WHEREAS, it is a historical fact that the Bayombong Hospital in Nueva Vizcaya played a vital and historical role in the resistance movement against the Japanese Forces, being the hospital which the then Major Ferdinand E. Marcos "raided" and evacuated to the mountain headquarters of the 14th Infantry, USAFIP, to become the nucleus of the Regimental Hospital of the said unit;

WHEREAS, the said Hospital and its personnel contributed in large measure to the success of guerrilla operations in Nucva Vizcaya, Isabela, Ifugao and other adjoining provinces;

WHEREAS, in recognition of the foregoing facts and wishing to perpetuate the remembrance of a historical event, the Municipal Council of Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya, has unanimously approved a resolution changing the name of the Bayombong Hospital to Major Ferdinand E. Marcos Hospital; and

WHEREAS, there is increasing need to extend greater assistance to the country's war veterans, their offsprings, orphans, widows and other relatives, including the "bolo-men";

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers in me vested by the Constitution as Commander-in-Chief of all the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and pursuant to Proclamation No. 1081, dated September 21, 1972, and General Order No. 1, dated September 22, 1972, as amended, do hereby order and decree to be part of the laws of the land the following:

SECTION 1. The Major Ferdinand E. Marcos Hospital in the Municipality of Bayombong, Province of Nueva Vizcaya, is hereby converted into a veterans regional hospital to be known as the Major Ferdinand E. Marcos Veterans Regional Hospital, hereinafter referred to as the Veterans' Hospital.

SEC. 2. The Veterans’ Hospital shall have a minimum capacity of one hundred (100) beds.

There shall be established Field Hospitals in historic sites where units or contingents of the USAFIP, NL were established, or other guerrilla outfits bivouacked, or engaged in the resistance movement, depending on the need therefor and the availability of funds to be determined by the Secretary of Health or his representative and a representative of the Board of Directors of the USAFIP, NX, Inc.: Provided, however, Thai one Field Hospital shall each be established in Kayapa, Nueva Vizcaya, and in Barrio Panupdupan, Lamut, Ifugao.

The Field Hospitals shall be directly under the administrative control and supervision of the Director of the Veterans' Hospital and shall have at least a twenty-five-bed capacity. The staff and employees of the Field Hospitals shall be appointed by the Secretary of Health upon recommendation of the Director of the Veterans' Hospital established herein.

SEC. 3. The Veterans' Hospital shall continue to be under the administrative control of the Department of Health.

SEC. 4. The Veterans' Hospital shall be headed by a Director who shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines. The members of the staff and other employees shall be appointed by the Secretary of Health upon recommendation by the Director of the Veterans' Hospital.

The Field Hospitals shall each be headed by a Chief of Hospital appointed by the Secretary of Health in accordance with law.

SEC. 5. The following shall be entitled to free medical services:

a. USAFIP, NL Veterans;
b. "Bolo-men" whose services are duly attested to by competent officers of any USAFIP, NX unit or contingent;
c. Wives of USAFIP, NL Veterans or "bolo-men" or widows thereof; and
d. Children or orphans of USAFIP, NL Veterans or "bolo-men" of minor age.

The following shall be entitled to fifty percent (50%) discount in hospital fees:

a. Relatives of USAFIP, NL Veterans within the fourth degree of affinity or consanguinity, not entitled to the benefits provided for under the first paragraph of this Section; and
b. Relatives of "bolo-men" within the same degree as stated in the preceding sub-paragraph.

SEC. 6. The local governments concerned shall contribute their respective shares for the operation and maintenance of the Veterans' Hospital and its Field Hospitals in accordance with existing laws.

SEC. 7. The Veterans' Hospital shall be entitled to receive financial or any other form of assistance from appropriate funds of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, the Veterans' Foundation of the Philippines, the Philippine Veterans' Administration and other agencies or instrumentalities.

SEC. 8. The staff and employees of the Major Ferdinand E. Marcos Hospital shall be absorbed by the Veterans' Hospital, subject to existing laws: Provided, That no official or employee shall suffer a demotion in rank or salary.

SEC. 9. All parcels of land, buildings, equipment and facilities owned by the Major Ferdinand E. Marcos Hospital, as well as all obligations and appropriations thereof, shall be transferred to the Veterans' Hospital.

SEC. 10. In addition to the amount already appropriated for the Bayombong Hospital, there is hereby appropriated the sum of Five hundred thousand pesos (P500,000) for the Veterans' Hospital. The sum of one hundred fifty thousand pesos (P150,000) for the two Field Hospitals herein established is hereby also appropriated. Hereafter such sums as may be necessary for the operation and maintenance of the Veterans' Hospital, the two Field Hospitals established and the other field hospitals to be established under this Decree shall be included annually in the General Appropriations Act.

SEC. 11. This Decree shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 5th day of October, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-three.