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Republic oftl.e Plzilippines

PHILIPPINE HEALTH INSURANCE CORPORATION
Citystate Centre, 709 Shaw Boulevard, Pasig City
Call Center (02) 441-7442 Trunkline (02) 441-7444
www.philhealth.gov.ph

PHILHEALTH CIRCULAR
No. 2018- f)OO(f .

FOR ALL PHILHEALTH ACCREDITED COLLECTING AGENTS, AND

ALL OTHERS CONCERNED

SUBJECT Guidelines on the Use of Electronic Collection Reporting System (ECRS)

I. RATIONALE

Section 11 of the Revised Implementing Rules and Regulations of the National Health
Insurance Act of 2013 of RA 7875 as amended by RA 10606, states that remittance of
contributions shall be ma;,datory for all members. It shall be made to PhilHealth offices
or to any of its Accredited Collecting Agents (ACAs). Failure to timely remit the
appropriate premium contribution shall be subject to interest and surcharges as
prescribed by the Corporation without prejudice to other applicable penalties herein
provided.

In support to the Corporation's Information System Strategic Plan, the Fund

Management Sector thru its Treasury Department facilitated the creation of a reporting
system called the Electronic Collection Reporting System (ECRS) to ensure efficient
reporting and posting of premium collections of the A CAs.

II, OBJECTIVES

This Circular is issued to provide guidance to Accredited Collecting Agents (ACAs) on

the use of the Electronic Collection Reporting System (ECRS).

III. SCOPE

This Circular shall cover the Accredited Collecting Agents (ACAs) submitting per day
abstract collection report (RF2) in textfile format.

rv_ DEFINITION OF TERMS

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A. Accredited Collecting Agent (ACA) - any person, natural or juridical, accredited by
the Corporation to receive, account and remit premium contributions of members.

B. Electronic Collection Reporting System (ECRS) - a web-based application

system that allows the ACA to upload daily the RF2 in textfile format.

C. Abstract Collection Report (RF2) - a detailed report of all transacted premium

collections by ACA for a given period.

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D. Deficient File- a detailed report of transactions with errors generated from ECRS.

E. Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)- a signed unilateral type ofNDA expressively

concurring to the non-disclosure/ confidentiality policies and on the provision and
acceptable use of digital certificate issued by Phi!Health.

F. Digital Certificate - an electronic "passport" that allows a person, computer or

organization to exchange information securely over the Internet through public key
infrastructure. It primarily contains electronic credential/information for asserting
the identity of certain entity or device. Digital Certificate is essentially used for
security purposes, i.e. to encrypt online data/information communication.

G. Bank Routing Symbol Transit Number (BRSTN) - the popular term for a Bank
Identifier Code (BIC) used among banks in the Philippines to transfer funds. It is a
nine-digit code identifying your country, city, and bank.

H. Branch Code (BC) - a unique code not more than nine (9) characters assigned by
Phi!Health for the branch of an Accredited Collecting Agent (ACA) in lieu/ absence
of the BRSTN.

I. Statement of Premium Account (SPA) -a form with payment details generated by

employers through their own accounts in the Electronic Premium Remittance System
(EPRS).

J. Phi!Health Agents Receipt (PAR) - a sequentially-numbered accountable

form/receipt for issuance by the ACA upon acceptance of payment for premium
contribution made over-the-counter (OTC) by the paying member/payor.

v. GENERAL GUIDELINES

To support the National Health Insurance Program in providing the members access to
quality health care services through proper and timely reporting and posting of premium
contributions of members, the use of Electronic Collection Reporting System (ECRS)
shall be mandated.

In line with the above, all A CAs are advised to adhere to this Circular and observe the
follo,ving:

A. Requesting access to ECRS.

1. The ACA shall secure a copy of the Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) from
Phi!Health to be filled-out and signed by President and CEO of the ACA or its
authorized signatories.

2. The ACA shall submit the duly-signed NDA (attached as Annex A) to Phi!Health
together with the following: .
a. Names of nomin!l"te.i:l: u~ers (maximum of five) and their respective contact
details (telephone number and email address);
b. Copies of company identification (ID) cards of the nominated users;
c. Device information of designated computers which digital certificate shall be
installed/ stored.

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 3. The ACA shall receive the digital certificate and install it to the computers to be
used to access the ECRS. Any changes on the designated computers as well as
the authorized persons shall take effect/be implemented only upon approval by
Phi!Health.

4. The ACA shall regularly update Phi!Health of the list of users and their details
whenever possible and needed.

B. Accessing the ECRS

f The user shall clear the cache of the web browser. Make sure that no other
application is running to avoid division of bandwidth among applications during
the uploading process.

2. The user shall access the ECRS using the link, http://ecrs-svr/ or through the
Phi!Health website, www.philhealth.gov.ph.

3. The user shall log-in to ECRS using the user account granted by Phi!Health.

C. Upload daily the RF2 to ECRS

1. Upon logged-in to ECRS, the user shall click the RF2 File under the Uploading.
Then, click the Select File button to search and select the RF2 file to be
uploaded.

2. The user shall ensure the following details in the RF2 file to be uploaded to avoid
errors or deficient file during uploading:
a. The file format of the RF2 should be in accordance with the prescribed
textfile format provided by Phi!Health.
b. The ACA code and ACA acronym are matched in the data library of
Phi!Health.
c. The Bank Routing Symbol Transit Number (BRSTN)/Branch Code (BC)
used is/are active and matched in the data library of Phi!Health.
d. Only one transaction date is used.
e. No blank field/ column, except if SPA Number is provided under the Payor's
Name, Member Type and Applicable Period are allowed to be blank.
f. SPA Number should be provided under the Payor's Name for employer
payments.
g. SPA Number should be valid and unique, and must compose of the prefix
SPA+12 digit.
h. Phi!Health Number must be 12-digit and compliant with the PIN
algorithm/Phi!Health Number convention.
1. Member Types shall be P, G, V, I, S, F, L, H, K, E, M, D or Q only.
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w J· Applicable period must not be less than January 1997 and not more than five
fl. (5) years from the current year.
~ k. If ACA is issuing Phi!Health Agents Receipt (PAR), PAR Number should
start with 3 and consist of 9 digits, and within the series number of PARs
distributed to the ACA pranch.
I. Transaction Amolin't should be 0.00 or above.
m. If reporting a cheek payment, drawee bank and check number should be both
present.
n. No similar or duplicate transaction/ s.

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 3. The user shall select the RF2 file to be uploaded and click the Upload button to
start the uploading process.

4. If uploading is successful, the message "Uploading Successful with

Document Control Number xxxxxxxxxx" will prompt.

5. The user shall click the OK button to display the result of the uploading.
Otherwise, a remark will prompt for file that was already uploaded or has incurred
error. The user must screenshot the message and sends it to Phi!Health through
email for record and reference.

6. For uploaded RF2 with deficiencies, user shall click the Download Files with
Deficiencies button and save the file for correction.

7. The user shall log-out for every completed activity.

D. Correcting the deficient file.

1. The user shall open the downloaded deficient file to see and check the
error/ deficiency remark in the rightmost column of the file.

2. The user shall correct the error or complete the deficiency in the file without
deleting of adding a transaction.

3. The user shall access the ECRS. Refer to letter B of the General Guidelines.

4. Upon logged-in to ECRS, the user shall click the RF2 File with Deficiencies
button. Then, click the Select File button to search and select the corrected RF2
file to be uploaded.

5. If uploading is successful, the message "Uploading Successful with

Document Control Number xxxxxxxxxx" will prompt.

6. The user shall click the OK button to display the result of the uploading.
Otherwise, a remark will prompt for file that was already uploaded or has incurred
error. The user must screenshot the message and sends it to Phi!Health through
email for record and reference.

7. The user shall log-out for every completed activity.

VI. SEPARABILITY CLAUSE

In the event that a part or provision of this Circular is declared unauthorized or rendered
invalid by any court of Law or competent authority, those provisions not affected by such
declaration shall remain valid and effective.

VII. REPEALING CLAUSE

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All previous issuances that are' ~consistent with any provision of this Circular are hereby
amended, modified or repealed accordingly.

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 VIII. EFFECTIVITY

Tills Circular shall be published in any newspaper of general circulation and shall be
deposited thereafter with the National Administrative Register at the University of the
Philippines Law Center.

IX. ANNEXES

Annex A- Non-Disclosure Agreement Form

Date signed : '2.- -z.~ - 1'6

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Subject: Guidelines On The Use Of Electronic Collection Reporting System (ECRS)

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 ANNEXA

NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT

KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS:

This Agreement entered into by and between:

The PHILIPPINE HEALTH INSURANCE CORPORATION, a Government

Owned and Controlled Corporation duly organized and existing by virtue
of Republic Act No. 7875 otherwise known as the National Health Insurance
Act of 1995, with principal office address at No. 709, City State Center
Bldg., Shaw Blvd., Pasig City, duly represented herein by its
- - , - - - - - - - - - and hereinafter referred to as the "Disclosing
Party";

-and-

with principal office address at

duly represented herein by its
- - - - - - - - - - and hereinafter referred to as the "Receiving
Party".

- WITNESSETH-

The Receiving Party desires to participate in the study/research/discussions regarding

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ___, hereinafter known as the "Transaction." In the course of conducting the
transaction, Disclosing Party may share certain proprietary and confidential information with the
Recipient. Therefore, in consideration of the mutual promises and covenants contained in this
Agreement, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, the parties hereto agree as
follows:

1. Definition of Confidential Information

a) For purposes of this Agreement, "Confidential Information" means any data or

information so defined under the Data Privacy Act of 2012 and its IRR that is proprietary
to the Disclosing Party and not generally known to the public, whether in tangible and
intangible form, whenever and however disclosed, including, but not limited to:

(1) any marketing strategies, plans, financial information, or projections, operations,

sales estimates, business plans and performance results relating to the past, present
or future business activities of such party, its affiliates, subsidiaries and affiliated
and/or contracting agencies/ organizations/ LGUs/ companies;

(2) plans for products or services, and membership/healthcare

provider/supplier/contractor/accredited agents lists;

(3) any scientific or technical information, invention, design, process, procedure,

formula, improvement, technology or method;
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(4) any concepts, reports, data, know-how, works-in-progress, designs, development

tools, specifications, computer software, source code, object code, flow charts,
databases, inventions, information and trade secrets; and
' '•,
(5) any other information that should reasonably be recognized as proprietary or
confidential information of the Disclosing Party and/or of its
affiliated/accredited/contracting entities. Confidential Information need not be
novel, unique, patentable, copyrightable or constitute a trade secret in order to be
designated Confidential Information. The Receiving Party acknowledges that the
Confidential Information is proprietary to the Disclosing Party, has been developed
 and obtained through great efforts by the Disclosing Party and that Disclosing Party
regards all of its Confidential Information as trade secrets.

b) As defined in PhiiHealth Office Order No. 0050, s-2011 regarding the PhiiHealth Policy
on Confidentiality and Security of Protected Health Information, Confidential
Information shall include, but not limited to, protected health information, personal
financial information, patient records, or information gained from committee meetings,
hospitals or facility visits during accreditation and investigation, inquiries from
members, patients or other PhiiHealth employees.

c) Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing to the contrary, Confidential Information

shall not include information which:

(1) was known by the Receiving Party prior to receiving the Confidential Information
from the Disclosing Party;

(2) becomes rightfully known to the Receiving Party from a Third-Party source not
known by the Receiving Party to be under an obligation to Disclosing Party to
maintain confidentiality;

(3) is or becomes publicly available through no fault or failure to act by the Receiving
Party in breach of the Agreement;

(4) is required to be disclosed in a judicial or administrative proceeding, or otherwise

requested or required to be disclosed by law or regulation, although the
requirements of paragraph 4 hereof shall apply prior to any disclosure being made;
and

(5) or has been independently developed by employees, consultants or agents of the

Receiving Party without violation of the terms of this Agreement or reference or
access to any Confidential Information.

2. Disclosure of Confidential Information

From time to time, the Disclosing Party may disclose Confidential Information to the Receiving
Party. The Receiving Party will:

(a) limit disclosure of any Confidential Information to its directors, officers, employees, agents
or representatives (collectively "Representatives") who have a need to know such
Confidential Information in connection with the current or contemplated
transaction/relationship between the parties to which this Agreement relates, and only for
that purpose;

(b) advise its Representatives of the proprietary nature of the Confidential Information and the
obligations set forth in this Agreement and require such Representatives to keep the
Confidential Information confidential;

(c) shall keep all Confidential Information strictly confidential by using a reasonable degree of
care, but not less than the degree of care, used by it in safeguarding its own confidential
information;

(d) not disclose any Confidential Information received by it to any third parties without the
Disclosing Party's consent or as otherwise provided for herein.
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Each party shall be responSible fqr any breach of this Agreement by any of their respective
Agents and/or Representatives.

3. Use of Confidential Information

The Receiving Party agrees to use the Confidential Information solely in connection with the
current or contemplated business relationship between the parties and not for any purpose
 other than as authorized by this Agreement. No other right or license, whether expressed or
implied, in the Confidential Information is granted to the Receiving Party hereunder. Title to the
Confidential Information will remain solely in the Disclosing Party. All use of Confidential
Information by the Receiving Party shall be for the benefit of the Disclosing Party and any
modifications and improvements thereof by the Receiving Party shall be the sole property of the
Disclosing Party.

4. Compelled Disclosure of Confidential Information

Notwithstanding anything in the foregoing to the contrary, the Receiving Party may disclose
Confidential Information pursuant to any judicial or administrative order, subpoena, discovery
request, regulatory request or similar method, provided that the Receiving Party promptly
notifies, to the extent practicable, the Disclosing Party in writing of such demand for disclosure
so that the Disclosing Party, at its sole expense, may seek to make such disclosure subject to a
protective order or other appropriate remedy to preserve the confidentiality of the Confidential
Information; provided in the case of a broad regulatory request with respect to the Receiving
Party's business (not targeted at Disclosing Party), the Receiving Party may promptly comply
with such request provided the Receiving Party give (if permitted by such regulator) the
Disclosing Party prompt notice of such disclosure.

The Receiving Party agrees that it shall not oppose and shall cooperate with efforts, to the
extent practicable, by the Disclosing Party with respect to any such request for a protective
order or other relief. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if the Disclosing Party is unable to obtain or
does not seek a protective order and the Receiving Party is legally requested or required to
disclose such Confidential Information may be made without liability.

5. Term

This agreement shall take effect on the date of signing and shall subsist despite termination of
the principal contract covered by this agreement.

6. Remedies

Both parties acknowledge that the Confidential Information to be disclosed hereunder is of a

unique and valuable character, and that the damages caused by unauthorized dissemination of
the Confidential Information would be impossible to calculate.

Therefore, both parties hereby agree that the Disclosing Party shall be entitled to injunctive
relief preventing the dissemination of any Confidential Information in violation of the terms
hereof. Such injunctive relief shall be in addition to any other remedies available hereunder
whether at law or in equity including damages. Disclosing Party shall be entitled to recover its
costs and fees, including reasonable attorneys' fees incurred in obtaining any such relief.
Further, in the event of litigation relating to this Agreement, the prevailing party shall be
entitled to recover its reasonable attorney's fees and expenses.

7. Return of Confidential Information

Receiving Party shall immediately return to the other all tangible material embodying the
Confidential Information provided hereunder and all notes, summaries, memoranda, drawings,
manuals, records, excerpts or derivative information deriving there from and all other
documents or materials ("Notes" and all copies of any of the foregoing including "copies" that
have been converted to computerized media in the form of image, data or word processing files
either manually or by image capture) based on or including any Confidential Information in
whatever form of storage or retri~va1,'JJ'Pon the:
'·
(a) completion or termination of the dealings between the parties contemplated hereunder;

(b) the termination of this Agreement; or

(c) at such time as the Disclosing Party may so request; provided however that the Receiving
Party may retain such documents as is necessary to enable it to comply with its document
retention policies. Alternatively, the Receiving Party, with the written consent of the
 Disclosing Party may (or in case of Notes, at the Receiving Party's option) immediately
destroy any of the foregoing embodying Confidential Information (or the reasonably non
recoverable data erasure of computerized data) and, upon request, certify in writing such
destruction by an authorized officer of the Receiving Party supervising the destruction.

8. Safekeeping of Confidential information

Receiving Party shall use the same care to avoid disclosure or unauthorized use of the
confidential information as it uses to protect its own confidential information, but in no event
less than reasonable care. It is agreed that:

(a) All confidential information shall be retained by the Receiving Party in a secure place with
access limited only to the Receiving Party's employees or agents who need to know such
information for purposes of this Agreement, and

(b) Confidential Information will be disclosed only to each party's respective employees who
are involved in the Potential Transaction and to third party consultants or advisers who
have been engaged for the purpose of discussing the Potential Transaction, which the
Disclosing Party has prior notice of such engagement, provided that in the event of such
disclosure to any third person or entity not employees or retained by the Receiving Party,
the Receiving Party shall nonetheless remain liable for any unauthorized disclosure by such
person or entity.

It is further agreed that the Receiving Party shall ensure that all of the employees and
consultants (including employees and consultants of its parent, subsidiaries and affiliates)
having access to Confidential information adhere to the terms and conditions of this Agreement
as if they were parties hereto.

9. No Gift Policy

The contracting parties undertake to comply with the Office Order No. 0018-2015 entitled
"Reiteration of Philhealth No Gift Policy (Revision 1)" which is deemed incorporated into this
Contract. No Philhealth personnel shall solicit, demand or accept, directly or indirectly, any gift
from any person, group, association, or juridical entity, whether from the public or private
sector, at anytime, on or off the work premises where such gift is given in the course of official
duties or in connection with any transaction which may affect the functions of their office or
influence the actions of directors or employees, or create the appearance of a conflict of
interest.

10. Notice of Breach

Receiving Party shall notify the Disclosing Party immediately upon discovery of any unauthorized
use or disclosure of Confidential Information by Receiving Party or its Representatives, or any
other breach of this Agreement by Receiving Party or its Representatives, and will cooperate
with efforts by the Disclosing Party to help the Disclosing Party regain possession of
Confidential information and prevent its further unauthorized use .

.----..:~ 11. No Publicity

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Neither Party hereto shall in anyway or in any form disclose, publicize, or advertise in any
manner the discussions that gave rise to this Agreement nor the discussions or negotiations
covered by this agreement without prior written consent of the other Party.
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12. No Binding Agreement for Trans!'~tig~

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The parties agree that neither p~rty will be under any legal obligation of any kind whatsoever
with respect to a Transaction by virtue of this Agreement, except for the matters specifically
u agreed to herein. The parties further acknowledge and agree that they each reserve the right in
I
their sole and absolute discretion, to reject any and all proposals and to terminate discussions
and negotiations with respect to a Transaction at any time. This Agreement does not create a
joint venture or partnership between the parties. If a Transaction goes forward, the non-
 disclosure provisions of any applicable transaction documents entered into between the parties
(or their respective affiliates) for the Transaction sball supersede this Agreement. In the event
such provision is not provided for in said transaction documents, this Agreement shall control.

NO WARRANTIES ARE MADE BY EITHER PARTY UNDER THIS AGREEMENT WHATSOEVER. The
parties acknowledge that although they shall each endeavor to include in the Confidential
Information all information that they each believe relevant for the purpose of the evaluation of
a Transaction, the parties understand that no representation or warranty as to the accuracy or
completeness of the Confidential Information is being made by either party as the Disclosing
Party. Further, neither party is under any obligation under this Agreement to disclose any
Confidential Information it chooses not to disclose. Neither Party hereto shall have any liability
to the other party or to other party's Representatives resulting from any use of the Confidential
Information except with respect to disclosure of such Confidential Information in violation of
this Agreement and the Data Privacy Act.

13. Miscellaneous Provisions

(a) This Agreement constitutes the entire understanding between the parties and supersedes
any and all prior or contemporaneous understandings and agreements, whether oral or
written, between the parties, with respect to the subject matter hereof. This Agreement can
only be modified by a written amendment signed by the party against whom enforcement
of such modification is sought.

(b) Any failure by either party to enforce the other party's strict performance of any provision
of this Agreement will not constitute a waiver of its right to subsequently enforce such
provision or any other provisio·n of this Agreement.

(c) Although the restriction contained in this Agreement are considered by the parties to be
reasonable for the purpose of protecting the Confidential Information, if any such restriction
is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be unenforceable, such provision will be
modified, rewritten or interpreted to include as much of its nature and scope as will render
enforceable. If it cannot be so modified, rewritten or interpreted to be enforceable in any
respect, it will not be given effect, and the remainder of the Agreement will be enforced as if
such provision was not included.

(d) This Agreement is personal in nature, and neither party may directly or indirectly assign or
transfer it by operation of law or otherwise without the prior written consent of the other
party. All obligations contained in this Agreement shall extend to and be binding upon the
parties to this Agreement and their respective successors, assigns and designees.

14. Notices

Any notice or communication required or permitted to be given by this Agreement or given in

connection with it, shall be in writing and shall be given to the appropriate party by personal
delivery or by registered mail, postage prepaid, or recognized reputable private courier, in each
case, to the address of the other party first indicated above (or such other address as may be
furnished by a party in accordance with this paragraph).

All such notices or communications shall be deemed to have been given and received as follows:
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(a) In case of personal delivery ah'tl·r"e!cognized reputable private courier, on the date of receipt
by Receiving Party of such delivery:

(b) In case of registered mail, on the day of mailing.

15. Venue
u
0 . In case of lawsuit arising from breach of this contract, the complaint or petition shall be filed
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with the proper court of Pasig City only.

16. Governing Law

 The validity, construction and performance of this Agreement shall be governed and construed
in accordance with the laws of the Philippines applicable to contracts made and to be wholly
performed within the said jurisdiction, without giving effect to any conflict of laws provisions
thereof.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Mutual Non-Disclosure Agreement to
be executed this_ day of at _ _ _ _ __

PHILIPPINE HEALTH INSURANCE CORPORATION

By: By:

SIGNED IN THE PRESENCE OF:

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES)

) s.s

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

BEFORE ME, a Notary Public for and in ______ this_ day of_ _ _ ___, personally appeared
the following:

Governmeot Issued ID Date and Place Issued

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known to be the same persons who executed the foregoing Non-Disclosure Agreement consisting of
_ _ pages including this page where this acknowledgement is written and they acknowledged before
me that the same is their free and voluntary act and deed as well as those of the corporations they herein
represent.

WITNESS MY HAND AND SEAL on the date and in the place above mentioned.

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