NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE)
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
First Regular Session )

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

3119

H. B. No.

Introduced by Rep. Reynante U, Arrogancia

EXPLANATORY NOTE

‘The Philippines has 1,200 licensed hospitals and 3,900 primary care facilities, of which
2.600 are Rural Health Units/ Health Centers which only 50% of Filipinos can have access to,
within 30 minutes of travel time. The Department of Health (DOH) has recorded 105,000
hospital beds with a bed density similar to the poorest countries in the world, with a ratio of
1.2 beds per 1,000 population."

As of July 2022, a total of 3,708,271 COVID-19 cases had been recorded in the
Philippines with 60,592 COVID-related deaths. The COVID-19 pandemic is a wake-up call
about how diseases expose and exploit vulnerabilities in our health care system, health care
facilities and our kind of preparation for future potential diseases and threats, and lack thereof.

In 2017, the World Health Organization data showed that there are six (6) medical
doctors per 10,000 population in the Philippines.*

Our ability to achieve our health system goals depends largely on the availability of
healthcare workers and the quality of their services. The implications brought about by the
number of COVID-19 cases highlighted the need to have more health care workers and of the
importance of protecting those in the line of duty.

This bill seeks to establish a Medical Reserve Corps (MRC), composed of persons
who are licensed physicians, medical students who have completed their four (4) years of
¢, registered nurses, and licensed allied health

medical course, graduates of medi
professionals.

The trained members and equipped medical and health-related personnel of the Medical
Reserve Corps may be called upon and mobilized to assist the national government and the
local government units (LGUs), allowing our healthcare facilities to handle the demand for
patient care and to address the medical needs of the public in times of state of emergencies.



This measure had its success in the 18" Congress in the lower house but ran short of

passage into law and it is hoped that in the 19" Congress, it will finally become a law.

Approval of this measure is earnestly sought.

3rd District of Quezon


NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE )

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
First Regular Session )
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B.No, 3119

Introduced by Rep. Reynante U. Arrogancia

AN ACT
INSTITUTING THE MEDICAL CORPS AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS
THEREFOR

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

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

SEC. 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 Medica! 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.

SEC. 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:


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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 of physicians for
the engagement of private practitioners:

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

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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 call to service.

SEC. 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.

SEC. 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 (AFP) 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.



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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.

SEC. 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 shall immediately exert efforts to locate his known 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.

SEC. 7. Medical Reserve Corps Mobilization. - The prompt mobilization of the MRC shall be
carried out by authority of the Secretary of Health, upon 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 of health condition that:



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(1) Is caused by any of the following:
(i) Bio terrorism;

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

(iii) A natural disast
(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;

(iii) 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;

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

SEC. 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.



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SEC. 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

SEC. 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 heaith 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.

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

SEC. 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.

SEC. 14, Legal Liability and Malpractice Insurance. - No MRC member shalll 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-spec
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.

SEC. 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


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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

SEC. 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 concemed. The annual report shall also include the results of the audit
investigation on the spending of funds appropriated, collected, or advances for the
implementation of the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 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.

SEC. 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.

SEC. 19. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within thirty (3) days from the effectivity of
this Act, the DOH shall promulgate the necessary guidelines for the effective implementation
of this Act.

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

SEC. 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.

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

Approved,