NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
House Bill No. ____ 
_____________________________________________________________________________ 
Introduced by CIBAC Party-List Representative 
Hon. Eduardo “Bro. Eddie” C. Villanueva 
AN ACT 
PROVIDING FOR THE MODERNIZATION OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH 
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE CAPABILITIES OF THE 
PHILIPPINES, ESTABLISHING FOR THE PURPOSE THE CENTER FOR DISEASE 
PREVENTION AND CONTROL, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
With 4.02 million total COVID-19 cases and unprecedented 64,420 COVID deaths reported 
in the Philippines to date,1 the impact of the current health crisis has pushed the government to 
reinforce our health system’s capacity to detect, prevent, and control the spread of infectious 
diseases to safeguard public health. 
The bill, which seeks to establish the Philippine Center for Disease Prevention and Control 
or the Philippine CDC, aims to address the ongoing international health emergency and prepare 
our country for similar disease outbreaks in the future. The bill updates the existing national 
frameworks on disease surveillance and control, builds capacity and introduces mitigating 
strategies to avert the risks of future pandemics that threaten life and livelihood. In particular, the 
bill mandates the reorganization of the units and functions of the Department of Health (DOH) 
into the CDC, as follows: Epidemiology Bureau, Research Institute of Tropical Medicine; Sexually 
Transmitted Disease – Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (STD-AIDS) Cooperative Central 
Laboratory; the passive international health surveillance and communications functions of the 
International Health Surveillance Division of the Bureau of Quarantine; the technical and standard 
setting functions of the Disease Prevention and Control Bureau. It likewise seeks the expansion of 
disease surveillance in the country's various regions. 
In the face of uncertainty and the unprecedented health emergency that needs to be 
addressed, immediate approval of this measure is earnestly sought. 
Hon. Eduardo “Bro. Eddie” C. Villanueva 
1 WHO Health Emergency Dashboard COVID Tracker as of 26 October 2022. 
https://covid19.who.int/region/wpro/country/ph 
November 17, 2022
2:36 pm
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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
House Bill No. _____ 
______________________________________________________________________________ 
Introduced by CIBAC Party-List Representative 
Hon. Eduardo “Bro. Eddie” C. Villanueva 
AN ACT 
PROVIDING FOR THE MODERNIZATION OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH 
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE CAPABILITIES OF THE 
PHILIPPINES, ESTABLISHING FOR THE PURPOSE THE CENTER FOR DISEASE 
PREVENTION AND CONTROL, 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 “Philippine Center for Disease 
Prevention and Control (CDC) Act of 2022.” 
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. – It is the policy of the State to protect and promote the right to 
health of the people and instill health consciousness among them. The State also mandates the 
adoption of an integrated and comprehensive approach to health development and shall endeavor 
to make health and other social services accessible to all. 
Thus, the State shall prioritize the allocation of material and institutional resources to protect public 
health by ensuring that the Philippine health system is well-prepared to forecast, prevent, monitor, 
and control diseases, injuries, and disabilities of national and international concern. 
SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. – As used in this Act: 
a) Communicable disease, also known as a contagious disease, refers to an illness resulting
from an infection, or a disease, which can be transmitted from an infected host individual
or group to a particular individual or group. It spreads through direct, bodily contact with
an infected person, their discharges, or an object or surface they have contaminated;
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b) Disease refers to an illness due to a specific toxic substance, occupational exposure, or 
infectious agent, which affects a susceptible individual, either directly or indirectly, from 
an infected animal or person, or indirectly through an intermediate host, vector, or the 
environment.  
c) Disease surveillance refers to the systematic collection, analysis, interpretation, and 
dissemination of outcomes and specific data for use in the planning, implementation, and 
evaluation of public health practice. A diseases surveillance system includes the functional 
capacity for data analysis as well as the timely dissemination of these data to persons who 
can undertake effective disease prevention and control activities; 
d) Epidemic or outbreak refers to an occurrence of more cases of disease than normally 
expected within a specific place or group of people over a given period of time; 
e) Infectious disease refers to a clinically manifested disease of humans or animals resulting 
from an infection that can be communicable or non-communicable; 
f) 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) 
Bioterrorism; 
ii) 
Novel or previously controlled or eradicated infectious agent or biological 
toxin; 
iii) 
Natural disaster; 
iv) 
Chemical attack or accidental release; 
v) 
Nuclear attack or accident; 
vi) 
Attack or accidental release of radioactive materials; and 
 
2) Poses a high probability of any of the following: 
i) 
Large number of deaths in the affected population; 
ii) 
Large number of serious injuries or toxic agent that poses a significant risk of 
substantial harm to a large number of people 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 infection or toxic agent that poses a significant risk 
to the health of citizens of other countries; or 
v) 
Trade and travel restrictions; 
 
g) Quarantine refers to the physical separation and confinement of an individual or groups of 
individuals who are or may have been exposed to a contagious or possibly contagious 
disease and who do not show signs or symptoms of a contagious disease from non-
quarantined individuals, to prevent or limit the transmission of the disease.  
 


SEC. 4.  Creation of the Philippine Center for Disease Prevention and Control. – The Philippine 
Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) is hereby created as an attached agency to the 
Department of Health (DOH) for policy and program coordination.  
 
SEC. 5.  Powers, Functions, and Duties. – The CDC shall be the technical authority on all matters 
regarding disease prevention and control. To carry out the provisions of this Act, the CDC shall 
have the following powers, functions, and duties: 
 
a) Policy and Standards Development: 
1) Provide technical guidance to the development of policies, programs, standards, 
guidelines, and monitoring and evaluation systems on the forecasting, prevention, 
monitoring, and control of diseases, injuries, and disabilities both of national and 
international concern; 
2) Set the standards and the process for the establishment of Epidemiology and 
Surveillance Units or their corresponding surveillance reporting units, pursuant to law; 
3) Provide quality assurance programs to ensure the quality of testing for laboratories; 
4) Conduct researches for development in support of the CDC mandate to forecast, 
prevent, monitor, and control diseases, injuries, and disabilities both of national and 
international concern; 
5) Recommend to the President, through the DOH Secretary, the declaration of a state of 
public health emergency, in case of an epidemic of national or international concern; 
and, 
6) Set the parameters for the declaration of the existence as well as the end of an epidemic. 
 
b) Capacity Building and Technical Assistance: 
1) Develop, implement, and maintain training programs on specialized fields such as field 
epidemiology, health emergency of biological concern, laboratory services, infectious 
and tropical diseases, and non-communicable diseases; 
2) Assess and support the capabilities of health facilities and local government units 
(LGUs) on forecasting, preventing, monitoring, and controlling diseases, injuries, and 
disabilities both of national and international concern; and, 
3) Provide technical assistance and expert services to DOH offices, and collaborating and 
implementing agencies or offices on matters pertaining to forecasting, preventing, 
monitoring, and controlling diseases, injuries, and disabilities both of national and 
international concern. 
 
c) Sectoral and Local Engagements: 
1) Promote coordination and collaboration with partner agencies and organizations on 
matters pertaining to CDC mandate; 


2) Coordinate, collaborate, and disseminate relevant scientific and technical information 
in a timely manner with partner agencies and international and local organizations on 
matters pertaining, to CDC mandate; and, 
3) Disseminate relevant scientific and technical information in a timely manner with 
partner agencies, and international and local organizations on matters pertaining to 
CDC mandate. 
 
d) Surveillance: 
1) Develop, implement, and maintain an integrated surveillance system of diseases, 
injuries, and disabilities; 
2) Provide technical guidance on the development, implementation and maintenance, and 
monitoring of health system capacity, such as operational capacities of health facilities, 
and performance management of the response systems, in terms of contact tracing 
quarantine, isolation, and other significant population-based health services; 
3) Investigate and respond through surveillance and disease notification, investigation, 
and conduct of field studies and research to outbreaks, epidemics, and other public 
health threats as the need arises; 
4) Develop and maintain a network of public health laboratories in support of 
epidemiology and surveillance activities; 
5) Facilitate the issuance of appropriate warnings to the regional CDC and health facilities 
in anticipation of impending public health threats and infectious disease outbreaks; 
6) Utilize various information and communication technologies (ICT) in the management 
of data and dissemination of early warning and other appropriate information to 
stakeholders and the public; and, 
7) Develop communication methods for wider, more effective, and unified delivery of 
critical public health information with national or international importance. 
e) Provide technical guidance on the procurement of vaccines, drugs, and diagnostics; 
f) Provide technical guidance on the monitoring and evaluation framework for disease 
prevention and control; 
g) Certify the existence of an epidemic which shall be treated as a public health emergency; 
and, 
h) Perform such other functions as may be mandated by law or as may be duly delegated by 
relevant authorities. 
 
SEC. 6. Director General. – The CDC shall be headed by a Director General with a rank of 
Undersecretary, who shall be assisted by two (2) Deputy Directors General with a rank of Assistant 
Secretary. The Director General and the Deputy Directors General shall be appointed by the 
President from a list of at least three (3) nominees for each position to be submitted by the DOH 
Secretary. The Director General and Deputy Directors General shall have at least ten (10) years of 
relevant experience and proven expertise in the fields of public health and epidemiology. 


 
The Director General shall have the following powers and functions: 
a) Manage and direct the activities and functions of the CDC; 
b) Advise the DOH Secretary on policy matters concerning the Center's activities; 
c) Recommend to the President, through the DOH Secretary, the exercise of special powers 
in case of an epidemic, including the declaration of a public health emergency; 
d) Act as the national International Health Regulations Focal Point, subject to consultation 
with DOH; and, 
e) Perform other functions and powers that may be assigned by the DOH Secretary. 
 
SEC. 7. Transfer of DOH Units and Functions. – The following DOH units and their concerned 
divisions and functions are hereby transferred to the CDC: 
a) Epidemiology Bureau; 
b) Research Institute for Tropical Medicine; 
c) Sexually Transmitted Disease – Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome Cooperative 
Central Laboratory; 
d) Select functions of the International Health Surveillance Division of the Bureau of 
Quarantine as follows: 
1) Passive international health surveillance; and, 
2) Development of communication methods for wider and more effective delivery of 
critical public health information with international importance; and, 
e) Technical and standard-setting functions of the Disease Prevention and Control Bureau, 
including that of the Mental Health Division, Cancer Division, and Oral Health Division. 
 
All powers, functions, assets, capital, records, funds, receivables, equipment, and facilities of the 
transferred DOH units or its division or function enumerated herein shall be transferred to the 
CDC. The Department of Health shall conduct an audit and inventory of assets, liabilities, and 
human resources of the transferred agencies to the CDC without the need for conveyance or 
transfer of assignments. 
 
SEC. 8. Regional Centers for Disease Prevention and Control. - There shall be established 
Regional Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDCs) in all regions of the country. Each 
Regional CDC shall be headed by a Regional Director, who shall be under the supervision of the 
CDC Director General. 
 
The functions of RCDCs include: 
a) Prevention, control, and surveillance of diseases; 
b) Provision of laboratory services for the detection and identification of infectious disease 
agents from humans, environmental samples, and food; 
c) Maintenance of an integrated data management system; 


d) Implementation of quality assurance programs for clinical and environmental laboratories 
through training, consultation, certification, and proficiency testing; 
e) Policy development; 
f) Emergency response; 
g) Public health-related research; 
h) Training and education; 
i) Maintenance of infectious disease hospitals for referral and management of cases; 
j) Establishment of strong communication networks; and, 
k) Other functions that may be assigned by the Director General. 
 
The RCDCs shall be composed of specialists in the fields of infectious diseases, public health, 
epidemiology, and similar fields. 
 
SEC. 9. Structure and Staffing Pattern. – 
a) The CDC shall initially have the following offices, each to be headed by an officer with 
the salary and rank of Director IV: 
1) Center for Epidemic Intelligence and Disease Surveillance; 
2) Center for Research, Training, and Reference Laboratory; 
3) Center for Infectious Disease Emergency Preparedness and Response; 
4) Center for Policy and Program Development; 
5) Communications Office; and 
6) Administrative and Finance Office. 
b) The CDC Director General, subject to the President's issuance of an executive order and 
approval of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), may create or abolish 
units, offices, or centers as needed to carry out all provisions of this Act. 
c) The CDC Director General, in consultation with the DOH and the DBM, shall: 
1) Develop the organizational structure of the CDC at the national, regional, and local 
levels; 
2) Determine the divisions and specific functions of each unit, center, or office of the 
CDC; and 
3) Determine the staffing pattern, qualification standards, compensation, and position 
classification plan for the CDC subject to the approval of the Civil Service Commission 
(CSC) and the DBM. 
 
SEC. 10. Qualifications Standards for Appointment and Promotion. – The DOH shall, in 
consultation with the CDC and pertinent agencies as may be necessary, develop the qualification 
standards in terms of education, training, and experience for all technical and non-technical 
positions in the CDC and the system for promotion and succession plan in the CDC. 
 


SEC. 11. Continuing Competency Development Program. – The CDC shall, through the Director 
General, devise and implement a continuing competency development program whereby all core 
personnel shall be required to update and enrich competencies through attendance in programs, 
studies, researches, fellowships, workshops, and seminars, including training opportunities in 
reputable foreign CDCs. Compliance with the Continuing Competency Development Program 
shall be the mandatory basis for promotion within the CDC. The CDC shall develop mechanisms 
to tap funding opportunities to implement its Continuing Competency Development Program. 
 
SEC. 12. Modernization Program. – The Director General shall, in consultation with the DOH 
and other concerned government agencies and the private sector, develop a modernization program 
that will strengthen the human health resource of the CDC, which is the key component of the 
country's disease prevention and control policy. The modernization program shall include the 
acquisition and upgrading of appropriate technologies, laboratories, facilities, equipment, and 
other needed resources, and the needed relocation and acquisition of additional land or location 
that would house the CDC. 
 
Within one hundred eighty (180) days after the effectivity of this Act, the Director General shall, 
upon the recommendation of the DOH and DBM Secretaries, submit the modernization program 
for the consideration and approval of Congress. 
 
The modernization program shall be implemented over a period of five (5) years. 
 
Appropriations for the modernization program shall be provided in the annual General 
Appropriations Act (GAA). 
 
SEC. 13. Strengthened Epidemiology, Public Health Surveillance, and Research Capacities. –
To ensure that epidemiology and public health surveillance services are efficient and responsive 
and public health surveillance and research capacities are strengthened and updated to international 
standards, the CDC shall: 
 
a) Prioritize investments in upgrading ICT and adequate and capacitated human resources for 
epidemiology, public health surveillance, and public health and clinical research; 
b) Have a premier facility for clinical laboratory, epidemiologic and implementation research, 
and training on infectious and tropical diseases; 
c) Develop performance-based incentives for private health facilities with established 
epidemiology and surveillance functions; 
d) Re-nationalize local epidemiology and surveillance units (LESs) that will solely provide 
epidemiology and disease surveillance services and provide assistance to the LGUs in the 
establishment and maintenance of surveillance systems, data management, and generation 
of strategic epidemiologic information: Provided, That the DOH, CDC, and DBM, shall 


develop the staffing pattern and qualification standards: Provided, further, That LESUs 
shall be under the direct supervision and control of the Regional CDCs; 
e) Retain and provide incentives to technical experts, practitioners, and scientists, whereby 
the scientific career system is adopted, allowing them to continue their respective clinical 
and professional practice to pursue research studies and receive grants and honoraria in 
consultation with the CC. Qualified employees of the CDC and its attached units shall be 
covered by Republic Act No. 8439, otherwise known as "Magna Carta for Scientists, 
Engineers, Researchers, and Other Science and Technology Personnel in Government;" 
f) Develop and implement training and research programs to develop more experts and 
practitioners in the field of epidemiology and disease prevention and control; and, 
g) Develop a mechanism to ensure the interoperability and accessibility of surveillance 
systems. 
 
SEC. 14. Strengthened Disease Surveillance and Response. – The CDC shall establish integrated 
disease surveillance and response systems utilizing, whenever necessary, all technological means 
available while ensuring that data privacy and patient confidentiality are maintained. The CDC 
and authorized public health authorities shall have complete access and the right to collect personal 
information and other data as necessary in fulfilling their mandate. All data or information and 
samples collected pursuant thereto shall be used for public health concern purposes only. It shall 
be exempted from the provisions of R.A. No. 10173, otherwise known as the “Data Privacy Act 
of 2012," on the accessibility of data. 
 
SEC. 15. National Reference Laboratories. – The CDC shall establish a new, state-of-the-art 
facility that will serve as the National Reference Laboratory (NRL), unifying all NRLs for 
biological, chemical, nuclear, and radiologic emergencies under one roof within five years from 
the effectivity of this Act: Provided, That the existing NRLs in the East Avenue Medical Center, 
Philippine Heart Center, Lung Center of the Philippines, National Kidney Transplant Institute and 
San Lazaro Hospital shall continue to be under the respective hospitals: Provided further, That 
these existing NRLs shall serve as referral laboratories of the CDC and be included in the 
Modernization Program of the CDC. 
 
The NRL shall provide technical recommendations, laboratory confirmatory services, training, and 
external quality assurance and perform surveillance, outbreak response, kit evaluation, and 
research. It shall oversee the functions and performance of the network of subnational laboratories 
(SNL). 
 
SNLs shall be established in all regions, with the capability to conduct confirmatory testing for 
routine surveillance samples and perform specialized tests. SNLs, whose functions include testing 
for routine surveillance and specialized tests, shall be under CDC administratively. Hospitals 
housing the SNLs shall create a separate unit for their regular hospital laboratory needs. 


 
The CDC, through the NRLs and SNLs, shall provide technical guidance and quality assurance 
programs to biosafety levels 2, 3, and 4 laboratories in the country, which shall be registered with, 
and regulated by the DOH. 
 
SEC. 16. Authority to Solicit, Negotiate, and Receive Donations, Grants, Gifts, Legacies, 
Endowments, and Contributions. – The CDC may solicit, negotiate with, and receive from any 
public or private domestic or foreign sources legacies, gifts, donations, grants, endowments, 
contributions, or other transfers of ownership and/or possession of real or personal properties of 
all kinds in favor and for the benefit of the CDC, which shall all be part of the special account in 
the general fund managed by the Bureau of Treasury. 
 
The Director General shall prescribe the measures necessary for the proper use, maintenance, 
safekeeping, and compliance with the terms and conditions, if any, of said donations, grants, 
endowments, contributions, or transfers in accordance with pertinent accounting and auditing laws, 
rules, and regulations. 
 
SEC. 17. Tax Exemptions. – Donations, grants, gifts, endowments, legacies, and contributions 
used actually, directly, and exclusively for the purpose of the CDC shall be exempt from donor's 
tax. The same shall be considered as an allowable deduction from gross income for purposes of 
computing the taxable income of the donor, in accordance with Sec. 34 (H)(2) (a) of the National 
Internal Revenue Code of 1997, as amended. Likewise, such other transfers of ownership and/or 
possession of real or personal properties of all kinds shall be exempt from all taxes. 
 
SEC. 18. Joint Congressional Oversight Committee. – There shall be a Joint Congressional 
Oversight Committee on Disease Prevention and Control, jointly chaired by the Chairpersons of 
the Senate Committee on Health and Demography and the House of Representatives Committee 
on Health. It shall be composed of five (5) members from the Senate and five (5) members from 
the House of Representatives, to be appointed by the Senate President and the Speaker of the House 
of Representatives, respectively. 
 
SEC. 19. Appropriations. – The initial amount needed for the implementation of this Act shall be 
charged against the current year's appropriations of the offices and the RITM herein absorbed by 
the CDC. Thereafter, the funding of which shall be included in the annual GAA. 
 
SEC. 20. Transitory Provisions. – 
a) Upon effectivity of this Act, the CDC shall develop a Framework for Infectious Diseases 
and Pandemic Preparedness and prioritize the strengthening of the following functions: 
i) 
Integrated disease surveillance and response; 
ii) 
Sentinel surveillance; 


iii) 
Laboratory-based surveillance; 
iv) 
Periodic population-based surveillance; and, 
v) 
Preventing transmission of communicable diseases. 
b) The CDC shall initially prioritize disease surveillance and prevention and control of 
infectious diseases. Within five (5) years from its creation, and upon positive 
recommendation by an independent study or body commissioned by the DOH, the 
surveillance, prevention, and control of non-communicable diseases shall be included in 
its mandate; 
c) For the year during which this Act was approved, the unexpended portion of the budget of 
the offices and units transferred shall be utilized for establishing the CDC and initiating its 
operations, including the formulation of the rules and regulations necessary for the 
implementation of this Act; 
d) To the greatest extent possible and in accordance with existing laws, all employees of the 
affected offices, agencies, and units shall be absorbed by the CDC. Personnel hired on a 
permanent basis and with appointments attested by the CSC who may be affected by the 
transition of DOH units to CDC or who will not be absorbed in the new positions of the 
new staffing pattern of the different offices in the CDC shall have the option to: 
1) Be transferred to other units or offices within the DOH without reduction in pay; or  
2) Avail of the applicable retirement benefits as provided under R.A. 6656, entitled “An 
Act to Protect the Security of Tenure of Civil Service Officers and Employees in the 
Implementation of Government Reorganization” and other relevant laws; 
e) Incumbent DOH officials and employees of affected DOH offices may apply for and be 
transferred to the CDC, subject to an evaluation of their competency and CSC regulations; 
f) Research grants acquired during the transition of DOH-transferred units to CDC shall be 
utilized solely for the grants’ intended purposes for each of the affected units or offices and 
shall not be made available for budget realignments; 
g) Existing contracts and agreements entered into by the affected offices with third parties 
prior to the enactment of this Act shall remain valid.  
 
The DBM, DOH, and CSC shall issue the implementing guidelines to ensure fair, orderly, and 
transparent implementation of paragraphs (e) and (f) of this section.  
 
SEC. 21. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – Within one hundred and twenty (120) working 
days from the effectivity of this Act, the DOH Secretary shall promulgate the necessary rules and 
regulations for its implementation.  
 
SEC. 22. Separability Clause. – If for any reason, any provision of this Act or any part thereof is 
declared invalid or unconstitutional, all other actions or provisions not affected thereby shall 
remain in force and effect. 
 


SEC. 23. Repealing Clause. – All laws, decrees, orders, issuances, rules, and regulations 
inconsistent with this Act's provisions are hereby repealed, amended, or modified accordingly. 
 
SEC. 24. Effectivity. – The Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after publication in the Official 
Gazette and two (2) newspapers of national circulation. 
 
Approved.