs undertaken by
the OSCA as part of its work;
(e) free medical and dental services in government establishment anywhere in
the country, subject to guidelines to be issued by the Department of Health, the
Government Service Insurance System and the Social Security System;
(f) to the extent practicable and feasible, the continuance of the same benefits
and privileges given by the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS), Social
Security System (SSS) and PAG-IBIG, as the case may be, as are enjoyed by those
in actual service.
R. A. 7719 – National Blood Services Act
-also known as the National Blood Services Act of 1994, promotes
voluntary blood donation to provide sufficient supply of safe blood and to
regulate blood banks. This act aims to inculcate public awareness that blood
donation is a humanitarian act.
The National Voluntary Blood Services Program (NVBSP) of the
Department of Health is targeting the youth as volunteers in its blood donation
program this year. In accordance with RA No. 7719, it aims to create public
consciousness on the importance of blood donation in saving the lives of
millions of Filipinos.
A. O. No. 2005-0014- National Policies on Infant and Young Child Feeding:

All newborns be breastfeed within 1 hr after birth

Infants be exclusively breastfeed for 6 months.
Infants be given timely, adequate and safe complementary foods
Breastfeeding be continued up to 2 years and beyond
EO 51- Phil. Code of Marketing of Breast milk Substitutes
- SECTION 2. Aim of the Code -The aim of the Code is to contribute to the
provision of safe and adequate nutrition for infants by the protection and
promotion of breast feeding and by ensuring the proper use of breastmilk
substitutes and breastmilk supplements when these are necessary, on the basis
of adequate information and through appropriate marketing and distribution.
- EO 51 is the National Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes,
Breastmilk Supplements, and Other Related Products. EO 51 is popularly
known as the Philippine Milk Code of 1986. EO 51 regulates the marketing of
infant milk formula, other milk products, foods and beverages, as well as
feeding bottles and teats.
R.A. – 7600 – Rooming In and Breastfeeding Act of 1992
SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. — The State adopts rooming-in as a national
policy to encourage, protect and support the practice of breast-feeding. It shall
create an environment where basic physical, emotional, and psychological
needs of mothers and infants are fulfilled through the practice of rooming-in
and breast-feeding.
R.A. 8976- Food Fortification Law
- as the "Philippine Food Fortification Act of 2000.”
- provided the policy on mandatory fortification of staple foods and
voluntary fortification of processed foods or food products.
R.A. 8980
promulgates a comprehensive policy and a national system for ECCD
R.A. 8980
- promulgates a comprehensive policy and a national system for Early
Childhood Care and development (ECCD)

A.O. No. 2006- 0015

- defines the Implementing guidelines on Hepatitis B Immunization for
Infants
- The Department of Health (DOH) has already included HBV vaccination
in its Expanded Program of Immunization (EPI) since 2006 through
Administrative Order No. 2006-0015.
R.A. 7846
- mandates Compulsory Hepatitis B Immunization among infants and
children less than 8 yrs old

R.A. 2029
- mandates Liver Cancer and Hepatitis B Awareness Month Act
(February)