Senator Alan Peter Cayetano on Thursday refiled a bill establishing a National Health Passport System to provide every Filipino with a unified, comprehensive record of their medical history and improve access to healthcare nationwide.
First filed in 2000 during his term as City of Taguig district representative, Cayetano reintroduced the measure in the 20th Congress, stressing the importance of accessible and accurate medical documentation.
“For Filipinos in general, it is not a usual practice to keep such documentation — whether of previous check-ups, diagnostic test results, medications, treatments, and procedures done, among others,” Cayetano said in the explanatory note.
“Thus, assisting Filipinos in record keeping and making medical history available should also be given emphasis and priority by the government,” he added.
The proposed Health Passport System Act seeks to provide each citizen with a physical or digital health passport linked to their PhilSys National ID, consolidating their medical and dental history, laboratory results, immunization records, prescriptions, and other relevant health data.
According to Cayetano, the health passport “provides both the medical practitioner and the patient a full picture of the latter’s condition,” making it a potentially life-saving tool in emergencies.
“Medical data recorded in the health passport cautions the patient to be aware of his congenital or hereditary illness consistent with the saying that to be forewarned is to be forearmed,” he said.
Beyond individual benefits, the system is also designed to support better healthcare planning and prevent unnecessary duplication of diagnostic tests.
“Recording of the results of these tests to one’s health passport will guide physicians in making proper diagnosis, give other physicians a better perspective of the medical history of the patient, and prevent duplication of tests being done on the same patient,” Cayetano said.
The bill also guarantees a free, comprehensive medical check-up at least once a year for all indigent or disadvantaged Filipinos — covering physical and dental exams, diagnostics, immunizations, and disease screenings — to be made available at public healthcare facilities and fully shouldered by the Department of Health (DOH) and PhilHealth.
More than two decades after he first filed the bill, Cayetano expressed hope that the current Congress will finally see it passed into law.
“This representation looks forward to seeing this proposed legislation finally come to fruition during this Congress,” he said.
