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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
House Bill No. _______ 
Introduced by Representative Ron P. Salo 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The COVID-19 outbreak, which was declared by the World Health Organization 
(WHO) as a global pandemic on 11 March 2020 has now infected more than five 
hundred (500) million individuals all around the world. It has tested the capability and 
capacity of all health care systems across nations, with most of them having reported 
to be operating at full, if not beyond, capacity due to the overwhelming influx of 
patients. The lack of medical personnel was a key weakness in our fight against the 
COVID-19 pandemic, and it left our hospital frontliners thoroughly overwhelmed and 
exhausted. 
As a response to the foregoing concern, this bill proposes to establish a Medical 
Reserve Corps which shall be composed of licensed physicians, including those who 
are 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; and licensed allied health professionals.  
It is during times of national health emergencies that the members of the Medical 
Reserve Corps may be called upon and mobilized to assist the national government 
and the local government units in their functions related to addressing medical needs. 
This measure allows our hospitals and medical facilities to handle the extreme demand 
for patient care in times of disaster and health emergencies. 
By establishing the Medical Reserve Corps, this legislative measure seeks to 
considerably address the overwhelming burden faced by our medical frontliners and 
health care institutions as they do their best to respond to a public health crisis not 
only to the COVID-19 pandemic that we are presently waging war against, but future 
national health emergencies that our country may encounter as well. 
In view of the foregoing, approval of this bill is earnestly sought. 
RON P. SALO   
   KABAYAN Party List 
July 28, 2022
3:46 pm
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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
House Bill No. _______ 
Introduced by Representative Ron P. Salo 
AN ACT  
INSTITUTING THE MEDICAL RESERVE 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 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: 
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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 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 
medical service pursuant to Republic Act No. 2382, otherwise known as the 
Medical Act of 1959; and 
 
c. Licensed allied health professionals, including medical technologists, 
physical therapists and midwives. 
 
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 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; 


 
 
 
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(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 
(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. – 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. 
 
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. 
 


 
 
 
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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. 
 
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. 
 


 
 
 
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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 (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. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
 
Approved.