Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

n
House BILL No._1895

Introduced by Rep. Ray Florence T. Reyes

EXPLANATORY NOTE

In March 2020, the Philippines, much like the rest of the world was
placed on strict lockdown in order to curb the spread of COVID-19. As cases rose,
our medical practitioners also rose to the occasion. In the early days of the
pandemic, we lost not only friends and family members, but many brilliant health
professionals to the disease and exhaustion

It has been two years since the world came to a standstill, and it has
taught us that while our law enforcement and military are necessary to keep the
safety of our citizens, our healthcare workers are also part of the integral backbone
of society. Through the pandemic, through lockdowns, extended hours, and threats
to their well-being, our healthcare workers have pushed through and continued to
care for the welfare of the Filipino people.

This bill seeks to address the problem of our outnumbered health
personnel working to meet the surges and demands of a public medical emergency.
Because even though the COVID-19 pandemic may now be under control and things
have started to return to the way they once were, we are unprepared should another
health emergency of the same scale hit the populace. It is our job to ensure that if a
health emergency of the same sort should arise once again, we can call on more
medical practitioners to assist our practicing and active healthcare professionals in
controlling the situation so that we never once again reach the same magnitude of
casualties.

In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this bill is eamestly
sought.

EACREYES
Represefitative, AnaKalusugan Partylist



Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

NINETEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

1895

HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by Rep. Ray Florence T. Reyes

AN ACT

INSTITUTING THE MEDICAL RESERVE CORPS AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS
THEREFOR

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines
in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Medical Reserve
Corps Act.

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy — Article Il, Section 15, of the Constitution enjoins
the State to protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health
consciousness among them. Article XIII, Section 11 also provides for the
adoption of an integrated and comprehensive approach to health development.
The State further reiterates its commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs), particularly SDG 3, which calls on the State to ensure healthy lives and
promote well-being for all at all ages.

The State recognizes the need for a reserve force of highly skilled and medically
trained professionals and volunteers who can be mobilized to maintain the capacity
to meet surges in the demand for the country's healthcare system and provide
assistance as may be needed in times of health crises. Pursuant to this, it is the
policy of the State to maintain a strong, proactive and responsive healthcare
system at all times, the workforce complement of which can be expanded rapidly by
a well-trained and well-equipped Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) in times of public
health emergency and health threats. Towards this end, the State shall enhance the
capacity of the nation to produce and call on the needed manpower and expand its
human health resources in times of disasters and public health emergencies of both
national and local scale through the mobilization of the MRC.

SECTION 3. Medical Reserve Corps Service. - There is hereby established an
MRC whose primary mission is to support the country's health system in times of
public health emergencies or health threats, and which shall be composed of the
following:

a. Licensed physicians including those who are retired and those who
are no longer practicing in the hospital setting. The Department of Health


(DOH) may coordinate and collaborate with the accredited integrated
professional organization or accredited professional organization of
physicians for the engagement of private practitioners;

b. Medical students who have completed four (4) years of medical course,
graduates of medicine, and registered nurses who may be issued by the
Secretary of Health with a limited and special authorization to render
medica! service pursuant to Republic Act No. 2382, otherwise known as
the Medical Act of 1959; and

c. Licensed allied health professionals.

The MRC shall be organized, trained, developed and maintained so as to ensure
their readiness to immediately respond to the calll to service.

SECTION 4. Organization. - The MRC shall be under the control and
‘supervision of the Health Emergency Management Bureau (HEMB) of the DOH.

The DOH shall develop an effective and efficient MRC organization and structure
that is responsive to national and local disasters and other public health
emergencies, under such rules and regulations as the Secretary of Health may
prescribe.

SECTION 5. Registration and Training. - The DOH shall draft guidelines for
the recruitment, selection, compensation, and provision of incentives for joining and
continued membership, and length of service of the MRC members.

The DOH shall also prescribe a continuing training program for the MRC recruits and
members, through written, practical and simulation activities on various aspects
of health emergency management and response and on the different health
emergency situations and scenarios, such as natural and man-made disasters,
epidemics, pandemics, and other threats to public health. To this end, all recruits
must undergo:

a. Compulsory basic training for a period to be set by the DOH on disaster and
health emergency response, the organization and structure of the MRC, and
such other areas as may be prescribed by the DOH. Recruits shall be given
compensation for their attendance thereto; and

b. Continuing training and other activities to be conducted in coordination
with relevant and qualified agencies in the private and public sector, including
the Armed Forces of the Philippines (APP) and the National Disaster Risk
Reduction and Management Council, to improve and reinforce skills. All
registered members shall undergo continuing training on a regular basis to
upgrade their proficiency

Successful completion of the compulsory basic training shall be a requisite
for admission into the MRC. Successful completion of activities in the continuing
training program shall be a requisite for promotion within the MRC.


SECTION 6. Registry and Accounting of Members of the MRC. ~ Registered
members of the MRC shall be issued individual serial numbers which will serve as
their identification in case of deployment.

The DOH shall maintain and update a registry or database containing the names of
the members of the Corps, their serial numbers, address, contact details and such
other information as the DOH may determine, in accordance with applicable privacy
laws. For this purpose, all public and private colleges, universities and learning
institutions shall transmit annually their records of the graduates covered under this
Act to the DOH

An MRC Identification Card that describes the certification information of Corps
members, as well as other necessary identifying information that may be
determined by the DOH, shall also be issued.

All graduates covered under this Act are required to update their addresses and
contact details on file with the DOH as often as necessary. Orders of deployment
sent to the addresses and/or through the contact details on file with the DOH shall be
sufficient notice for purposes of deployment.

In cases when a graduate has changed address immediately prior to deployment,
the LGU shail immediately exert efforts to locate his own closest resident kin,
who is then mandated to exert similar efforts. The use of digital communications and
social media shall be encouraged in locating such graduates.

SECTION 7. Medical Reserve Corps Mobilization. - The prompt mobilization of
the MRC shall be carried out by authority of the Secretary of Health, upon the
recommendation of the Director of the HEMB or upon the request of national
government agencies or local government units (LGUs), in order to meet the
needs of the populace in times of public health emergencies, whether of local or
national scale, and for such other purposes in response to threats to public health

The MRC may be mobilized partially or in full as may be necessary. The DOH
shall promulgate the mechanisms by which deployment is efficiently implemented,
including the organization of the Corps to be deployed, their territorial assignments,
how deployment orders are communicated to each member of the Corps and to
which mobilization center they will report

As defined in Republic Act No. 11332, otherwise known as the "Mandatory Reporting
of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act," public
health emergency refers to an occurrence or imminent threat of an illness or
health condition that:
(1) Is caused by any of the following:
(i) Bio terrorism;

(ji) Appearance of a novel or previously controlled or eradicated
infectious agent or biological toxin;

(iii) A natural disaster;



(iv) A chemical attack or accidental release;
(v) A nuclear attack or accident; or

(vi) An attack or accidental release of radioactive
materials; and

(2) Poses a high probability of any of the following

(i) A large number of deaths in the affected population:

(ii) A large number of serious injuries or long-term disabilities in the
affected population;

(ili) Widespread exposure to an infectious or toxic agent that poses a
significant risk of substantial harm to a large number of people in the
affected population;

(iv) International exposure to an infectious or toxic agent that poses a
significant risk to the health of citizens of other countries; or

(v) Trade and travel restrictions

SECTION 8. Deployment Order. - The President of the Philippines, upon
recommendation of the DOH, may order the nationwide mobilization of the MRC to
complement the APP Medical Corps in case of a declaration of a state of war, state
of lawless violence or state of calamity.

SECTION 9. Mobilization Centers. - There shall be established in each
province as many mobilization centers as needed to which members of the
MRC shall report to when mobilization is ordered.

Mobilization centers may be any establishment or facility that can adequately house
the MRC members, and their equipment and supplies during the period of
deployment, including multi-purpose halls, gymnasiums, and other similar
structures, based on other requirements that the DOH shall prescribe. The DOH
shall, in consultation with the local executives, prescribe the location of the
mobilization centers. The local executives shall disseminate to the widest extent
possible information to the public on the location of these centers.

SECTION 10. Mobilization Stock. - The minimum essential individual and
organizational and medical equipment and supplies shall be procured, stored,
and maintained to enhance rapid transition to readiness required for employment in
the shortest possible time. The DOH shall ensure and maintain the necessary
capacity to scale up the procurement of these equipment and supplies as needed
during the period of mobilization

SECTION 11. Enlistment of the AFP. - The Secretary of Health may enlist the
AFP to provide expertise on the organization and structure of the MRC for
efficient, effective and swift deployment, as well as for training of the MRC recruits
‘on disaster and emergency response. The Secretary of Health may also
recommend to the President the enlistment of the AFP to supplement the


mobilized MRC for the purpose of providing logistics and manpower for large-scale
operations in times of public health emergency, contact tracing and monitoring of
suspected cases, enforcing-quarantine measures in specific areas or facilitating the
transport of emerging infectious diseases patients, and for such other related
purposes.

SECTION 12. Protection to MRC Members. - All MRC members shall be
accorded protection as provided by existing labor laws and standards and
other relevant occupations, safety, environmental, and social legislation.

SECTION 13. Compensation and Benefits. - Members of the MRC who
render service shall receive all the pay and allowances, medical care,
hospitalization, other privileges and benefits during the period of mobilization as
prescribed by law or regulation. They shall also continue to receive all pay,
allowances, and other privileges and benefits from their regular employment during
the mobilization period in accordance with law.

SECTION 14. Legal Liability and Malpractice Insurance. - No MRC member shall
be held liable for the death of or injury to any person or for the loss of, or
damage to, the property of any person where such death, injury, loss, or damage
was proximately caused by the circumstance of an actual public health emergency
or its subsequent conditions, or the circumstances of the formal exercise or training
if such formal exercise or training simulates conditions of an actual emergency.

The Insurance Commission is mandated to develop public health emergency-
specific malpractice insurance policy or modify existing policies that would
protect MRC professionals’ efforts from any legal liability as provided for by this
Section to allow them to respond in good faith during public health emergencies.

This Section shall not preclude liability for civil damages as a result of gross
negligence, recklessness, or willful misconduct

SECTION 15. Termination of Deployment. - Upon the expiration of the period of
deployment, without an extension having been requested and approved by the
DOH, members of the MRC who are deployed pursuant to a public health
emergency shall be discharged from the performance of their duties. The
deployment may also be terminated earlier upon a determination by the DOH,
in consultation with the requesting national government agency or LGU, that such
deployment is no longer required in accordance with this Act.

SECTION 16. Annual Reports. -The DOH shall regularly publish an annual report
containing a list of the accomplishments, status of the operations, demographic
profile of the membership of the MRC, an assessment of readiness for mobilization,
and the incidence and details of each mobilization for the year concerned. The
annual report shall also include the results of the audit investigation on the
spending of funds appropriated, collected, or advanced for the implementation
of the provisions of this Act.

SECTION 17. Failure to Respond to Deployment. -Any member of the MRC who
fails to respond to the order of deployment without any justifiable reason despite due
notice shall be required to reimburse the total expenses incurred by the


government in the member's recruitment, selection, training, and compensation, as
may be determined by the DOH.

SECTION 18. Appropriations. -The Secretary of Health shall immediately
include in the Department's Program the implementation of this Act, the funding of
which shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act

SECTION 19. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within thirty (30) days from
the effectivity of this Act, the DOH shall promulgate the necessary guidelines
for the effective implementation of this Act

SECTION 20. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act is declared
unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, the validity of the other provisions shall not be
affected thereby.

SECTION 21. Repealing Clause. -All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations,
other issuances, or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are
hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SECTION 22. Effectivity Clause. -This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation

Approved.