The Right to Care card is a document issued by some municipal governments in the Philippines for LGBTQ couples who are city residents.
History The Right to Care card was first introduced by the Quezon City government. It was launched on June 24, 2023, by the Quezon City government under Mayor Joy Belmonte coinciding with Pride Month observance. The project is a partnership between the city government and MullenLowe Treyna. The idea to enable LGBTQ people to give their partner permission to make medical decisions in behalf of each other via a special power of attorney was conceived by MullenLowe Treyna associate creative director Adrian de Guzman back in 2020.
The implementation of the relevant program was launched in select hospitals under the Quezon City government such as the Quezon City General Hospital, Novaliches District Hospital, and Rosario Maaclang Bautista General Hospital. The city government intends to secure partnerships with privately run hospitals within the city. By June 2024, 800 couples have registered for Quezon City Right to Care Card and 78 couples have been issued with their cards.
It took two more years since the Quezon City's card's launch, for another local government unit to adopt a similar program. On June 13, 2025, San Juan in Metro Manila passed the City Ordinance No. 16 series of 2025, authorizing a Right to Care card for city residents.
Other cities, municipalities and provinces followed suit. Cavite is the first province to implement a similar measure when it passed Provincial Ordinance No. 532-2026 on April 20, 2026.
Proposed nationwide implementation The institutionalizing of a Right to Care system has been proposed in the Philippine Congress; both at the House of Representatives and the Senate level.
Senator Risa Hontiveros filed her version of the Right to Care Bill under Senate Bill No. 1985 in the Senate.
Localities with Right to Care Cities City / municipality Date Enacting document ID Card name Quezon City – Launch – Ordinance City Ordinance No. 3221 Right to Care ID San Juan, Metro Manila City Ordinance No. 16 Right to Care ID Iloilo City City ordinance Health Care Proxy Card
Ordinances were also passed in Dasmariñas, Mandaluyong, and Parañaque
Provinces Province Date Enacting document ID Card name Cavite Provincial Ordinance No. 532 CareCavite ID Cebu Executive Order No. 29 Right to Care ID
Benefits Prior to the launch of the card, hospitals and other medical facilities only allow legal spouses or next of kin to make important medical decisions in behalf of an individual. This excludes same-sex partners from doing the same. They have to secure a special power of attorney (SPA).
The card could be availed through the Quezon City gender and development (GAD) office. It contains a QR code linking to the relevant notarized SPA.
Right to Care began as an initiative to protect LGBTQIA+ couples. But as different government levels began adopting the card, but some jurisdictions also cover other Filipinos in non-traditional relationship unrecognized by the law during medical emergencies:
Solo parents Senior citizens Non-marital couples Persons with disabilities OFW families Estranged individuals
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