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HealthSocial Welfare
BillSBN-151620th Congress

Aparri Medical Center (Aparri, Cagayan)

In committee Filed Nov 12, 2025
◷ Where it standsIn Committee
FiledCommittee2nd Reading3rd ReadingBicamEnacted

Filed on November 12, 2025, and referred to the Committee on Rules; it has been pending in committee since December 3, 2025, with no recorded action since then.

Should you care?
Relevance to you
Moderate

The bill addresses the need for improved healthcare facilities in a growing population area.

Residents of AparriPatients from CagayanHealthcare professionalsDepartment of Health
Timeliness
Timely

The growing population in Aparri necessitates improved healthcare services.

Affects you ifAparri residentsPatients from neighboring townsHealthcare workersLocal government units
Impact assessment
AI read — verify with source
Overall impact
5.7/ 10
Long title

Aparri Medical Center (Aparri, Cagayan)

Plain-language summary
AI Summary

This bill aims to upgrade the Aparri Provincial Hospital in Cagayan into a Level II General Hospital, increasing its bed capacity to 100 beds and enhancing its healthcare services and facilities under the supervision of the Department of Health.

What this bill actually requires
RequiresUpgrade the Aparri Provincial Hospital to a Level II General Hospital.
RequiresIncrease bed capacity from 75 to 100 beds.
RequiresUpgrade professional healthcare services and facilities.
FundsFunding to be included in the General Appropriations Act.
Deadline90 days for implementing rules and regulations after effectivity.
Deadline15 days after publication for the Act to take effect.
ⓘ AI-generated — verify with the source.↗ Official Senate PDF
What changes from current law

Compared with current law:

Today

Aparri Provincial Hospital has 75 beds.

This bill

Aparri Medical Center will have 100 beds.

Today

Current healthcare services are limited.

This bill

Healthcare services will be upgraded.

Today

Staffing levels are insufficient.

This bill

Medical personnel will be increased.

ⓘ AI-generated comparison — verify against the bill and the cited law.
Ask this bill

The main purpose of SBN-1516 is to upgrade the Aparri Provincial Hospital into a Level II General Hospital, increasing its bed capacity to 100 beds and enhancing its healthcare services and facilities.

Source · full text
Issue areas
HealthSocial WelfareHealthcare ServicesDepartment of HealthHospital upgradeAparri Medical CenterCagayan Province

✦ Dashed tags are AI-suggested nuance; solid tags follow the committee taxonomy.

Legislative history
Nov 12, 2025Senate
Introduced by Senator WIN T. GATCHALIAN;
Dec 3, 2025Senate
Read on First Reading and Referred to the Committee on RULES;
✦ AI insight

Stalled: the bill has sat in the committee for over 10 months with no action since its referral on December 3, 2025.

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Floor activity

No floor deliberations yet — this measure has not reached plenary. Its committee-stage actions appear under Legislative history above.

Full text
SBN-1516 — verbatim textAs filed

Senate Office of the Scaretary TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 25 NOV 12 P5:41 First Regular Session SENATE RECEIVED BY: S.B. No. 1516 Introduced by SEN. WIN GATCHALIAN AN ACT UPGRADING THE APARRI PROVINCIAL HOSPITAL IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF APARRI, PROVINCE OF CAGAYAN INTO A LEVEL II GENERAL HOSPITAL TO BE KNOWN AS THE APARRI MEDICAL CENTER, PLACING IT UNDER THE DIRECT SUPERVISION AND CONTROL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, INCREASING ITS BED CAPACITY TO 100 BEDS, UPGRADING ITS PROFESSIONAL HEALTH CARE SERVICES AND FACILITIES, AUTHORIZING THE INCREASE OF ITS MEDICAL PERSONNEL AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR EXPLANATORY NOTE One of the means to implement the constitutional mandate enunciated in

Section 11, Article XIII of the 1987 Constitution' is to ensure that our health facilities,

especially hospitals, in cities and provinces are improved and provided with adequate resources and support to serve the needs of the people. For more than 50 years, the Aparri Provincial Hospital (APH) has served not only the ailing constituents of the municipality of Aparri, Cagayan, but also patients coming from its neighboring towns of Lallo, Gattaran, Buguey, Camanalaniugan, Sta. Ana, Sta. Teresa, Gonzaga, Lasam, Allacapan, Island of Camiguin and Calayan. With 1 Sec. 11. The State shall adopt and integrated and comprehensive approach to health development which shall endeavor to make essential goods, health, and other social services available to the people at affordable cost. There shall be priority for the needs of the underprivileged sick, elderly, disabled, women, and children. The State shall endeavor to provide free medical care to paupers.

the passage of Republic Act No. 7381 in 1992, the APH became a referral hospital of different district hospitals in the Province of Cagayan and the Island of Cayan and Camiguin. However, the growing population of the municipality of Aparri and its nearby towns, and the absence of a nearby higher-level hospital facility, emphasizes the need to upgrade and rehabilitate APH's facilities to allow it to provide a higher quality of health care services to its constituents and alleviate the hardships of patients who need to travel long hours to Tuguegarao City to avail of more advanced health care procedures. Accordingly, this bill seeks to upgrade the existing Aparri Provincial Hospital into a Level II General Hospital under the direct supervision and control of the Department of Health, increasing its bed capacity to one hundred (100) beds, and upgrading its professional health care services and facilities. In consideration of public health, support for the passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

Senate Office of the Setretary TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 25 NOV 12 P5:41 First Regular Session RECEIVED BY: SENATE S. B. No. _ 1516 Introduced by SEN. WIN GATCHALIAN UPGRADING THE APARRI PROVINCIAL HOSPITAL IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF APARRI, PROVINCE OF CAGAYAN INTO A LEVEL II GENERAL HOSPITAL TO BE KNOWN AS THE APARRI MEDICAL CENTER, PLACING IT UNDER THE DIRECT SUPERVISION AND CONTROL OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, INCREASING ITS BED CAPACITY TO 100 BEDS, UPGRADING ITS PROFESSIONAL HEALTH CARE SERVICES AND FACILITIES, AUTHORIZING THE INCREASE OF ITS MEDICAL PERSONNEL AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. The Aparri Provincial Hospital in the Municipality of Aparri,

Province of Cagayan, is hereby upgraded from a Level II into a Level II General Hospital to be known as the Aparri Medical Center (AMC) which shall be placed under the management, direct supervision, and control of the Department of Health (DOH). The authorized bed capacity of the medical center is hereby increased from seventy-five (75) to one hundred (100) beds. Any future increase in the hospital's bed capacity shall be based on its hospital development plan which 9 shall be prepared by the hospital management of the AMC and submitted to the DOH to reflect the development goals of the hospital.

SEC. 2. The existing operating fund, service capability, and professional

health care services of the AMC shall be upgraded and increased to conform

1 with and be commensurate to its nationalization and the increase in bed 2 capacity as provided in Section 1 hereof, consistent with the hospital development plan.

SEC. 3. The existing workforce of the AMC, including doctors, nurses and

support personnel shall be correspondingly increased to conform with Section 1 of this Act, consistent with the hospital development plan. The DOH, in coordination with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and in consultation 9 with the management of the AMC, shall determine the additional plantilla positions to be created and filled up.

SEC. 4. The Secretary of Health shall immediately include in the

Department's program the implementation of this Act, the funding of which shall be included in the General Appropriations Act.

SEC. 5. Within ninety (90) days from the effectivity of this Act, the DOH

shall promulgate the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act. The IRR shall be consistent with the hospital 17 development plan.

SEC. 6. If any portion or provision of this Act is declared invalid or

unconstitutional, other provisions hereof shall remain in full force and effect.

SEC. 7. All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules, and regulations which

are inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed, amended, or modified 22 accordingly.

SEC. 8. This Act shall take effect after fifteen (15) days from its

24 publication in the Official Gazette or in a national newspaper of general circulation. Approved,

Reproduced from the Senate document. The official PDF is the authoritative version.