Oral health is something that should neither be ignored nor neglected by Filipinos.

This was the gist of House Bill (HB) No. 4691, or the proposed "Oral Healthcare Act” that was filed by Leyte-based congressmen led by Leyte 1st district Rep. Martin Romualdez in the current 20th Congress.

“Hindi dapat ituring na hiwalay ang kalusugan ng ngipin—ito ay bahagi ng kabuuang kalusugan ng bawat Pilipino. Sa panukalang ito, sisiguraduhin nating ang serbisyong dental ay abot-kaya, accessible, at hindi pribilehiyo kundi karapatan, lalo na para sa mga bata, buntis, at senior citizens,” Romualdez, a lawyer from the University of the Philippines (UP), said in a statement Sunday, April 12.

(Oral health should never be treated as separate—it is part of the overall health of every Filipino. This proposal ensures that dental services are affordable, accessible, and recognized not as a privilege but as a right, especially for children, pregnant women, and senior citizens.)

“Kapag pinabayaan ang oral health, lumalaki ang gastos at problema ng pamilya. Layunin ng panukalang ito na gawing bahagi ng pangunahing serbisyong pangkalusugan ang dental care upang mapagaan ang gastusin at mapabuti ang kalidad ng buhay ng bawat Pilipino,” added the two-time former House Speaker.

(Neglecting oral health increases family expenses and burdens. The aim of this measure is to integrate dental care into primary health services to ease costs and improve the quality of life of every Filipino.)

The proposed statute recognizes that oral diseases are major public health problems and that oral health is integral to general health and essential for the well-being of every people. This mandates the State to adopt “an integrated and comprehensive approach to health development".

“Ang simpleng problema sa ngipin kapag napabayaan, nagiging malaking pasanin sa pamilya. Sa panukalang ito, tinitiyak nating mas maraming Pilipino ang magkakaroon ng access sa maayos na serbisyong dental,” said Tingog Party-list Rep. Jude Acidre, another author of HB No.4691.

(A simple dental problem, when ignored, becomes a heavy burden for families. Through this proposal, we guarantee that more Filipinos will gain access to proper dental services.)

The bill further emphasizes the need for stronger public investment and preventive care, after it stated that the government must “adopt responsive and efficient policies in oral disease prevention and promotion by scaling up essential programs and increasing investments to make oral health treatment and care more equitable and affordable for all, especially for the underprivileged, poor, and marginalized Filipinos".

Under the measure, a National Oral Health Program will be established to improve oral health outcomes, expand access to basic dental services, and reduce the prevalence of dental caries and periodontal diseases.

The program will integrate oral health promotion into existing public health initiatives, including the implementation of Republic Act (RA) No. 11223 or the Universal Health Care (UHC) Act, and RA No. 11148 or the “Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng Mag-Nanay Act,” alongside programs on nutrition, maternal and child health, and other priority sectors.

The bill mandates the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) to expand its benefit packages to cover a wider range of oral health services for both adults and children.

It also provides that the development and expansion of these benefits shall undergo a proper, transparent, and standardized prioritization process in accordance with the relevant provisions of the UHC Act.

It also seeks to “provide timely access to quality basic oral health care and treatment", “control risks to oral health, especially of the younger population", and “make oral health treatment and care more affordable and accessible".

The bill defines basic oral healthcare as services that include “oral examination, toothbrushing drills, scaling or oral prophylaxis, filling of restorable cavities and extraction of unsavable teeth, including referral and check-up of dental clinical cases".

To strengthen implementation, the proposal creates an Oral Health Service (OHS) under the Department of Health (DOH), which will oversee “policy development, standard setting, coordination, and integration of all oral health activities".

Among the functions of the OHS are to “formulate and recommend policies, standards, guidelines and techniques on oral health services,” and to “coordinate and oversee the provision of oral health services in all hospitals of the national government and local government units".

Aside from Romualdez and Acidre, Tingog Party-list Reps. Yedda Marie Romualdez and Andrew Julian Romualdez were also listed as authors of HB No.4691.