DOH Part 1

Department of Health (DOH) FY2027 NEP and original Department of Budget and Management (DBM) request: PHP 353 billion in the FY2027 NEP against PHP 837 billion originally requested from DBM for DOH and its attached agencies.

Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) FY2027 NEP and premium-subsidy request: PHP 74 billion in the FY2027 NEP for PhilHealth: PHP 55 billion for premium subsidies against PHP 376 billion originally requested for that component, plus PHP 19 billion for benefit expansion.

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) FY2027 MOOE and funding appeal: PHP 517 million in FDA FY2027 NEP maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE), against its PHP 589 million MOOE funding appeal.

DOH health-facility and hospital funding requests: PHP 29 billion requested for the Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP) against PHP 14.5 billion in the FY2027 NEP, Secretary of Health Edwin M. Mercado said. He also identified about PHP 12 billion in reductions to DOH hospital operations, including Metro Manila and regional hospitals and government-owned and controlled corporations. Vice Chair Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez said he would move at the proper time for the requested increases; Presiding Chair Rep. Albert S. Garcia said the Chair would act on the motion at the proper time. Earlier, Rodriguez reported a current-year PHP 60 million FLR for rural health-center renovation, expansion and equipment, which he said would be downloaded in October.

DOH proposed budget comparisons: Presiding Rep. Albert S. Garcia asked the Department of Health to justify restoring critical funding cuts so it could deliver health services.

Support for the DOH proposed budget: As chair of the House Committee on Health, Rep. Ciriaco B. Gato Jr., M.D., FPSO-HNS expressed full support for the Department of Health's proposed budget. He argued that health care is a right that should not depend on ability to pay, and urged approval of a budget responsive to people's needs, equitable in reach, and sufficient to support health workers and community services. Presiding Rep. Albert S. Garcia acknowledged Gato's manifestation of support.

DOH cumulative healthcare allocation and FY2027 composition: PHP 117 billion for Personnel Services in the Department of Health's FY2027 NEP, Health Secretary Edwin M. Mercado said, up 77% with full implementation of the Salary Standardization Law. Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) was the largest category, including managed-service subscriptions and largely supporting hospital operations. Capital Outlay was 35% lower than in FY2026; the presentation described about PHP 19 billion in this category, including nearly PHP 4.2 billion for the Health System Resilience Project (HSRP), a World Bank loan project approved in 2025 for 17 provinces, and funding for the Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP), covering facilities, infrastructure and equipment. Mercado also cited PHP 1.97 trillion in cumulative healthcare allocations during President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s administration.

DOH program allocations and hospital capacity: DOH's FY2027 program allocations included PHP 1.3 billion for health emergency preparedness, response, quarantine services and international health surveillance. Within functional primary care, the presentation identified PHP 9.1 billion for family health, immunization, nutrition and responsible care; PHP 6.9 billion for communicable-disease prevention, including tuberculosis and HIV; PHP 2.7 billion for non-communicable diseases, including depression, diabetes and mental health; and PHP 1.5 billion for local health-system development, covering 110 Universal Health Care integration sites. Hospital allocations were PHP 102.9 billion for 71 DOH regional hospitals with about 20,000 licensed beds; 12 DOH hospitals in Metro Manila with 9,000 licensed beds; and PHP 8.1 billion for government-owned and specialty hospitals, including the Lung Center, National Kidney and Transplant Institute (NKTI), Philippine Heart Center (PHC) and Philippine Children's Medical Center (PCMC). Mercado said these three groups account for 28% of the country's 118,000-bed capacity.

DOH health-center construction and project delivery: PHP 506 million for 176 primary-care facilities was the DOH's 2027 target, Secretary Dr. Edwin M. Mercado said. Separately, Deputy Minority Leader Rep. Percival "Perci" Cendaña recalled that the prior year's hearing had identified 1,823 unfinished health centers requiring PHP 32.4 billion to complete. Mercado answered with a different facility group: as of September 2025, 806 funded Super Health Centers, of which 484 were complete and 229 remained non-operational across ready-for-occupancy and partially completed sites. Those facilities lacked licenses because they did not meet licensing standards. Cendaña also cited Commission on Audit (COA) findings of PHP 14.52 billion in delayed or unimplemented projects, including nine central-office contracts worth PHP 8.61 billion. Mercado said omnibus Health Facilities Enhancement Program guidelines established prerequisites before a project enters the budget: suitable sites, land titles transferred to proponents, local-government commitments for health staffing, sound designs, and matching-grant or other commitments to power rural health units. Some allocations were not downloaded because local governments were not ready to meet site conditions. Cendaña said implementation of the next GAA would be monitored.

HIV commodity funding and implementation: Up to PHP 302.4 million annually for condoms was required for the 2027 HIV response, Deputy Minority Leader Rep. Percival "Perci" Cendaña said. He cited coverage for 1.2 million beneficiaries, a lubricant shortfall of up to PHP 98.7 million, and an HIV self-testing shortfall of PHP 26 million to PHP 63.9 million. Cendaña asked how the DOH would ensure funding met the National HIV and AIDS Strategic Plan targets. Secretary Dr. Edwin M. Mercado said procurement of commodities needed to improve. Mercado also said PhilHealth coverage through the outpatient HIV/AIDS treatment program would expand to include pre-exposure prophylaxis and testing, alongside YAKAP; the DOH would focus on commodities.

Regional supply-chain allocations: The 2027 NEP allocated PHP 10 million to supply-chain management in each region, including the National Capital Region, Central Visayas, and Caraga, Deputy Minority Leader Rep. Percival "Perci" Cendaña said. He questioned whether equal amounts accounted for regional differences in geography and logistics needs. Secretary Dr. Edwin M. Mercado said the rationale he had been given was that warehousing was common across regions, and that the DOH was studying efficiency and regional variability factors. Cendaña remained concerned that the allocations were not based on evidence and regional needs.

TB drug procurement and funding: PHP 3.02 billion for TB in the FY2027 NEP, with separate Global Fund support of almost USD 159 million in medicines for TB, HIV, and malaria, most of it for TB, Secretary Edwin M. Mercado said. Assistant Minority Leader Rep. Iris Marie Demesa Montes cited the World Health Organization (WHO) report's ranking of the Philippines third for TB in 2025 and said 100 Filipinos die from TB each day, then asked what procurement delays he had inherited. Mercado said procurement of TB drugs and GeneXpert cartridges had been delayed. The DOH was pushing procurement while arranging the Global Fund medicines. For the first time, the DOH would act as procuring agent directly with the donor rather than through a private third party; Mercado said the agency was discussing tax requirements with the Department of Finance (DOF), with initial discussions about relaxing the tax requirement for agency-to-agency procurement. The procurement schedule called for bid evaluation September 3-10 and post-qualification September 11-22, with an award recommendation hoped for by the end of September. If awarded then, delivery was expected one to two months later, by the end of October or in November. Montes asked whether the previous failed bidding had been reviewed; Mercado said his immediate focus was the current procurement and that he had assigned the procurement service to recommend what had gone wrong. He said the TB allocation was on top of Global Fund support and included first-line and drug-resistant TB medicines.

Vaccine procurement and leptospirosis preparedness: PHP 9.76 million for 4.88 million leptospirosis prophylaxis capsules was planned for 2027, Secretary Dr. Edwin M. Mercado said; 3.1 million capsules remained in the central warehouse as a buffer after supplies had been downloaded ahead of the rainy season. This was part of early procurement. For vaccines, Mercado said 2026 procurement had carried over from 2025: pentavalent and pneumococcal vaccines had been awarded, while influenza vaccine was still pending. He said the 2025 flu vaccine could be used in 2026 depending on the circulating strain. Rep. Iris Marie Demesa Montes urged timely rollout during flu season. Mercado said he had directed early procurement for 2027 after the NEP was approved.

DOH health-promotion allocation: PHP 1.5 billion for DOH health promotion in 2025, PHP 1.1 billion in 2026, and PHP 2.7 billion in 2027, Secretary Dr. Edwin M. Mercado said. He said the 2027 amount remained below the 1% allocation discussed under the Universal Health Care Act. Mercado said the department was aligning health promotion with YAKAP and planning work across communicable and non-communicable diseases and healthy behaviors.

Opposition to healthcare funding cuts: Rep. Dadah Kiram Ismula opposed reductions to healthcare funding, citing growing disease burdens. Secretary Edwin M. Mercado identified health facilities, PhilHealth and hospital operations as the main areas where the initial request had been reduced. Ismula urged DOH and PhilHealth to make the health sector more responsive to patients.

FY2027 DOH health-information investment: PHP 1.3 billion under the World Bank Health System Resilience Project was identified for interoperable information systems in 17 provinces by Secretary Edwin M. Mercado, answering Rep. Dadah Kiram Ismula. He said the project could provide a foundation for the National Health Data Repository.

Ambulance release and procurement: Rep. Marlo C. Bancoro said two ambulances funded for his area in 2026 had not yet been delivered. Secretary Edwin M. Mercado said release of the funding was conditioned on 85% of the NEP being released; the DOH had reached that threshold and requested the release from DBM. Bancoro said DBM had told him the prior month that the vehicle purchase-authority request had not yet been submitted because it lacked a signature. Mercado said he had signed it and that DBM had notified the DOH that the FLR would be released the following week. He estimated procurement would take two and a half to three months, so delivery was expected before year-end.

Hospital completion funding: PHP 80 million more was needed to open Imelda District Hospital after roughly PHP 400 million in government spending, Rep. Marlo C. Bancoro estimated. Secretary Edwin M. Mercado said the DOH would look at another procurement route and raise the matter through the Health Facilities Enhancement Program. For Malangas, Bancoro said PHP 30 million had been provided for construction in the 2025 budget, but there was no 2026 funding and additional money was needed to complete the building. Mercado cited tight fiscal space and said the DOH would look into it.

Hospital staffing and personnel services: PHP 112 million was cut from Rizal Medical Center personnel services in the FY 2027 NEP. Rep. Antonio L. Tinio questioned the reduction amid reported staffing shortages and asked whether personnel had been removed. DOH Secretary Edwin M. Mercado attributed the lower FY2027 posting to unfilled positions omitted under guidance on job-order hiring, while saying actual filled positions had not been reduced. DOH Undersecretary Maylene M. Beltran said the plantilla remained the same and vacancies would be restored as they were filled; she described difficulty recruiting for some posts, including physical and speech therapy. At Tinio's request, Chair Rep. Albert S. Garcia asked DOH to submit a comprehensive written explanation covering vacancies, their causes and the affected positions.

Hospital operating funds, reimbursements and MOOE: PHP 26.9 billion in the FY 2027 NEP for Metro Manila DOH hospital operations compared with PHP 31.7 billion requested for the same year and PHP 30 billion in the FY 2026 GAA. Secretary Edwin M. Mercado gave the figures in response to Rep. Antonio L. Tinio, who also cited a PHP 500 million operating-fund cut at Quirino Medical Center. Deputy Speaker Janette L. Garin moved for DOH to provide the committee each hospital's PhilHealth reimbursements, MAIFIP allocations and actual MOOE utilization; Tinio seconded, and Garcia said the documents were requested. A DBM Official said the hospital MOOE basis followed DOH's normative financing and described a sectoral approach that included around PHP 14 billion for PhilHealth CBB, which could eventually support hospital MOOE. Mercado said the funding streams should be considered together to avoid double financing. Tinio raised the cash-flow gap while reimbursements were pending; Mercado acknowledged an impact and described global payments with estimated services and PhilHealth front-loading as a next step.

DOH supply-chain budget and distribution: PHP 1.23 billion for DOH supply-chain management, warehousing and tracking in the FY2027 NEP against PHP 1.2 billion in the prior allocation, Secretary Edwin M. Mercado said. He identified PHP 15 million for electronics and PHP 90 million for operating expenses within the prior-year total. Deputy Speaker Ferjenel G. Biron, M.D., asked whether national programs should be regionalized given medicines stuck in central storage. Mercado said 60% of commodities were already procured regionally, while high-value medicines such as cancer drugs and vaccines remained centralized. He confirmed reported warehousing costs included regional offices.

Expired and near-expiring medicine report: Deputy Speaker Ferjenel G. Biron, M.D., requested a year-by-year report of DOH medicines expired since 2022, citing hundreds of millions in expired medicines. Secretary Edwin M. Mercado agreed to provide the data. In his initial analysis, Mercado said there was no automated stock-tracking system down to regional health offices; inventory was managed on paper, and feedback on the donated LMEIS system was poor. The DOH was consolidating regional stock levels before new procurement, and some medicines could also be procured through PhilHealth's GAMOT program to avoid double financing. Presiding Rep. Albert S. Garcia requested the report. Deputy Speaker Janette L. Garin moved to expand it to include expiring and near-expiring medicines; Biron seconded, and Garcia approved the motion. Biron specified that the report should cover all regional offices, which Garcia confirmed.

FY2027 reproductive-health and protection-unit funding: PHP 664 million for Family Planning and Reproductive Health in FY2027, Secretary Edwin M. Mercado said. The PHP 51 million Women and Children Protection allocation supports units in 51 hospitals and includes expansion, Sexual Assault Investigation Kits and operating support. Rep. Sarah Jane I. Elago asked whether the allocation would cover the Department of Science and Technology (DOST)-developed kits; Mercado said DOH would review incorporating the locally developed kits in the terms of reference. Elago urged DOH to lead their use and procurement.

Cancer Assistance Fund proposed coverage expansion: An increase of almost 25.6% in the Cancer Assistance Fund for the current year was reported by Secretary Edwin M. Mercado, in connection with DOH-proposed amendments to expand coverage beyond medicines to blood products and nutritional support. Rep. Sarah Jane I. Elago raised post-treatment, aftercare and survivorship services and requested committee reports on gender-and-development compliance, implementation of the National HIV Policy Act in reproductive health, and the National Integrated Cancer Control Program. Presiding Chair Rep. Albert S. Garcia requested the documents for circulation to committee members.

Public-hospital funding proposal: Rep. Sarah Jane I. Elago urged increased public-hospital funding to expand facilities and beds.

FY2027 proposed DOH allocation changes and MAIFIP funding: PHP 35 billion for MAIFIP in the FY2027 proposed budget, Rep. Edgar R. Erice said, as he challenged whether patients could access the program. He also cited reductions of nearly 50% for MAIP and 34.8% for health facilities in the FY2027 proposed budget, and said no amount was added to the Zero Balance Billing Fund.

Regional shares and proposed increase for Mindanao: 15% of the Department of Health budget was for Mindanao Centers for Health Development (CHDs), Secretary Edwin M. Mercado said. He gave corresponding shares of 10% for the Visayas, 34% for Luzon and 41% for the Central Office, adding that the Central Office share also covered some Mindanao operations. Rep. Maximo B. Rodriguez Jr. asked that Mindanao's share increase by one percentage point in a future budget season and said he would support and vote in plenary for proposed increases.

FY2027 Northern Mindanao DOH-hospital allocation: FY2027 Northern Mindanao allocation: PHP 17.450 billion for DOH hospitals. Secretary of Health Edwin M. Mercado corrected his initial figure to PHP 17.450 billion and clarified that the regional total covered DOH hospitals only. Rep. Audrey Kay T. Zubiri asked for a Bukidnon breakdown; Mercado said the budget was then disaggregated only to the region level and offered to provide province-specific details.

Bukidnon HFEP request and site requirements: For Bukidnon, DOH regional-office partners requested PHP 2 billion for Zubiri's district; less than PHP 5 million was approved. Zubiri said the province had no DOH hospital and asked how allocations were determined. Secretary Mercado said the Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP) requires qualifying site conditions and that DOH would coordinate with her office about deficiencies in the required documentation or conditions. Zubiri said she would work with DOH to address them and sought additional support for the province.

Damulog Bagong Pilipinas Health Center request: For the Bagong Pilipinas Health Center in Damulog, Rep. Zubiri said PHP 19 million had been requested for X-ray equipment, generator sets and a water-impounding facility; PHP 2.7 million had been allocated. She asked DOH to review the allocation and sought a more substantial amount, potentially in phases.

Proposed GAA provision on MAIFIP professional fees: Asked whether doctors could be required to accept MAIFIP for professional fees, Secretary Edwin M. Mercado proposed including a special provision in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) to make acceptance compulsory. He clarified that he was proposing a special provision, not an amendment. Mercado said current discussions with specialty societies remained optional and covered possible professional-fee schedules tied to PhilHealth coverage or an HMO relative-value-unit code. He also described an opt-in approach that would direct patient volume to hospitals accepting the agreed fee structure.

Health-network revenue and workforce career incentives: Potential workforce funding: Secretary Mercado said DOH was considering using additional revenues generated as universal healthcare provider networks develop, including revenue from PhilHealth and second-line MAIFIP, to incentivize healthcare workers. He linked retention to career paths beyond clinical practice, including opportunities to manage a health system, and said this could make long-term work in the Philippines more attractive.

FY2027 NEP cut to NCMH operating funds: PHP 311.49 million was cut from the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) in the DOH FY2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP), a 21% reduction, Rep. Renee Louise M. Co said. Secretary Edwin M. Mercado said he would submit the exact data and rationale. He said most DOH hospitals had MOOE cuts and that a 2025 reallocation from the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) to DOH might have contributed to the higher 2026 base; he characterized the 2027 level as returning to normal and said the comparison should include 2023 and 2024. Co separately characterized the national mental health budget as being cut by half each year since 2025, beginning from PHP 1.5 billion. Her concern was that this trend could conflict with the shift toward community-based mental health services. Co urged stronger mental-health funding.

WHO pledge, contribution and liquidation: USD 10 million, approximately PHP 620 million, was the Philippines' unearmarked pledge to the WHO Secretariat, made during an October 2024 investment round. Deputy Speaker Janette L. Garin asked for liquidation of the USD 5 million she said had been spent; Secretary Edwin M. Mercado agreed to provide a liquidation report. Mercado said the direction was to prioritize local needs and that DOH was awaiting a BIHC recommendation on how to proceed. Garin also asked about PHP 167,277 included under the DOH office in the FY2027 NEP for the donation; DOH Undersecretary Maylene M. Beltran confirmed DOH had pushed for that item.

Expiring medicines and medical-assistance proposals: Deputy Speaker Janette L. Garin raised annual expiry of nutrition commodities and mental-health medicines and proposed allowing DOH to redirect the related funds to medical assistance or the Cancer Assistance Fund rather than let the medicines expire. Secretary Edwin M. Mercado said DOH would look into the proposal, described a longer-term shift to PhilHealth paying for medicines to avoid double financing, and said the Cancer Fund remained useful for medicines not covered by PhilHealth, including those not yet HTAC-approved.

Immunization allotments and utilization: For immunization, Secretary Edwin M. Mercado reported that the 2025 GAA allotment was PHP 10.2 billion; PHP 5.7 billion was obligated and PHP 576 million disbursed as of December 31. Separately, he reported that the 2025 GAA carryover with CONAP had PHP 6.5 billion obligated and PHP 1.1 billion disbursed. In a later clarification, Mercado said 2025 obligation with CONAP had reached 64%, with 17% disbursed. For 2026, the immunization allotment was PHP 10.2 billion, with PHP 1.4 billion obligated and PHP 164 million disbursed.

HFEP allotments, obligations and project readiness: For the hospital-facilities program, Secretary Edwin M. Mercado reported a 2025 allotment of PHP 13.7 billion and PHP 12.4 billion obligated. For 2026, he separately gave a PHP 11.9 billion allotment excluding DOH hospitals, with PHP 1.964 billion obligated. Deputy Speaker Janette L. Garin connected implementation delays to procurement protests and paperwork moving between regional offices and central offices, which she said could take more than a year and result in funds reverting. Secretary Mercado said the delays were historical and DOH was checking site conditions and requirements under omnibus HFEP guidelines before projects were included in the budget. Garin described DPWH requirements for project readiness before GAA inclusion, including geotagging, final design and program of works, so procurement could begin after approval.

FY2024-2026 MAIFIP allocations, utilization and reporting: FY2025: DOH Undersecretary Zhielah Ritz C. Gatchalian reported an updated 86% obligation rate including CONAP. For FY2026, she reported 50% obligations while awaiting a Notice of Cash Allocation. Rep. Roberto Nazal cited data he said showed a 61.3% disbursement rate for the prior year and PHP 41 billion unspent as he questioned MAIFIP allocations; Gatchalian said DOH hospital downloads were set by hospital level and absorptive capacity. At Nazal's request, Presiding Chair Rep. Maria Angela S. Garcia directed DOH to submit before plenary complete MAIFIP allocations for 2024, 2025 and 2026 by region, hospital and health facility, including additional downloads and augmentations, utilization, patients served, remaining balances and, where applicable, the requesting or referring office.

COA-flagged medicines and DOH budget support: About PHP 34 million in expired or nearly expired medicines and more than PHP 90 million in undistributed medical inventories were flagged by the Commission on Audit, Rep. Salvador A. Pleyto said. He said the stock appeared wasteful while local medical missions could not obtain needed medicines and vaccines. Secretary Edwin M. Mercado said DOH was strengthening its supply chain and procurement system, including automation, but acknowledged that current monitoring was not yet robust down to the Centers for Health Development. Mercado said about 60% of medicines were now procured regionally to speed delivery; the remaining 40% were higher-value items, including vaccines, cancer medicines, and mental-health medicines, that were harder to procure. He said procurement would check aggregate stock before reordering to avoid excess inventory. Pleyto expressed support for the proposed DOH budget.

FY2027 health emergency allowance appeal and disputed arrears: PHP 741 million for verified health emergency allowance claims was included in DOH's FY2027 budget appeal, Secretary Edwin M. Mercado said. Rep. Elijah San Fernando asked why the FY2027 proposed budget had no separate line item for the allowances. He said the amount covered 150,000 verified claims, including barangay health workers (BHWs); additional appeals past the deadline were no longer processed except through regional grievance channels. San Fernando cited a September 2025 release of PHP 6.7 billion for final benefit payments to health and non-health workers, then presented the 2026 BHW health emergency allowance Survey Report estimate of PHP 5.15 billion in unpaid arrears affecting 47,000 BHWs across 294 cities and municipalities. Mercado said about PHP 5 billion in reported claims needed reconciliation and that the appeal covered verified claims. He said the funds released by the Department of Budget and Management had been distributed, while agreeing to examine how to resolve the remaining discrepancy.

Basilan Medical Center completion funding: PHP 80 million in the FY2027 NEP for Basilan Medical Center completion and additional equipment, Secretary Edwin M. Mercado said. He separately identified PHP 80 million available in 2026 for remaining infrastructure and equipment as the unspent portion of PHP 180 million in the FY2025 GAA.

Priority imaging equipment and electrical requirements: Alano asked DOH to prioritize mammography and CT equipment for Basilan Medical Center. Mercado said the equipment requires a three-phase electrical supply and transformer; he cited a transformer capacity of at least 500 kVA and offered engineering assistance to determine the site's requirements. He said the transformer is not covered by HFEP and would be part of the hospital's budget, while HFEP could support site conditions.

Adela Serra Ty Memorial Medical Center staffing request: PHP 212.471 million requested through DBM for 185 positions at Adela Serra Ty Memorial Medical Center, compared with a reported DOH allocation of PHP 4 million for two medical officers and one administrative position. Rep. Romeo S. Momo Sr. said the upgraded Level 3 hospital in Surigao del Sur faced a gap of about 989 personnel. Secretary Edwin M. Mercado explained that staffing is paced to operational capacity: in a general example, a 300-bed rated hospital operating 100 beds would be assessed by its functional beds, which DBM uses in adjusting staffing; he said DOH had sought staffing for full 300-bed capacity. Momo urged an operations official to visit Caraga hospitals, describing patients sleeping in hallways because of room shortages.

Orthopedic and rehabilitation building phases: Phase 1 of the hospital orthopedic and rehabilitation building, costing PHP 80 million, was complete; Phase 2 cost PHP 50 million, had just started, and was funded in the FY2026 budget, Rep. Romeo S. Momo Sr. said. He said Phase 3 needed PHP 50 million for completion in FY2027 and lacked that funding. Secretary Edwin M. Mercado said an equipment allocation could be modified for infrastructure completion if the facility was unfinished, and said he would coordinate internally with Momo.

Unused appropriations and regional distribution: Rep. Romeo S. Momo Sr. questioned DOH absorptive capacity, citing almost PHP 50 billion in unused 2025 appropriations. He asked how DOH distributes funding among hospitals and whether allocation reflects population, poverty, disease burden, geographic isolation, bed shortages, or workforce gaps. Secretary Edwin M. Mercado said DOH uses normative budgeting based on patient volume, case mix, occupancy, average length of stay, and data; he said the concentration of large hospitals in Metro Manila contributes to Luzon's larger share. Momo argued that Surigao del Sur patients travel to Manila because local facilities are limited and urged decentralization. Mercado pointed to the health facility roadmap for locating specialty centers in the provinces.

Unobligated allotment question and hospital medicine procurement: PHP 121 billion in unobligated DOH allotments was the amount questioned by Rep. Milagros "Mila" Aquino-Magsaysay, who asked whether procurement delays or delivery logistics contributed to hospital medicine shortages. Secretary of Health Edwin M. Mercado said DOH hospitals procure medicines individually, while regional procurement supplies medicines to rural health units. He said DOH monitors hospital stockouts and that PhilHealth can flag a hospital under its service agreement, including action against its accreditation when covered medicines are not provided.

FY2026 HFEP funding and hospital-capacity planning: PHP 140 million for HFEP for Bataan hospitals was approved for FY2026 but was not funded, Rep. Antonino B. Roman III said. He asked DOH to address the missing allocation and repeated his request for a super rural health unit in Abukay, Bataan. Secretary Edwin M. Mercado said DOH would prioritize ongoing projects and statutory hospital expansions, map health-service needs by catchment and regional delivery networks, and develop an inventory and Health Facility Enhancement Program roadmap by the first quarter in time for the next budget cycle. He said this would align district, regional, and apex hospitals and identify complementary services and equipment. Roman also raised proposed flexible hospital-bed legislation: he said the committee was awaiting DOH's position paper. Mercado said a draft resolution had been prepared and he would follow up; Roman argued that bed-capacity changes should be handled administratively under set criteria.

Nutrition and rabies program funding: The DOH nutrition program had a PHP 976 million FY2025 GAA budget. Secretary Edwin M. Mercado said nutrition funding decreased in 2026 and was trending down again in the FY2027 proposal; he described strengthening the first 1,000 days program with Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and PhilHealth prenatal, postnatal, lactation, and nutrition services. For FY2027, Mercado said PHP 747 million was allocated for human anti-rabies vaccine and immunoglobulin, covering Category 2 and Category 3 bites with a full course of up to three doses. He said this covered almost 30% of projected animal bites. PhilHealth's animal-bite benefit covered Category 3, while Category 2 expansion had not rolled out because of limited funds. Mercado proposed pet vaccination as a more cost-effective prevention measure, with support from the Department of Agriculture (DA) and local governments; Rep. Caroline B. Agyao also urged funding pet vaccination alongside the DOH program.

Facility equipment, construction sequencing, and Kalinga hospital status: Rep. Caroline B. Agyao said the FY2027 NEP included funding for health facilities in places without such a facility and asked that equipment funding follow completed construction rather than arrive before a structure is ready. She proposed that DOH focus on larger equipment while local governments can provide basic tools such as blood-pressure apparatus and weighing scales. She also said Kalinga Provincial Hospital remained without DOH-managed hospital status while its nationalization bill was pending in the Senate, and referred to 2025-2026 FLR projects and a 2027 Super RHU. Secretary Edwin M. Mercado said the suggestions were well noted.

District hospital-waste facilities: Cruzado asked DOH to help districts establish treatment, storage and disposal facilities for hospital waste.

Interim HFEP support for Southern Leyte hospital readiness: Rep. Christopherson "Coco" M. Yap described the proposed Southern Leyte hospital as a legislative priority he had pursued for four years and linked it to long travel times for complete hospital care. Secretary Edwin M. Mercado said the bill to convert the facility into a DOH-run hospital could take time. While legislation is pending, he proposed near-term DOH help with basic equipment and operating-room instruments through HFEP, alongside recruitment or deployment of doctors, fellows and residents.

Super Health Center equipment and reverted health-facility funds: Rep. Ramana Nava said two Super Health Centers in his district were complete as infrastructure but remained nonfunctional without equipment, and that he saw no FY2027 budget for equipping them. He asked how much in reverted funds associated with HFEP projects had returned to the National Treasury and urged the House to consider restoring health funds for health purposes. Secretary Edwin M. Mercado said reverted DPWH project funds were being directed to priority projects, with active construction to be completed and no new projects started; he said DOH would coordinate on possible repurposing. Presiding Rep. Maria Angela S. Garcia directed DOH to provide the requested information before plenary for review.

PhilHealth benefit costs and funding runway: PHP 240 billion in indirect-contributor benefit payouts were estimated by the end of 2026, PhilHealth President and CEO Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho said, and said retained earnings could sustain current payments but would require replenishment to support programmed benefits over the next two to three years. Her maximum estimate for total PhilHealth benefit payouts in 2027 was PHP 500 billion. Rep. Dadah Kiram Ismula also raised the PHP 60 billion return in 2026, which Secretary Edwin M. Mercado described as required by the Supreme Court.

PhilHealth indirect-contributor restoration and rare-disease costing: For FY2027, PhilHealth President and CEO Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho estimated PHP 244 billion in benefit payouts for indirect contributors and said PHP 170 billion in additional funding was needed to reach break-even, assuming the same utilization rate as the current year.

PhilHealth premium support and benefit payments: PHP 300 billion was exceeded by PhilHealth benefit payments in 2025, an 82% increase from the previous year.

PhilHealth appropriations and sin-tax revenues: Deputy Minority Leader Rep. Percival "Perci" Cendaña asked whether PhilHealth received its earmarked sin-tax, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) and Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) revenues in full. He argued that these public funds should help cover indirect contributors' needs and that the government should cover their premiums.

FY2026 GAA professional-fee provision and guidelines: 100% of professional fees were allowed to be covered separately from the hospital bill under a special provision in the FY2026 General Appropriations Act, Rep. Albert S. Garcia said. He urged doctors, especially in the private sector, to accept the provision and asked for a cap on runaway professional fees. Secretary Edwin M. Mercado said guidelines were forthcoming and that they were studying an HMO-style formula based either on relative-value units times a multiple or on a percentage of what PhilHealth covers multiplied by a factor. Mercado warned that professional fees could double or triple under inflationary pressure.

PhilHealth earmarked-revenue records: Assistant Minority Leader Rep. Iris Marie Demesa Montes asked PhilHealth President and CEO Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho to provide records from 2022 onward of PhilHealth's sin-tax, PCSO, and PAGCOR shares and the amounts actually transferred by the national government. Montes requested the information as soon as possible.

YAKAP screening, prevention, and proposed prevention staff: Rep. Katrina Kat Goraceta, M.D., commended YAKAP's noncommunicable-disease screening but distinguished detection from prevention. She asked about lifestyle-medicine counseling, prevention programs, and how they would reach barangays. PhilHealth President and CEO Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho focused on the staffing foundation: schools often lacked dedicated health personnel for promotion and prevention. Ho hoped YAKAP revenues could be allowed to fund permanent personnel for that work and said PhilHealth and DOH should work together in settings where prevention can happen.

FY2027 PhilHealth excise-tax estimate and revenue certification: PHP 54 billion in FY2027 earmarked sin-tax revenue for PhilHealth was based on the initial NEP amount, PhilHealth President and CEO Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho clarified. Ho said PhilHealth had certified figures only for PCSO and PAGCOR; the PHP 54 billion estimate was not based on Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and Bureau of Customs (BOC) certification. Rep. Elijah San Fernando asked for the certified revenue amounts from sweetened-beverage and tobacco excise taxes and how these funds would be allocated to indirect-contributor subsidies.

Earmarked revenue estimates and appropriations: Ho said expected PCSO and PAGCOR earmarked revenues from 2019 through the second quarter of 2026 totaled PHP 127 billion. She reported PHP 42 billion in total appropriations for 2023 and 2024. For sin taxes, she gave an expected PHP 232.72 billion share for 2023-2025 and said PHP 119.41 billion in GAA appropriations for that period had been remitted to PhilHealth. For 2026, she cited a PHP 69.78 billion GAA amount and a PHP 53.19 billion Special Allotment Release Order (SARO), which PhilHealth assumed was from the sin-tax GAA. Nava urged the government to collect earmarked revenues for the indirect-contributor premium subsidy and expanded benefits. Ho said PhilHealth would coordinate with DBM to obtain an updated sin-tax forecast; Presiding Chair Rep. Maria Angela S. Garcia said the House would check whether requested revenue data had been submitted.

FDA staffing and modernization funding: 1,322 FDA staff comprised 917 plantilla positions and 415 contract-of-service staff; 101 were assigned to drug-permit applications. The FDA Official said the flat budget and limited staff could not keep pace with rising applications. FDA OIC Director General Atty. Franklin Anthony M. Tabaquin IV said 60% of the MOOE went to salaries and 40% to operations. Tabaquin said the FDA had requested 124 additional positions for FY2027, but these were not included in the NEP. He reported approximately PHP 3.2 billion in retained earnings; separately, he said the FDA wanted authority to tap its Special Account in the General Fund (SAGF) to augment MOOE for modernization. PHP 217 million was the minimum cost of an in-house digital system, FDA OIC Director General Atty. Franklin Anthony M. Tabaquin IV said. He sought authority for a PHP 580 million draw from the Special Account in the General Fund and said the required five-year plan had been submitted to DBM.

Government and out-of-pocket healthcare spending shares: Mercado said regular government spending rose from 42.1% of healthcare expenditure in 2023 to 46.5% in 2025, while the out-of-pocket share fell from 44.4% to 41.2%. He described government spending as exceeding out-of-pocket spending for the first time outside the one-off COVID period.

Unified DOH-PhilHealth agenda and five pillars: Mercado said DOH and PhilHealth had developed a Unified Health Agenda (UNA) with complementary programs. Its five pillars were healthy schools, workplaces and communities; functional primary care; equitable and efficient hospitals; information-technology transformation; and strong institutions and health workforce. He described a prevention-first approach that connects community health promotion and screening with PhilHealth benefits, expands access to doctors, medicines and essential procedures, improves hospital operations, links health records and surveillance data, and addresses workforce and service-delivery gaps. YAKAP coverage would expand beyond its then-current 12 or 13 laboratory tests. The longer-term aim was to move Universal Health Care from policy into practice and reach people before illness.

Health coverage and population outcomes: The presentation reported that two out of three children were fully immunized against a 95% target. Mercado said the stunting indicator fell from 22.5% in 2023 to 21.1% in 2025. Household access to basic water supply was 82.74% against a 94% target; access to modern family-planning methods was 64.5% against 72.5%. He described tuberculosis treatment coverage as 85% and said people living with HIV were at 66% against a 95% target; DOH planned to extend PhilHealth's OHAT program to preemptive coverage and broaden testing. He reported 262,000 people had received mental-health medicines.

YAKAP, cancer support and delivered facilities: Mercado said YAKAP registrations had increased from 27.8 million in 2024 to 40 million after DOH removed automatic enrollments that people had not knowingly accepted and began identity checks using biometrics. He reported that 40,000 cancer patients had received assistance through the Cancer Assistance Fund; 2,000 health-infrastructure projects were completed from 2023 through 2025; nearly 5,000 medical-equipment items were procured and delivered; and nearly 500 medical-transport vehicles were provided for emergency response and patient referral. He said registered or licensed ambulances were covered and DOH was studying whether to cover other patient-transport vehicles.

Digital health and workforce support: For information technology, Mercado said DOH would use the information-technology component of its World Bank Health System Resilience loan to begin the National Health Data Repository (NHDR) and an interoperability layer, starting with primary care. YAKAP facilities were being required to use compliant electronic medical-record providers so test results would not need to be repeated across facilities and surveillance data could be collected more promptly. For workforce support, he reported 24,381 health professionals deployed nationwide, including support to lower-class municipalities and district hospitals. The presentation closed by describing this as an internal direction toward a more coordinated, progressive and trusted health service.

Chair Garcia response and committee follow-up: Presiding Chair Rep. Albert S. Garcia thanked Health Secretary Edwin M. Mercado and welcomed closer DOH-PhilHealth coordination. Garcia said the People's Budget Coalition had submitted eleven pages of questions; members would cover some and the committee would ask DOH about questions left unaddressed.

Affordable care and the DOH mandate: Garcia argued that DOH's responsibility for the health and lives of the public made delays especially consequential. He described its role in operating hospitals and health facilities, providing essential medicines, deploying primary care in barangays and enabling access to advanced care. The goal, he said, was affordable medicine and hospital services and quality care that would not force families to sell property or incur crippling debt.

Unequal access to care: Rep. Ciriaco B. Gato Jr., M.D., FPSO-HNS said illness can affect people unequally: after a diagnosis, some can begin treatment and sustain years of care while others must wait, incur debt, or may not survive. He described the Department of Health's responsibilities as strengthening primary and public health care, expanding access to essential medicines and life-saving interventions, advancing universal health care, strengthening local health services, supporting health workers, and protecting communities through prevention and health promotion such as immunization.

PhilHealth differential benefits and equal treatment: Deputy Minority Leader Rep. Percival "Perci" Cendaña challenged treating indirect contributors as freeloaders or giving them different benefits, noting that roughly half of Filipinos' health expenses come from their own pockets. PhilHealth President and CEO Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho said the board had approved a resolution on differential benefits, but implementation had not begun while PhilHealth studied possible effects on medical inflation and the accuracy of its contribution records. Ho said many direct contributors did not pay consistently and that the board had directed PhilHealth to encourage regular contributions; the organization was studying implementation and completing operational processes. Cendaña reiterated that universal health care should treat direct and indirect contributors equally and that indirect contributors should not be regarded as burdens or freeloaders.

YAKAP provider coverage: Deputy Minority Leader Rep. Percival "Perci" Cendaña asked how many local governments had YAKAP-accredited facilities and how many providers met PhilHealth's requirements. PhilHealth President and CEO Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho reported that 92% of local governments had at least one YAKAP provider.

Consolidating health financing under PhilHealth: Rep. Adrian Michael A. Amatong asked whether the many health programs could be brought into a simpler, unified system so constituents could understand and use them. DOH Secretary Edwin M. Mercado agreed that siloed payments from PhilHealth, DOH, and DSWD-IX weaken purchasing leverage. He said PhilHealth is responsible for covering and paying for its members, described prospective, bundled-style payment as one way to increase leverage, and said the agencies were studying gradual consolidation under PhilHealth. Mercado added that some private hospitals had begun reserving beds for no-balance-billing patients.

PhilHealth benefits, reimbursement, and no-balance billing: Rep. Adrian Michael A. Amatong said constituents pay PhilHealth premiums but often receive too little help when hospitalized. PhilHealth President and CEO Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho replied that coverage had nearly doubled over the previous two years, while acknowledging that payments remained insufficient for some severe cases. PhilHealth was studying diagnosis-related-group adjustments or modifiers so payments could reflect differences such as age and comorbidities; Ho said the study would inform further rate changes. For public hospitals, Ho said 90% of beds should be under no-balance-billing arrangements. She said hospitals could seek additional local-government budgets and MAIFIP support so patients could leave without paying extra. She described these as implementation challenges alongside rate adjustments and said higher premiums had raised members' expectations for stronger coverage. Amatong said people found it difficult to reconcile limited help at hospitals with reports of large PhilHealth Board member benefits and stories of PhilHealth savings taken by the national government; he said this was hard to explain to people in need. He described patients turning to politicians for help as undignified and said his office assists people in need. Dr. Ho explained that hospital bills include both facility and professional fees. She said she and Secretary Edwin M. Mercado had begun discussions with professional societies about making professional fees more predictable. Ho also said providers sometimes avoid enrolling conditions under PhilHealth because the process is difficult and use MAIFIP instead; PhilHealth committed to simplifying provider participation and frontline services.

YAKAP safeguards and medical-assistance access: Amatong asked for safeguards after hearing that some people were enrolled in YAKAP without their knowledge and that funds intended for them could be used without their awareness. Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho said PhilHealth was preparing enhanced YAKAP 2.0 policies, including patient liveness checks and biometric verification, member visibility into assigned providers and inpatient claims through the eGov app, and later notice when a provider submits a claim on a member's behalf. Ho said local governments should convene public and private providers rather than be forced to deliver care themselves, and that private non-profit providers could help operate interim YAKAP centers alongside HFEP and Human Resource Support. She said patients should receive the services PhilHealth pays for. Amatong alleged that a mayor had assembled constituents at his hospital, fed and supplied them, and had them sign; when they returned home, their PhilHealth benefits were exhausted. He said the hospital had been closed and its head held accountable, but the mayor was not, and called for grievance processes to pursue abusers. Ho described the patient as the health system's entry point and said the program had to work well. Amatong also asked how the separately named AKAP program could serve as a base for integrating assistance and offered legislative help, stressing how difficult it was for constituents to seek medical aid.

Medical social workers and MAIFIP assessment: Rep. Adrian Michael A. Amatong said patients should encounter a medical social worker first, but that this did not happen in some hospitals, exposing patients to abuse. Secretary Edwin M. Mercado said assistance assessments should consider a patient's capability and social status. He cited hospitals that classify patients from A to E to determine the assistance they can receive, said this approach would be institutionalized, and said assessments should be made by trained or certified social workers.

Hospital complaints and response center: Rep. Adrian Michael A. Amatong said DOH regional offices had told lawmakers they could not intervene against poorly performing hospitals and urged earlier corrective action. Secretary Edwin M. Mercado said PhilHealth's Corporate Action Center already receives and triages complaints, and that he would discuss extending its platform to hospitals. Rep. Albert S. Garcia, presiding chair, asked for a public hotline. Mercado identified 1555 for complaints about public and private hospitals, while noting the center had limited seats; he said they were working to professionalize and consolidate the service, potentially through a third-party call center that could provide complaint data. Garcia said members were looking forward to a more efficient response for DOH and PhilHealth complaints.

Gamot accreditation and medicine coverage: Rep. Katrina Kat Goraceta, M.D., said only 15 of 47 Gamot centers in her district were accredited. She questioned requirements for a pharmacist, licensed premises, and space, which she said were unrealistic for a fourth-class municipality with limited resources. She asked to add medicines for hyper- and hypothyroidism, liver support, vitamin B complex, and calcium. PhilHealth President and CEO Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho said thyroid medicines were already in the pipeline. Ho said current accreditation is based on an FDA-licensed pharmacy and that standards were under review. She was considering allowing four accounts per pharmacy so larger provincial pharmacies could reach rural health units, along with accreditation for mobile pharmacies where hiring pharmacists in rural areas is difficult.

Mental-health packages and provider training: Rep. Katrina Kat Goraceta, M.D., asked whether PhilHealth's expanded mental-health package was general or diagnosis-specific, including for bipolar disorder or depression. PhilHealth President and CEO Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho said it has general and specialist tiers based on the type of professional treating the patient rather than the diagnosis, and said it was flexible enough to cover bipolar disorder. Ho said the requirement for mhGAP training was a bottleneck because the National Center for Mental Health largely provides it. PhilHealth was working with DOH to expand the number of providers who could deliver the mental-health package.

Children with Disabilities and autism provider access: Rep. Katrina Kat Goraceta, M.D., said the expanded autism package would have limited effect if too few centers could meet accreditation requirements; she asked PhilHealth to simplify them so more providers could participate. Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho said PhilHealth planned to unbundle its Children with Disabilities Package, with a policy expected the following week, to enable more providers. Ho described a framework developed with professional societies for sharing tasks among community health workers and clinicians, pilot training modules in QC, and mapping areas without developmental pediatricians. She also described possible accreditation of professional societies so their members could rotate among localities and practice in available rooms without each provider needing a fixed facility; the societies had responded positively, and PhilHealth hoped to scale up the approach.

DOH hospital staffing and unfilled plantilla positions: Rep. Katrina Kat Goraceta, M.D., cited almost 5,000 unfilled DOH plantilla positions and asked why hospitals with filled positions received additional ones while her district's DOH-retained Level 2 hospital remained understaffed. She said the hospital already had dialysis and ICU facilities but could not operate at Level 2 without staff. DOH Secretary Edwin M. Mercado said vacancies were difficult to fill when positions required residency or fellowship training or specialty accreditation, applicants were scarce, and salary grades were uncompetitive, especially for OT/PT and developmental speech pathology positions. DOH used job-order workers to help cover staffing. Mercado said DBM rules barred filling positions left vacant by December 2025 unless DOH appealed; he said the department tracked appeals. After Goraceta confirmed that her district hospital was DOH-retained, Mercado said he would check on it and help.

Birth spacing and postpartum coverage: Rep. Dadah Kiram Ismula contrasted the recommended two-to-three-year birth spacing with maternity-package postpartum coverage of six weeks. PhilHealth President and CEO Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho confirmed the package design and pointed to separate IUD, implant, ligation and vasectomy benefits. Ismula requested a draft policy revision within 30 days to extend outpatient postpartum contraceptive financing through the first year of spacing. She also requested rapid-repeat-pregnancy data; presiding Rep. Albert S. Garcia directed PhilHealth to submit it through the committee.

Catastrophic illness benefits and patient costs: Rep. Marlo C. Bancoro described a friend's Philippine Heart Center ICU bill of PHP 1.5 million, of which PhilHealth covered PHP 40,000. PhilHealth President and CEO Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho said many conditions were still not adequately covered. She said Z-benefit packages provided coverage above PHP 1 million and that cancers and rare conditions were in the pipeline. Ho said other government funds should complement PhilHealth for catastrophic conditions not yet converted to Z-benefits. PhilHealth was collecting more provider data to develop case modifiers reflecting factors such as the number of conditions and a patient's age.

Bed-capacity expansion and funding: Rep. Antonio L. Tinio asked what DOH was doing to expand hospital bed capacity and where the program appeared in the budget. Secretary Edwin M. Mercado described shorter hospital stays and referrals to local-government and private hospitals as immediate measures, while identifying physical expansion as the longer-term need. He said authorized DOH bed capacity was 30,000 in 2025 and was expected to rise to 45,000 by 2028, with expansion reflected in the budget. Mercado said cuts to the Health Facilities Enhancement Program could delay the target unless the requested allocation was restored. Tinio asked DOH to report its expansion achievements and plans; Chair Rep. Albert S. Garcia also requested written answers and noted the potential use of private hospitals' ward beds.

Hospital billing, anti-detention oversight and patient complaints: Rep. Sarah Jane I. Elago asked DOH for trends in unsettled hospital promissory notes, patient balances and foreclosed collateral, and for monitoring of complaints about collateral and compound interest. Secretary Edwin M. Mercado described the DOH 1555 action center, which was internally managed with limited seats, and said DOH wanted to expand it with PhilHealth and develop complaint statistics and escalation procedures. He said there was no policy on compounding interest; physical detention was subject to existing rules, while collateral terms were commercial agreements between patients and hospitals. Elago called for review of anti-hospital-detention implementation. She said she would submit cases to DOH and requested the anti-detention data; Presiding Rep. Albert S. Garcia asked DOH to submit the requested documents to the committee.

Local pharmaceutical production and medicine procurement: Rodriguez cited a pharmaceutical-industry roadmap target of local capacity for 60% of the country's registered medicines by 2030. Mercado said first-line essential medicines were mostly sourced locally, and support supplied to geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas and third-, fourth- and fifth-class municipalities was also locally sourced. He described incentives for manufacturers to locate in Clark, with the initiative led by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the University of the Philippines Manila, and said DOH was considering further incentives and faster Food and Drug Administration licensing and approvals. Mercado also cited review of the essential-drug list, activation of the Price Negotiation Board, coordinated DOH-PhilHealth purchasing to signal market demand, and FDA consideration of multiple suppliers for essential drugs. He affirmed support for local medicine manufacturers.

Rare-disease coverage and reporting: Ho said PhilHealth had developed coverage for rare diseases and hoped to roll it out within the year. She described an initial scope of 10 to 15 of the 159 rare diseases, focused on the most common conditions. Rodriguez requested the list of 159 diseases and the conditions PhilHealth already covered; Ho said PhilHealth would submit the list. Mercado said PhilHealth would begin covering medicines commonly available in the local market.

TB procurement allegations and tentative bid schedule: Rep. Edgar R. Erice alleged that pressure had been applied to sign a TB procurement contract and said he understood that supplies had not arrived in 2025 or 2026 after procurement was centralized at the DOH. Secretary Edwin M. Mercado said the DOH had become principal recipient for Cycle 8 of the Global Fund and asked DOH Undersecretary Christian Lel M. Saquilabon to explain local procurement. Saquilabon gave tentative milestones for adult anti-TB procurement using FY2026 funds: bid evaluation September 3-10, 2026, post-qualification September 11-22, and recommendation for award and notice of award on September 25. Erice asked about FY2025 funds and reserved his right to return to PhilHealth in a second round.

Provider payment and no-balance-billing approach: In response to Erice's concern that health goals require adequate funding, Secretary Edwin M. Mercado described shifting from fee-for-service toward negotiated prospective payments to manage provider and payer behavior and costs. He said private hospitals were setting aside 10-15% of bed capacity for no-balance billing and that 90% of local-government hospital bed capacity was allocated to it. He also cited integrated provincial health-provider networks as a way to coordinate services and distribute resources across a catchment area.

MAIFIP eligibility, electronic claims, and access information: Secretary Edwin M. Mercado said MAIFIP coverage is allocated by hospital level (primary, secondary, tertiary, and specialty), with assistance amounts based on medical social-worker assessment. He said e-MAIFIP began in August, had about 53,000 claims, and filed claims electronically under rules-based procedures; implementation had expanded from DOH hospitals to local-government and state-university hospitals. Mercado acknowledged that public communication remained inadequate. At Erice's request, he agreed to provide geographic distribution data before plenary so Erice could discuss program access there.

Ambition 2040 and measures of health progress: Secretary Edwin M. Mercado said the department's Ambition 2040 framework emphasizes stronger primary care and tracks stunting, maternal mortality, and infectious-disease prevalence. In response to Rep. Edgar R. Erice's request for measurable results, Mercado cited 120,000 no-balance-billing beds, out-of-pocket spending, and changes in mortality, stunting, and infectious-disease measures as indicators for assessing program performance.

Insulin-pump coverage study: Rep. Maximo B. Rodriguez Jr. urged PhilHealth to consider insulin-pump devices for diabetes treatment, describing them as expensive and saying coverage would require study. PhilHealth President and CEO Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho said the device would be included in PhilHealth's list of topics to study for coverage expansion.

Northeastern Misamis Hospital site question: Deputy Speaker Yevgeny Vincente B. Emano asked who chose the site of Northeastern Misamis Hospital. DOH Officer-in-Charge Assistant Secretary Dr. Melissa T. Sena said the House of Representatives chose it; Emano disagreed. Deputy Speaker Janette L. Garin said the House was generally not involved in site selection and requested that Sena's statement be stricken from the record. Chair Rep. Maria Angela S. Garcia noted and recorded the request, then asked Sena to verify her answer. Sena described the hospital as an extension of an existing DOH hospital that was later established as a separate facility; Emano disagreed, saying it was created as a new hospital under RA 11721. Garcia parked the question while the committee awaited the regional director.

MAIFIP professional-fee coverage and enforcement: Deputy Speaker Janette L. Garin said existing guidelines allowed MAIFIP to cover 50% of doctors' professional fees, but said increases in fees could defeat that support. She urged linking compliance to PhilHealth accreditation, beginning with reprimands and potentially escalating to suspension or revocation. Mercado said DOH would work jointly through the Professional Regulation Commission or PhilHealth, which could affect accreditation or licensing, and would work with PhilHealth on the professional-fee structure.

Northeastern Misamis Hospital site, design and hazard map: Deputy Speaker Yevgeny Vincente B. Emano resumed questions about Northeastern Misamis Hospital. Undersecretary Mary Ann Palermo-Maestral said the local government donated the land and DPWH executed the project. She initially described it as 98% complete, then clarified that this was Phase 2 of a four-phase project. Palermo-Maestral said the design had been reduced from five stories to three because of budget issues; Emano challenged that explanation, and she then said the site was found to be on a fault line in 2025. Emano disputed the account that the fault line was newly discovered. Palermo-Maestral said an earlier hazard map placed the site more than 2 kilometers away, while an updated map put it very close. Emano requested the maps and when they were prepared; Palermo-Maestral agreed to submit them before plenary.

Retrofit assurance and committee follow-up: Asked whether a retrofitted three-story hospital could be considered safe for public use, Undersecretary Mary Ann Palermo-Maestral said engineering was DPWH's purview and relayed DPWH's view that retrofitting would be adequate. Chair Rep. Maria Angela S. Garcia asked DOH to provide the technical guidelines and review the site-selection and suitability process, with the report for Emano before plenary. Palermo-Maestral said DOH would first review the DPWH report and provide its copy and decision. Garcia confirmed Emano could question DOH during its plenary time, and the DOH representative committed to provide the material before then.

HFEP siting, catchment planning and local-government implementation: Rep. Jesus "Bong" C. Suntay cited an audit in which 200 of 600 HFEP facilities were operational, and questioned siting facilities where local governments could not support staffing. Secretary of Health Edwin M. Mercado said DOH had issued HFEP Omnibus Guidelines specifying site conditions, and was shifting toward planning the full regional or provincial catchment with standards for rural health units, district hospitals and provincial hospitals. Mercado described a holistic regional health-provider network with referral routes for continuity of care. He said health networks are devolved to local chief executives and that he would engage them to communicate and support compliance with the guidelines.

MAIFIP access and zero-balance billing: Suntay questioned unequal district access to MAIFIP and said healthcare assistance should not be politicized. Mercado agreed that health services should reflect equity and access, and said DOH was developing a rules-based, direct-to-patient application process. He said the process began in August at DOH hospitals and local-government hospitals, with plans to expand to state universities and colleges and private hospitals; he said GOCC participation was already underway and private-hospital participation was being arranged. On zero-balance billing, Mercado said DOH hospital personnel and operating allocations cover fixed costs, while PhilHealth and the next payer cover variable care costs. PhilHealth would pay first and MAIFIP would assist outlier cases second. He said charity and basic accommodation should carry no balance bill or out-of-pocket charge under the UHC law, and DOH would set strict rules and monitor implementation; routine Z-BEN and ACR coverage was described as 70% of the total statement of account.

YAKAP registration, consent and provider accountability: Suntay reported complaints that patients were enrolled with a YAKAP provider during medical missions without knowing or consenting, then turned away from another provider because the system showed a different enrollment. He also cited complaints that providers claimed payment for medicines patients said they did not receive, and asked PhilHealth President and CEO Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho for the accredited-provider list. Ho said a YAKAP 2.0 version was in final consultation with providers and patient groups. Planned changes address patient consent and awareness of empanelment, checks that members are living and verified, provider incentives tied to continuing care rather than only the first-patient encounter, and IT systems. Ho said rollout was expected toward the end of the year or early the following year.

Seasonal-vaccine procurement and delivery delays: Suntay described delayed requests for seasonal vaccines, including flu vaccines, and asked why bidding and awards had not occurred earlier. Secretary Mercado said the Bids and Awards Committee had recommended an award and anticipated procurement and distribution in October or early November. DOH Undersecretary Christian Lel M. Saquilabon attributed the delay to a protest by a disqualified bidder and a change in management; he said the incoming Secretary reviewed and resolved the protest and that independent due diligence was required. Saquilabon said DOH would shorten the procurement process. Mercado said he had directed early procurement for 2027 to avoid a repeat delay.

Medical education, physician production and training pathways: Rep. Marlesa "Doc Marly" Hofer-Hasim asked about medical-school capacity, yearly physician production, the Doctors to the Barrio (DTTB) program and physician migration. Secretary of Health Edwin M. Mercado counted 82 medical schools nationwide: 48 in Luzon, 19 in the Visayas and 15 in Mindanao. DOH Health Human Resources Development Bureau Director Johanna Solon S. Banzon, citing Commission on Higher Education (CHED) data, said the past four years averaged about 5,600 physician board passers annually. Citing Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) data, she said about 1,797 physicians were temporary migrants leaving each year over the past ten years. Banzon said DOH's former pre-service medical scholarships were transitioning to CHED; after graduation and licensure, DOH offers DTTB jobs under the National Health Workforce Support System. She expected the MSRS program to increase physician numbers. Hofer-Hasim urged more government medical schools and training places for allied health professionals, citing full school slots. Banzon said DOH and CHED had an agreement for DOH to share health-sector workforce needs so education and worker production could better match demand.

Community mental-health services and crisis hotline: Secretary Edwin M. Mercado said DOH was training health workers, including nurses, through mental-health gap training; establishing a 24/7 NCMH crisis hotline; and planning a medical-access program at 1,296 sites, covering nearly 64% of cities and municipalities. He said PhilHealth was expanding its mental-health program and DOH would coordinate with it, including school-based services. Asked about hotline demand and staffing, Mercado reported annual calls rising from 3,000 in 2019 to 23,000 in 2024, with intermediate yearly counts, and said the service had 38 open lines, eight dedicated lines, and trunk-search routing. Co raised shortages of mental-health professionals and school guidance capacity, citing fewer than 2,000 licensed psychiatrists for about 110 million people and a 1:400 student-to-guidance-counselor ratio against a 1:250 standard.

Mental-health workforce, training, and implementation plans: Co asked how DOH would expand the mental-health workforce and strengthen training. Secretary Edwin M. Mercado said mental-health gap-trained nurses also have administrative and other clinical duties, so DOH planned more frequent certifications and was working to authorize academic institutions as additional certifying bodies. Mercado identified low salaries as a retention problem: pay for trained psychiatrists and psychologists had moved from salary grade 18 to 20 but remained inadequate. He said DOH would pursue practice-based rather than facility-based engagement so mental-health and developmental-pediatric professionals could also receive income through PhilHealth coverage. Co requested a progress report on the 2024-2028 mental-health strategic framework, particularly interventions for children. Mercado cited peer-to-peer facilitator work and a handbook for school-based groups and agreed to provide more concrete implementation results; Co requested the submission through the committee.

DOH-PhilHealth coordination and simpler assistance procedures: On DOH-PhilHealth coordination, Garin asked Mercado to revive their earlier alignment to avoid double financing when DOH-purchased medicines were reimbursed by PhilHealth. Mercado said alignment was underway through workstreams, including a separate financial workstream for hospitals and regional health offices. Garin also proposed studying a simpler Medical Assistance Program (MAP) framework to reduce patient requirements; Mercado said simplification was already a directive and DOH would review the framework.

PhilHealth premium support for employed solo parents: Rep. Roberto Nazal asked when the government share of PhilHealth premiums for employed solo-parent direct contributors under the solo-parent welfare law would be implemented. PhilHealth Vice President for Member Management Group Dr. Joseph Anthony D. Lachica said PhilHealth was finalizing a circular for full compliance with the law, with the policy scheduled for September and implementation beginning that month as requirements and payment systems were updated. The system changes were intended to prevent the government share from being charged to employers. Lachica said the prior Congress' budget increase gave PhilHealth flexibility and confirmed coverage would begin in September.

Out-of-pocket costs and coordinated hospital-bill assistance: Rep. Roberto Nazal asked how to reduce out-of-pocket health spending and coordinate assistance for qualified patients. PhilHealth President and CEO Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho said the 2025 out-of-pocket payment share was 41%, down from 44%, and identified a Philippine Development Plan target of 37.8% by 2028. Separately, she reported PhilHealth's share of total health expenditure had risen from 13.4% to 19.5%. Nazal asked whether the out-of-pocket share could reach single digits; Ho called that an aspiration requiring additional resources and fiscal commitment. On bill payment, Ho said PhilHealth pays first, followed by other support. She proposed that PhilHealth and DOH MAIFIP evaluators use the same statement of account; some hospitals file claims 20 days after discharge, delaying a shared view of the bill. One-stop shops at most DOH hospitals, including Malasakit Centers, help patients coordinate their total health costs. Nazal urged a single point of coordination so patients would not have to seek assistance from congressmen or senators. Secretary of Health Edwin M. Mercado described a planned hospital-contracting and global-payment approach, with MAIFIP as a second layer for outlier costs not ordinarily covered by PhilHealth.

Private no-balance beds and provider participation: Nazal cited the Universal Health Care Act's requirement that at least 10% of private-hospital beds be basic accommodation with no balance billing. Secretary Mercado said DOH and LGU compliance was high in exit interviews but private-hospital compliance was harder to monitor; DOH was strengthening monitoring and pursuing contracting and global budgets. He said hospital licensing could be used to support implementation. Mercado said DOH, government and LGU physicians were required to accept MAIFIP or guarantee-letter patients, while DOH was negotiating with private specialty societies on professional-fee terms, including HMO-style RVU multipliers or a share of PhilHealth coverage. He identified slow payment as a reason physicians hesitate and said PhilHealth payment within 15 days addressed that concern. DOH was also considering front-loaded global payments for MAIFIP and coordinating with the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) and hospital licensing authorities to support participation.

Leptospirosis prophylaxis in flood-affected communities: Pleyto asked whether barangay health workers should be equipped to distribute prophylaxis as leptospirosis risk rises during floods, including in Bulacan. Secretary Edwin M. Mercado said DOH had already sent doxycycline to regions and would send teams to flooded communities. A nurse or doctor must accompany distribution: doses vary by age and exposure risk, require a physician prescription, and should not be self-administered because of possible side effects. Barangay health workers would support the teams, while DOH staff would distribute the medicine according to the prescribed dose.

Allowance grievance process, worker rights, and differential benefits: San Fernando criticized delays and repeated referrals between DOH, the Department of Budget and Management, and hospitals when health workers sought unpaid health emergency allowance. Mercado said DOH would guide regional grievance committees on the available data and ways to speed validation, and would support the Magna Carta of Barangay Health Workers to recognize and professionalize their role. He said DOH should advocate for arrears when claims are validated and supported by evidence. Presiding Rep. Maria Angela S. Garcia noted that the parties cited mismatched figures and urged them to exchange data and source records to establish a common baseline; San Fernando agreed to exchange notes with Mercado. On PhilHealth differential benefits for direct and indirect contributors, PhilHealth President and CEO Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho said the implications of the board resolution were still being studied before any implementation.

Provincial access to tertiary care and Catanduanes hospital conversion: Rep. Eulogio "Leo" R. Rodriguez said 36 of 82 provinces lacked a DOH-managed medical facility and asked how the Department of Health would provide reasonable access to tertiary and referral care. Secretary Edwin M. Mercado described a health-facility development plan covering 17 specialties and regional referral networks, intended to align future facility investment with regional needs and avoid duplicating requests. Rodriguez asked whether island provinces such as Catanduanes should be prioritized and sought DOH management of the Eastern Bicol Medical Center as a tertiary hospital. Mercado said island status was one criterion for converting a facility to a DOH-run hospital, but said he needed to study the matter before giving a definite answer. Rodriguez said his conversion bill had been filed but was not yet law. Rep. Renee Louise M. Co offered to help fast-track the bill and seek a Senate counterpart, adding that DOH would be obliged to fund the hospital if the bill became law.

MAIFIP professional fees and zero-balance billing: Asked about reimbursement for professional fees under zero-balance billing, DOH Undersecretary Zhielah Ritz C. Gatchalian said special provisions covered those fees and government hospitals were expected to accept MAIFIP payments, while private-practice doctors could be difficult to engage. Rodriguez alleged that delays in paying professional fees led some doctors with public and private affiliations to prefer private admissions, where they collected fees faster and could avoid zero-balance billing even at greater cost to patients. Gatchalian said DOH had not received reports of zero-balance-billing patients being transferred to private hospitals, but acknowledged that payments needed to be expedited to encourage private doctors to accept MAIFIP. She also said many eligible patients chose zero-balance billing for full payment; Rodriguez emphasized that patients could still struggle to pay doctors' fees even when their hospital bills were covered.

Application backlog and FDA modernization: An FDA Official estimated an application backlog of about 19,000, including roughly 17,000 drug applications, and attributed growth to rising submissions and limited staff and financial resources. Escudero noted that only 101 staff handled drug permits and asked why staff could not be shifted from other centers. Tabaquin explained that plantilla assignments depended on vacancies, qualifications, and applicants willing to work in each center; contract-of-service staff were one way to augment the workforce. He said an end-to-end digitalization modernization program could substantially reduce the backlog, with the drug center prioritized for its high application volume. Escudero supported the modernization effort, citing potential benefits for small businesses and medicine prices. Tabaquin anticipated system launch 16 to 18 months after notice to proceed and described a significant reduction in the backlog.

Drug review pathways and processing times: FDA CDRR Officer-in-Charge Director IV Dr. Charmaine Ann M. Rabago said an imported drug may qualify for facilitated review if an FDA-recognized reference regulatory drug authority (RDRA) has approved the same product and it still meets Philippine requirements. Standard FDA processing was described as 120 working days; facilitated options were 45 days after approval by one RDRA, 30 days after review by at least two RDRAs, and 65 days for collaborative review. Rabago said FDA initially struggled to meet these timelines because of limited personnel. For released applications from January through June 2026, she reported improvement and said the 30-working-day timeline was being met and monitored; the agency was continuing interventions to reach its target timelines.

Level 3 upgrade and clinical readiness: Rep. Ustadz Yusop T. Alano cited Republic Act 12056, which upgrades Basilan General Hospital to the Basilan Medical Center, a Level 3 facility, and raises capacity from 125 to 500 beds with expanded facilities, infrastructure and workforce. Mercado said Level 3 accreditation requires residency programs in four major specialties (general surgery, OB-GYN, pediatrics and internal medicine), with specialty accreditation, case-volume and qualified-faculty requirements. A Level 2 hospital with the necessary equipment and doctors can function at Level 3 capacity, while formal Level 3 status depends on the medical staff's ability to establish the required programs. Alano asked for an implementation timeframe, citing patients still being taken to Zamboanga City; Mercado described the staffing and residency requirements that govern the transition.

Statutory hospital-bed expansion and project sequencing: Rep. Julius Cesar "Jay" V. Vergara said laws had authorized bed-capacity increases at 58 of 86 DOH national hospitals. He said the expansion laws ran from 2018 through 2025, with Republic Act 12204 as the latest. He cited Republic Act 11704, which provides for Cabanatuan to become a regional hospital, and Republic Act 12204, which increases Amang Rodriguez Medical Center in Marikina City from 300 to 500 beds. He urged the Department of Health, Department of Budget and Management, and Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DEPDev) to use a first-in, first-out plan to complete these law-mandated expansions and avoid leaving projects to repeated lobbying. Secretary Edwin M. Mercado said the directive was to finish ongoing projects and prioritize existing hospitals whose expansion was set by law. Mercado committed to inventory ongoing hospital and Health Facilities Enhancement Program projects, including super health centers and health centers, and to provide the committee a list of the relevant laws.

YAKAP centers and physician-based beneficiary capacity: PhilHealth President and CEO Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho said 4,423 YAKAP centers were functional and 17.2 million beneficiaries were assigned to the program. She explained that capacity depends on each center's physician count: PhilHealth had about one physician for every 20,000 beneficiaries, so a center with three physicians could be assigned 60,000 patients. Vergara supported the DOH and PhilHealth.

Heart Center deposits, charity access and emergency care: Aquino-Magsaysay challenged Heart Center's 50% down payment for elective surgery, saying patients seeking guarantee letters struggled to raise it and asking that the requirement be removed for poor patients. Dr. June Aventura clarified that the deposit applied to private patients; charity patients followed a separate route. Aquino-Magsaysay described the difficulty and queues faced by charity patients and asked for a more orderly patient-number system, more wards and better access to the zero-balance program. Mercado said he was discussing urgent and emergent cases with PhilHealth and the Heart Center; he distinguished emergency treatment, which proceeds immediately, from elective cases, for which the Heart Center considered payment arrangements to protect hospital funds.

Medicine review coordination and access to the formulary: Aquino-Magsaysay said medicine reviews could take three to nine years and argued that lengthy approval reduced competition and access to medicines. Mercado described a study that found work was siloed among the FDA, DOH's National Drug Committee and HTAC under DOST. He said he would bring the bodies together to streamline coordination, while preserving HTAC's separate role under law as a check against conflicts of interest. Aquino-Magsaysay urged faster review and raised concerns about how few medicines proceeded through each stage.

Professional-fee payment delays and DRG reform: Roman described delayed professional-fee payments as a barrier to doctors joining public programs. PhilHealth President and CEO Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho said PhilHealth's reimbursement turnaround had accelerated to about 19 days and that private hospitals were paid in full for facility and provider fees, but some hospitals did not pass provider fees on promptly; doctors could wait six months or a year after PhilHealth had paid the hospital. Ho said delayed provider payment violated hospital accreditation warranties, while noting that sanctions must be strong enough to matter without removing essential providers from areas and limiting patient access. She supported diagnosis-related groups (DRGs) with complexity modifiers so more difficult cases could receive higher payment, alongside global budgets that front-load predictable hospital payments and support prompt contracting and payment of clinicians. Ho said PhilHealth and the Philippine Institute for Development Studies were developing DRGs, with consultations and training underway and a pilot hoped for in 2027.

Community mental-health and school-based support: Roman asked how DOH was delivering community-based mental-health care after two families in his district had recently experienced teenage suicides. Secretary Edwin M. Mercado said DOH planned to authorize more training centers to certify mental-health workers, strengthen peer-to-peer support, maintain a 24/7 contact center, increase its available resources, and improve suicide surveillance. He said school-based mental-health services would be coordinated with YAKAP. He described peers as a key early support for young people who disclose suicidal thoughts.

Routine immunization and noncommunicable-disease medicines: Rep. Caroline B. Agyao raised shortages affecting routine OPV, pentavalent, and PCV vaccination and asked how they would affect fully immunized children. Secretary Edwin M. Mercado said pentavalent vaccine procurement had been approved and was expected to move, with delivery hoped for by October or November. He also said 2026 procurement had been signed the prior week, with delivery expected in 30 to 45 days. Agyao asked DOH to restore medicines for noncommunicable diseases in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas, including hypertension treatment and other chronic-condition medicines.

No-balance billing, private cases and professional fees: Rep. Edwin Cruzado cited an expectation that government hospitals allocate 90% of beds to no-balance-billing patients and private hospitals 10%, and asked whether government medical centers were meeting it or serving too many private cases. He urged monitoring and reports comparing indigent and private cases at each national hospital, along with limits on private beds and a ceiling on professional fees. As an example, Cruzado recounted an outpatient hemorrhoidectomy with a PHP 1,000 hospital bill and a PHP 60,000 doctor's fee, and asked for monitoring of professional fees. Secretary of Health Edwin M. Mercado agreed that professional fees needed attention and said DOH was considering hospital networks; he also described long waits for charity-ward beds.

Hospital network for breast-surgery backlog and charity access: Mercado described a hospital network approach to ease charity-ward waits. At the Philippine General Hospital (PGH), he said, 300 patients were on the breast-surgery backlog; PGH performs the workup and a private hospital such as Asian or Cardinal performs the operation. PGH claims the Z-BEN benefit, and Mercado said PGH had agreed with Cardinal on the payment for the operating component. PhilHealth pays the benefit, with MAIFIP available for outlier costs. Mercado added that DOH would study how to engage government-hospital physicians who provide private services to charity patients.

Pending hospital conversion and DOH renationalization criteria: Yap said the nearest complete hospital was about three hours away and recalled that his father died while being taken there; he emphasized the risk for residents without private transport. Mercado said requests for renationalization are assessed against criteria including distance to the nearest hospital, catchment population and whether the province is an island. He said the distance in Southern Leyte would be considered, while noting that Congress and the Senate hold the authority to renationalize hospitals.

PhilHealth ambulance, YAKAP transfers and GAMOT dispensing: PhilHealth President and CEO Dr. Beverly Lorraine Ho confirmed that ambulance transport is already included in PhilHealth benefits. Yap said patients were still being charged and urged stricter implementation, including making compliance part of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) Seal of Good Local Governance, so emergency patients would not need cash before an ambulance could move. On YAKAP, Ho said the one-year transfer wait begins after a first patient encounter (FPE); patients may transfer before that encounter, before PhilHealth has paid the facility for it. Ho also said prescriptions from accredited clinics are valid for three months, while GAMOT pharmacies can dispense only one month of medicine. Yap urged enforcement of the three-month prescription rule, saying repeated clinic visits cost patients work time.

Primary-care licensing and referral standards: Nava asked how DOH would standardize primary-care facilities. Mercado said DOH had deferred facility licensing to widen access because earlier requirements were stringent, and would revisit them. He identified consultation, basic laboratory services, basic X-ray and pharmacy as likely minimum services. Mercado described a proposed referral network with basic facilities feeding district Super Health Centers, provincial tertiary hospitals and regional apex hospitals; Super Health Centers could provide higher-level services, including outpatient surgery. Nava emphasized that residents should know what services each facility can provide and how primary-care sites fit into the referral system. Mercado said DOH would set standards and add structure to development that had proceeded without a roadmap.

Hearing suspended: Rep. Maria Angela S. Garcia suspended the hearing until 7 p.m. on September 2.