Revised Policy on Philippine Cancer Prevention and Control

Objectives

The policy framework aims to reduce the impact of cancer and improve the well-being and quality of life of people with cancer and their families through an equitable, sustainable and patient-centred continuum of care. This continuum spans prevention, health promotion, screening and early detection, diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation and survivorship, palliative care, and hospice or end-of-life care.[1][2][3]It is organised through the Philippine Cancer Prevention and Control Program, which promotes coordinated multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary cancer management, patient navigation, cancer education, research, surveillance and registry development.[3][4]

• Operationalise the National Cancer Registry and Surveillance System, including population-based and facility or hospital-based registries, to support cancer-control planning, data analysis and dissemination.[2][5]
• Reduce cancer mortality, improve survival and strengthen quality of life through earlier diagnosis, prompt treatment, rehabilitation, psychosocial support and appropriate palliative and hospice care.[2][6][3]
• Reduce the incidence of cancers associated with avoidable risk factors through prevention, health promotion, cancer education and screening.[2][3]
• Expand equitable access to comprehensive cancer services, including surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, hormone therapy, immunotherapy, targeted therapy, nutritional support and innovative medicines according to patient needs.[2][6]
• Strengthen health facilities, the cancer workforce, referral arrangements and the availability, affordability and rational use of essential cancer medicines.[5]
• Establish and maintain national protocols, standards, accreditation requirements and comprehensive management guidelines for prioritised cancers, including childhood cancer, and for cancer institutes and centres.[2][3][4]
• Reduce the financial burden of cancer care through health-insurance packages and financing arrangements for screening, diagnosis and treatment.[5][4]

Implementation

Implementation uses an integrated national-to-local delivery model led by the Department of Health and the National Cancer Control Committee. The Committee sets the programme roadmap, develops national protocols and standards, coordinates cancer-control work, supports registry and surveillance functions, and undertakes implementation reviews and impact evaluations.[3][4]Service delivery is intended to operate across all levels of care through designated hospitals and facilities, multidisciplinary teams, patient-navigation arrangements and referral systems.[2][6][5]

• Coordinate national policy and programme delivery through the National Cancer Control Committee, with participation from the Department of Health, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, Food and Drug Administration, hospitals, cancer and patient organisations, health-promotion services and pharmaceutical regulators.[3]
• Establish Regional Cancer Control Committees to adopt national policies and standards, develop and implement regional activities, and meet regularly under Department of Health Regional Office leadership.[3][4]
• Establish Provincial Cancer Control Committees through provincial authorities and health offices, involving city and municipal health officers and other stakeholders in local implementation.[4]
• Assign Department of Health bureaux responsibility for programme direction, service standards, communications, facility development, regulation, surveillance, information systems, medicines, technical assistance and external support. The Disease Prevention and Control Bureau provides overall coordination and supports cancer-financing design with the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation and other partners; the Health Promotion and Communications Service leads communication planning; the Health Facility Development Bureau supports upgrades; and the Health Facilities and Services Regulatory Bureau oversees compliance with infrastructure, equipment and personnel standards.[4][5]
• Engage local government units, government-owned and controlled corporations, public and private providers, health professionals, medicine and health-product providers, professional societies, civil society, non-government organisations, research partners, academia, development partners, the private sector, and patients and patients’ groups.[2][5][7]
• Develop and update protocols, clinical and management guidelines, patient-navigation guidance, information and education materials, workforce learning interventions, medicine supply chains, logistics systems and referral mechanisms.[3][4][5]
• Monitor progress by developing performance and outcome indicators and monitoring tools with the Health Policy Development and Planning Bureau. Begin formal monitoring and evaluation three years after policy effectivity and continue annually thereafter.[7]
• Fund implementation through Department of Health regular budget allocations, special funds including Sin Tax Revenues, and other funding sources. The available text does not specify budget amounts, allocation formulas, funding gaps or detailed resource-mobilisation arrangements.[7]

Monitoring & Evaluation

The policy establishes a national monitoring and accountability framework centred on cancer registries, surveillance, performance measurement, implementation review and multi-level governance. It requires operationalisation of the National Cancer Registry and Surveillance System, while national and local cancer-control committees oversee implementation and use evidence to guide cancer-control activities.[2][4][5]

• Establish and sustain national cancer surveillance systems, manage and disseminate cancer-control data, and support population-based cancer registries through the Epidemiology Bureau.[5]
• Oversee the health-facility and hospital-based National Cancer Registry through the Knowledge Management and Information Technology Service.[5]
• Develop key performance and outcome indicators, alongside monitoring tools, in coordination with the Health Policy Development and Planning Bureau to measure policy progress and impact.[7]
• Undertake monitoring and evaluation beginning three years after the policy takes effect and annually thereafter.[7]
• Conduct regular implementation reviews and impact evaluations through the National Cancer Control Committee, which is also responsible for collecting and analysing registry and surveillance data.[4]
• Support accountability through Regional Cancer Control Committees, which adopt national policies and standards, implement regional activities and meet regularly under Department of Health Regional Office leadership.[3][4]
• Establish Provincial Cancer Control Committees through provincial authorities and health offices to coordinate local implementation with city and municipal health officers and other stakeholders.[4]
• Maintain regularly updated compendia of guidelines and standards for prioritised cancers, including childhood cancer, and apply regulatory and accreditation standards to cancer institutes and centres.[2]

The provided material does not specify numerical indicator definitions or targets, routine reporting formats or deadlines, data-quality procedures, evaluation methodologies, public reporting arrangements, or sanctions for non-compliance.[4][7]

Costing & Financing

The policy identifies cancer as a substantial economic burden and links cancer control to financial protection, health-financing design and public funding for implementation. The rationale estimates that cancer-related lost output and treatment costs drained approximately 2 trillion US dollars from the global economy in 2014, equivalent to around 1.5% of global gross domestic product.[1]

• Improve access to cancer care and provide financial protection against cancer-related costs.[1]
• Provide technical and financial support for prevention, early detection, treatment, palliative care and hospice care through the National Cancer Control Committee.[4]
• Support the design of health financing for cancer screening, diagnosis and treatment through the Disease Prevention and Control Bureau, in collaboration with the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation and other partners.[4]
• Reduce the financial burden of cancer care through health-insurance packages and improve affordable access to essential cancer medicines.[5]
• Fund implementation at all levels of care through Department of Health regular budget allocations, special funds including Sin Tax Revenues, and other funding sources.[7]

No programme budget, costed implementation plan, allocation by level of care, expenditure estimate, funding-gap assessment, financing target, resource-mobilisation target or detailed economic assumption is specified in the provided material.[1][4][7]