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The Department of Health (DOH) assured the public Thursday that all government health facilities are ready to meet any deficiency that maybe caused by the planned move of some private hospitals to declare "hospital holiday" on Friday.

The DOH made the assurance in view of reports that some private hospitals are planning to accept only emergency cases tomorrow in protest of the passage of Republic Act 9439, otherwise known as the Hospital Detention Law.

The DOH considered the planned action of these hospitals, which are members of the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines, as premature because the rules and regulations to implement R.A. 9439 have not yet been drafted.

Once the implementing rules and regulations are drafted, these will still be subject to public consultations and scrutiny, the DOH said.

The DOH explained that Republic Act 9439 should not be construed as anti-poor as it only covers paying patients.

In fact, the law will serve as a guarantee or protection of private hospitals against patients who cannot pay by requiring them to issue a promissory note, the department said.

A meeting between DOH officials and representatives of the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines is scheduled today to discuss the PHAP concerns about R.A. 9439.

Meanwhile, Philippine Hospital Association president Dr. Tiburcio Macias, whose group is composed of public and private hospitals of the country, assured the DOH that their group will not be joining the proposed "hospital holiday."