CONVERTING THE MAJOR FERDINAND E. MARCOS HOSPITAL IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF BAYOMBONG, PROVINCE OF NUEVA VIZCAYA, INTO THE MAJOR FERDINAND E. MARCOS VETERANS REGIONAL HOSPITAL.[]

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.