Former President and now House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (2nd District, Pampanga) said there is a need for the establishment of a national hospital facility with departmentalized clinical services and select specialty care for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and their families. “Despite improvements in occupational health and safety worldwide, OFWs suffer from a growing list of physical and mental health problems due to risks associated with the nature of their employment,” she said. The House Committee on Health, in a joint meeting with the Committee on Appropriations, presided by Reps. Ma. Theresa Collantes (3rd District, Batangas) and Maria Carmen Zamora (1st District, Compostela Valley), respectively, approved on Monday House Bill 9194. The bill seeks to establish the Overseas Filipino Workers Hospital. Principally authored by Speaker Arroyo, the bill substituted House Bill Nos. 1672, 2187, and 4621 authored by Reps. Strike Revilla (2nd District, Cavite), Florida Robles (Lone District, San Jose Del Monte City) and Maximo Rodriguez, Jr. (2nd District, Cagayan de Oro City), respectively. Committee on health chairperson Rep. Angelina Tan (4th District, Quezon) co-authored HB 9194. Members who attended the meeting were Reps. Suharto Mangungudatu (1st District, Sultan Kudarat), Pablo Ortega (1st District, La Union), Micaela Violago (2nd District, Nueva Ecija), Mark Go (Lone District, Baguio City), Deogracias Victor Savellano (1st District, Ilocos Sur), Manuel Zubiri (3rd District, Bukidnon), Ma. Lourdes Aggabao (4th District, Isabela), Milagros Magsaysay-Aquino (Party-list, Senior Citizens), Leopoldo Bataoil (2nd District, Pangasinan) and Tricia Nicole Velasco-Catera (Party-list, MATA). Government agencies that expressed their support were the DOH, DBM, DOLE, OWWA, PhilHealth, and POEA. /Caption by Ma.Victoria Palomar /Photo by Perfecto Camero / News and Documentation Section-Press and Public Affairs Bureau/ House of Representatives of the Philippines
