Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
House Bill No. 2139
 Introduced by: REPRESENTATIVE CHRISTOPHERSON “COCO” M. YAP 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the inability of the Philippines health care 
system to cope with the surge of patients needing medical care due to lack of medically-
trained personnel. 
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there are six medical 
doctors per 10,000 population in the Philippines in 2017, the latest data available. This 
is lower than the recommended ratio of 10 doctors per 10,000 population (WHO, 
2018). Compared to other Southeast Asian countries, the doctor to population ratio in 
the country is also lower. Singapore has 23 doctors per 100,000. Vietnam, Thailand 
and impoverished Timor Leste have each 8 doctors per 100,000 people. In developed 
countries such as Italy and the United States, the doctor-population ratio is 40 and 26 
per 10,000 population, respectively. 
Currently, the Philippines has a shortage of 290,000 health workers in the 
country as reported by the Human Resource for Health Network (HRHN), an inter-
agency policy and program support network led by the Department of Health (DOH). 
This is based on the WHO indicative HRH ratio of 44.5 HRH to 10,000 population for 
the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Moreover, there is an annual 
out migration of 13,000 health care professionals which aggravates the deficiency in 
the national supply of health care workers (POEA, 2020). 
Against this backdrop, this bill aims to enhance the capacity of our country 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 a medical reserve force specifically trained to supplement 
the existing human health resources to ease the burden in our healthcare system. 
As proposed in this bill, the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) shall consist of the 
following hierarchy of call whose primary mission is to support the country's public health 
system in times of public health emergencies:
July 21, 2025
2:320 pm


1. Licensed physicians to include those who are retired and those who are no
longer practicing in the hospital setting;
2. Medical students who have completed their first 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 medical
services pursuant to Republic Act No. 2382, otherwise known as the Medical
Act; and
3. Licensed allied health professionals.
Under the bill, medical reservists will be placed under the Health Emergency 
Management Bureau of the DOH, and will be given compulsory basic training and 
continuing training programs on responding to different national and local health 
emergency scenarios. 
The MRC may be mobilized to conduct contact-tracing and monitor suspected 
cases during disease outbreaks, help ensure quarantine measures, and provide logistics 
and manpower support for large-scale disaster and health emergency operations. This 
bill likewise proposes the establishment of mobilization centers in every province, 
where medical reservists can register for duty. 
Thus, the immediate approval of this urgent bill is earnestly sought. 
CHRISTOPHERSON “COCO” M. YAP 


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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
House Bill No. 2139
 Introduced by: REPRESENTATIVE CHRISTOPHERSON “COCO” M. YAP 
AN ACT 
INSTITUTING THE MEDICAL RESERVE CORPS AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS 
THEREFOR 
Be it enacted 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."  
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. -Article II, 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.  
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: 
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;


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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 medical
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 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.
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. 


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The DOH shall maintain and update a registry or database containing the 
natp.es 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 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:
a. Bio terrorism;
b. Appearance of a novel or previously controlled or eradicated infectious
agent or biological toxin;
c. A natural disaster;
d. A chemical attack or accidental release;
e. A nuclear attack or accident; or
f.
An attack or accidental release of radioactive materials; and
2. Poses a high probability of any of the following:


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a. A large number of deaths in the affected population;
b. A large number of serious injuries or long-term disabilities in the
affected population;
c. 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;
d. International exposure to an infectious or toxic agent that poses a
significant risk to the health of citizens of other countries; or
e. 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.  
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 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.  


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SEC. 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. 
 
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 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. 
 
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 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 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.  
 
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. 
 


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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 (30) 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 
unconstitutional or otherwise invalid, the validity of the 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. 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,