PRESCRIBING ADDITIONAL MEASURES TO IMPROVE THE DELIVERY OF HEALTH SERVICES DEVOLVED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS

WHEREAS, certain health functions and responsibilities of the Department of
Health have been devolved to local government units on 31 December 1992
pursuant to Republic Act No. 7160, otherwise known as the Local Government Code
of 1991;

WHEREAS, the efficient and effective discharge of such devolved health
functions and responsibilities by local government units depends greatly on the
morale and social and economic well being of their health workers;

WHEREAS, Section 19 of Republic Act No. 7305, the Magna Carta of Public
Health Workers, stipulates that the salary scales of public health workers
whose salaries are appropriated by local government units shall not less than
those provided for public health workers of the National Government;

WHEREAS, the adoption of the fund allotment system, prescribed under
Department of Budget and Management and Commission on Audit Joint Circular No.
93-2 (Budget Operations Manual for Local Government Units) issued pursuant
to Section 354 of the Local Government Code, will not only expedite devolved
hospital financial and procurement operations but also ensure better
accountability in the usage of public funds;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FIDEL
V. RAMOS, President of the Republic of the
Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, upon the
recommendation of the Chairman of the Oversight Committee constituted under
Section 533 of the Local Government Code, do hereby order and direct:

Section 1. Section 5(c) of Executive Order No. 164 dated 8 March 1994 shall be
deemed amended insofar as the devolved public health workers are concerned to
read as follows:

“The salary scales of public
health workers devolved to or appointed by local government units shall follow
the same salary scales for health workers of the National Government under the
Revised Compensation and Position Classification System implemented through
this Order No. 164.

Local government units which
do not have adequate or sufficient funds to pay the salary increases herein
authorized shall only partially implement the established rates uniformly and
proportionately for all health worker positions.”

Section 2. Local government units shall prepare, or revise if they have
already prepared, their 1995 annual budgets to give the highest priority to the
funding requirements of their devolved health responsibilities, inclusive of
the benefits guaranteed by law for their health workers, devolved or otherwise.

Section 3. Provincial government shall pass the necessary ordinances to
implement the following: (a) expansion of the coverage of their fund allotment
system, as prescribed under Joint Circular No. 93-2 of the Department of Budget
and Management and the Commission on Audit, to include their devolved
hospitals; and (b) rationalization of the usage and deployment of their
devolved hospitals and other health facilities, which may include consolidation
or merger, privatization and inter-local joint financing.

Section 4. The Secretary of Health shall extend the necessary technical and
financial assistance to the local government units in the exercise of their
devolved health functions and responsibilities.

Section 5. The rules and regulations to implement this order shall be jointly
issued by the Secretaries of Health, Interior and Local Government, and Budget
and Management.

Section 6. This Order shall take effect immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 13th day of December in the year
of Our Lord Nineteen Hundred and Ninety Four.

(Sgd.) FIDEL
V. RAMOS
President of the Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.) TEOFISTO T. GUINGONA, JR.
Executive Secretary

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