NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE ) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
First Regular Session 
)
I’f
Offup of U)P
*22 JUL-7 P2:l6
SENATE
Senate BiSI No.
88
RECEIVED BY:
Introduced by Senator Juan Miguel F. Zubiri
AN ACT
INSTITUTING THE MEDICAL RESERVE CORPS AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS
THEREFOR
EXPLANATORY NOTE
Ensuring the health and safety of the Filipino people has always been one of 
the priority concerns of the government. We have been consistently developing 
policies to improve the state of our health industry and ensure that every Filipino 
has easy access to medical services, but the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic 
in 2020 has brought to light matters that needs to be improved on and addressed 
when it comes to providing our countrymen with necessary medical services, 
especially in times of emergency.
When COVID-19 hit the country, our hospitals were overwhelmed by the influx 
of patients that needed medical attention. Our doctors, nurses and other medical 
personnel had to work for extended hours just so they could attend to everyone 
in need. Despite the laudable efforts of our medical personnel during this time, it 
was evident that there was an inadequacy of manpower needed for such health 
emergency.
It is important to ensure that the provision of medical attention to those who 
need it is not interrupted, delayed or hindered especially in times of emergency. 
As such we have to make sure that we have the necessary manpower that will be 
needed in case a pandemic or other disaster that might overwhelm our existing 
pool of medical personnel happens again.
This bill seeks to address this concern by instituting a Medical Reserve Corps 
that we can readily tap into in times of emergency brought about by pandemics, 
epidemics or other disasters that pose a threat to the lives and well-being of the 
Filipino people.


The Medical Reserve Corps, which shali be composed of licensed physicians 
including those who are already retired and those who are no longer practicing in 
the hospital setting, medical students who have completed four (4) years of 
medical course, graduates of medicine and registered nurses, would be serve as 
the support body of the country's health system in times of public health 
emergencies.
In view the foregoing, approval of this bill is urgently sought.
MIGUEL F. ZUBIRI


NINETEENTH CONGRESS OF THE ) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
First Regular Session 
)
of lljf I't'f
*22 JUL -7 P2:l6
SENATE 
Senate Bill No.
RHCEIVFDSV:
Introduced by Senator Juan Miguel F. Zubiri
AN ACT
INSTITUTING THE MEDICAL RESERVE CORPS AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS
THEREFOR
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Phiiippines in 
Congress assembied:
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SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the "Medical Reserve
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Corps Act."
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SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - Article II, Section 15 of the Constitution enjoins
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the State to protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health
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consciousness among them. Article XII, Section 11 also provides for the adoption of an
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integrated and comprehensive approach to health development. The State further
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reiterates its commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG
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3, which calls on the State to ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all
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ages.
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The State recognizing the need for a reserve force of highly skilled and medically
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trained professionals and volunteers who can be mobilized to maintain the capacity to
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meet surges in the demand for the country's healthcare system and provide assistance
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as may be needed in times of health crises.
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Pursuant to this, it is the policy of the state to maintain a strong, proactive and
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responsive healthcare system at all times, the workforce complement of which can be
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expanded rapidly by a well-trained and well-equipped Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) in
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times of public health emergency and health threats. Towards this end, the State shall
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enhance the capacity of the nation to produce and call on the needed manpower and
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expand its human health resources in times of disasters and public health emergencies
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of both national and local scale through the mobilization of the MRC.


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SEC. 3. Medical Reset ve 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 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 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


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(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 to the MRC. Successful completion of activities in the continuing training 
program shall be 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 DOFl 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 DOFl may determine, in accordance with the applicable privacy 
laws. For this purpose, all public and private colleges, universities and learning institutions 
shall transmit annual their records of the graduates covered under this Act to the DOFl.
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 DON, shall also be issued.
All graduates covered under this Act are required to update their addresses and 
contact details on file with the DOFl 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 
medial 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 Flealth, upon the 
recommendation of the Director of the FIEMB 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.


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The MRC may be mobilized partially or in full as may be necessary. The DOH shall 
promulgate the mechanism 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 of imminent threat of an illness or health 
condition that:
(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 disaster;
(iv) 
A chemical attack or accidental release;
(v) 
A nuclear attack or accident; or
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An attack or accidental release of radioactive materials; and
(2) Poses a high probability of an of the following:
(i) A large number of deaths in the affected population;
(il) 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.


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Mobilization centers may be any establishment 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 disease patients, and for such other 
related purposes.
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


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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 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 hall 
also include the results of the audit investigation on the spending of funds appropriated, 
collected, or advanced for the implementation of the provisions of the 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,-Jhe 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 Genera! Appropriation Act.
SEC. 19. Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR). - Within thirty (30) 
days from the effectivity of this Act, the DOH hall promulgate the necessary guideline for 
the effective Implementation of this Act.
SEC. 20. Separability Clause. - If any provision of this Act Is declared 
unconstitutional or other*wise 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. 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