Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled: 

SECTION 1. The Bataan Provincial Hospital in the Province of Bataan is hereby upgraded into a Level III hospital with capacity as a teaching and training facility, in accordance with the standards of the Department of Health (DOH), to be known as the Bataan General Hospital and Medical Center.

The authorized bed capacity of the Bataan General Hospital and Medical center is hereby increased from three hundred fifty (350) to five hundred (500) beds, to be implemented for a period of not motre than two (2) years from the approval of this Act.

SEC. 2. The existing medical equipment and facilities, its operating funds and construction of the needed infrastructure of the Bataan General Hospital and Medical Center are hereby upgraded to conform with and be commensurate to the increase in bed capacity as provided in Section 1 hereof.

SEC. 3. The amount necessary for the upgrade, including the acquisition of additional medical equipment and facilities and the construction of needed infrastructure shall be charged against the succeeding year's appropriations of the DOH and thereafter, such sums as may be necessary for its continued operations shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

SEC. 4. The Secretary of Health shall promulgate the necessary rules and regulations for the implementation of this Act within sixty (60) days from its effectivity.

SEC. 5. Republic Act No. 8561, upgrading the Bataan Provincial hospital, is hereby repealed. All other laws, decrees, orders, issuances, rules and regulations, and parts thereof which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, are hereby repealed, amended or modified accordingly.

SEC. 6. If any provision of this Act is hel invalid or unconstitutional, other provisions not affected thereby shall continue to be in full force and effect.

SEC. 7. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,

(SGD.) GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO       Speaker of the House of Representatives

(SGD.) VICENTE C. SOTTO III     President of the Senate

This Act was passed by the Senate of the Philippines as Senate Bill No. 1649 on July 24, 2018 and adopted by the House of Representatives as an amendment to House Bill No. 6521 on September 10, 2018.

(SGD.) DANTE ROBERTO P. MALING       Acting Secretary General House of Representatives

(SGD.) MYRA MARIE D. VILLARICA         Secretary of the Senate

Approve: OCT 30 2018

(SGD.) RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE
  President of the Philippines