Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. _______ 
Introduced by HON. GUS S. TAMBUNTING 
AN ACT 
INSTITUTING THE MEDICAL RESERVE CORPS AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS 
THEREFOR 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Article II Section 15 of the 1987 Constitution states that “The State shall protect 
and promote the right to health of the people and instill health consciousness 
among them.” 
One of the priority bills of President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. in his 2022 State of 
the Nation Address (SONA) is the Medical Reserve Corps Act.  
This bill stablishes a Medical Reserve Corp (MRC) under the Health and 
Emergency Management Bureau (HEMB) of the DOH. The MRC shall be 
composed of licensed physicians, medical students who have completed their four 
(4) years of medical course, graduates of medicine, registered nurses, and
licensed allied health professionals.
On behalf of the people of Parañaque City’s Second District, and for the common 
good of the Filipino people, the approval of the said measure is earnestly sought. 
REP. GUS S. TAMBUNTING 
2nd District, Parañaque City
August 31, 2022
8:54 am
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Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. _______ 
Introduced by HON. GUS S. TAMBUNTING 
AN ACT 
INSTITUTING THE MEDICAL RESERVE CORPS 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 "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 XII, 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, which calls on the State to ensure healthy lives 
and promote well-being for all of 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. 
Under this, it is the policy of the state to maintain a strong, proactive, and responsive healthcare 
system at all times, the workforce complements 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 on both national and local scales through the 
mobilization of the MRC. 
SEC. 3. Medica/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 
physicians for the engagement of private practitioners; 
 
(b) Medical students who have completed four (4) years of the 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 under 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 to ensure the 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 the different health emergencies 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 other areas as 
may be prescribed by the DOH. Recruits shall be given compensations 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 continuous training 
regularly to upgrade their proficiencies. 


 
Successful completion of the compulsory basic training shall be a requisite for admissions 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 DOH shall maintain and update a registry or database containing the names of the members 
of the Corps, and their serial numbers, address, contact details, and such other information as 
the DOH may determine, by 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 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 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 before 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 the authority of the Secretary of Health, upon the recommendations of the Director 
of the HMB or the request of national government agencies or local government units (LGUs) 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 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 conditions that: 
 
 


 
(1) Is caused by any of the following: 
 
i. 
Bioterrorism; 
ii. 
 
The appearance of a novel or previously controlled or eradicated 
iii. 
infectious agents or biological toxins; 
 
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: A large number of deaths in the affected 
population; 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; International exposure 
to an infectious or toxic agent that poses a significant risk to the health of citizens of other 
countries; or Trade and travel restrictions. 
 
SEC. 8. Deployment Order. The President of the Philippines, upon recommendations 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 many mobilization 
centers as needed to which members of the MRC shall report when mobilization is ordered. 
 
A mobilization center 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 the rapid 
transition to readiness required for employment in the shortest possible times. 
 
The DOH shall ensure and maintain the necessary capacity to scale up the procurement of this 
equipment and supplies as needed during the period of mobilizations. 
 
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 deployments, as 
well as for the training the MRC recruits on disaster and emergency response. 
 


 
The Secretary of Health may also recommend to the President the enlistment of AFP to 
supplement the mobilized MRC to provide 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 for MRC Members. —All MRC members shall be accorded protections 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, and other privileges, and benefits 
during the period of mobilization as prescribed by law or regulations. They shall also continue 
to receive all pay, allowances, and other privileges and benefits from their regular employment 
during the mobilization period by the law. 
 
SEC. 14. Legal Liability and Malpractice Insurance. No MRC member shall be held liable for the 
death or injury to any person or 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 policies 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 NRC who are deployed under 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 by this Act. 
 
SEC. 16. Annual Report& -The DOH shall regularly publish an annual report containing a list of 
the accomplishments, status of the operations, the 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 includes 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. 
 
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 Appropriation Act. 
 
SEC. 19. Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR). — Within 30 days from the effectivity of 
this Act, the DOH shall promulgate the necessary guidance 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 other provisions shall not be affected thereby. 
 
SEC. 21. Repealing Clause. —All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations, 14 other 
issuances, or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby 15 repealed 
or modified accordingly. 
 
SEC. 22. Effectivity Clause. —This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in 
the Official/Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation. 
 
Approved