ON February 20, President Duterte signed two new laws: Republic Act 11223 and Republic Act 11232. The former is also known as the Universal Health Care Act, and the latter is the new Corporation Code. These are significant developments in the fields of health and business that will indeed touch the lives of every Filipino.
Under the Universal Health Care Act, every Filipino is automatically enrolled in the National Health Insurance Program or the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. It gives everybody an affordable access to quality medical care in private or government hospitals in the country. Also included in the legislation is the improvement of medical facilities in the local government units.
The details of implementation are still vague at this point because it will take a few months still before the implementing rules and regulations are finalized. This is something that we need to watch out for. One of the changes will be about the amounts of member contributions, as well as the policies or processes related to this.
The budget that will be used to implement this law will come from the members’ contributions, of course, and from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., Department of Health (DOH), income from “sin” taxes and the government’s subsidy to PhilHealth.
According to the DOH, P257 billion is needed to implement the Universal Health Care Act in the first year alone. The government’s systems as far as medical or health services are concerned will have to be adjusted to align with the new systems under the new law.
On the other hand, the 38-year old Corporation Code was amended via RA 11232, which makes it easier for businessmen to do business in the Philippines. There is a series of important changes brought about by the revised law. First is the validity of one-person corporations, as opposed to the old requirement of five stockholders to form a corporation. Secondly, the new law removes the provision about setting a minimum authorized capital stock.
The amended law also changed the previous 50-year term into a perpetual corporate term for existing and future corporations, unless specified in the article of incorporation. Additionally, corporations with expired papers are now allowed to revive their business, under this new law.
To align with the advancements in technology, the new law mandates the Securities and Exchange Commission to implement an electronic filing and monitoring system, which allows stockholders to participate in meetings remotely, via videoconference or teleconference. Likewise, the directors and trustees can cast their votes remotely during special meetings.
These are just some of the highlights of the new law. It is one way to promote a competitive economy and improve our business climate. It’s also an appropriate answer to the dismal performance of the country in the “ease of doing business” worldwide ranking (124th out of 190 countries). Hopefully, with this new legislation, we will see not only an improvement in our ranking but also in the overall condition and performance of businesses in the Philippines.