Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. _______ 
Introduced by HON. GUSTAVO S. TAMBUNTING 
AN ACT 
AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NO.11332, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE 
"MANDATORY REPORTING OF NOTIFIABLE DISEASES AND HEALTH EVENTS OF 
PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERN ACT" 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Republic Act No. 11332, otherwise known as the “Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and 
Health Events of Public Health Concern Act”, which was enacted just last year, provides for 
mechanisms that allow governments to effectively monitor the spread of diseases and control 
future outbreaks.  
The COVID-19 pandemic has allowed for an early evaluation of the said law—revealing areas for 
improvement and amendment. Whilst some provisions are not yet fully implemented, the gaps in 
the current response show that the provisions of this law would have been particularly helpful in 
controlling the spread of diseases.  
This proposed measure seeks to augment this law to make this more effective in addressing 
future outbreaks by (1) establishing sub-national laboratories in all DOH-run hospitals in the 
country which shall have the capacity to undertake testing, diagnosis, control, and prevention of 
infectious diseases; (2) establishment of hotlines and other forms of access for reporting of 
diseases and public health events; (3) requiring the DOH to issue clear guidelines on the 
systematic reporting and recording of notifiable diseases and health events of public health 
concern; (4) requiring all public and private institutions to provide the necessary information in 
disease surveillance and other epidemiologic investigations. 
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. GUSTAVO S. TAMBUNTING 
2nd District, Parañaque City 
August 22, 2022
10:22 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. GUSTAVO S. TAMBUNTING 
AN ACT  
AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NO.11332, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE  
"MANDATORY REPORTING OF NOTIFIABLE DISEASES AND HEALTH EVENTS OF 
PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERN ACT" 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
SECTION 1. Section 6 of Republic Act No. 11332 is hereby amended to add the following: 
“SEC. 6. Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events 
of Public Concern. – The DOH, through the Epidemiology Bureau, shall issue the 
official list of institutionalized public health information systems, disease 
surveillance, and response systems for mandatory reporting of notifiable diseases 
and health events of public concern provided in Section 5 of this Act. This official 
list shall include the Field Health Service Information System (FHSIS), the 
Philippine Integrated Disease Surveillance Response (PIDSR) System with its Case-
Based Surveillance and Event-based Surveillance, and other duly institutionalized 
public health disease surveillance  
and response systems of the DOH. 
“Under this Act:  
“xxx  
“(e) To perform their disease surveillance and response functions, authorized 
health personnel from the DOH and its local counterparts have the statutory and 
regulatory authority to enforce the following:  
"xxx 
“(6) ESTABLISHMENT OF SUB-NATIONAL LABORATORIES IN ALL DOH-
RUN REGIONAL HOSPITALS IN THE COUNTRY WHICH SHALL HAVE THE 
CAPACITY TO UNDERTAKE TESTING, DIAGNOSIS, CONTROL, AND 
3863


PREVENTION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES. LOCAL GOVERNMENT UNITS 
MAY ALSO ESTABLISH THEIR LABORATORIES AND/OR PARTNER WITH 
PRIVATE HOSPITALS AND LABORATORIES IN THE CONDUCT OF 
INFECTIOUS 
DISEASE 
SURVEILLANCE: 
PROVIDED, 
THAT 
THE 
LABORATORIES SHALL BE DULY ACCREDITED AND APPROVED BY THE 
DOH.  
“xxx  
“(H) ALL HOSPITALS, CLINICS, HEALTH FACILITIES, LABORATORIES, 
RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS, WORKPLACES, SCHOOLS, PRISONS, PORTS, 
AIRPORTS, 
COMMERCIAL 
ESTABLISHMENTS, 
AND 
RESIDENTIAL 
COMMUNITIES ARE REQUIRED TO PROVIDE NECESSARY INFORMATION 
TO AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL OF THE DOH AND OTHER AUTHORIZED 
AGENCIES INCLUDING LOCAL COUNTERPARTS INVOLVED IN DISEASE 
SURVEILLANCE INCLUDING CONTACT TRACING: PROVIDED, THAT 
SUCH REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE INFORMATION SHOULD BE 
EXEMPTED IN THE PROVISION OF THE DATA PRIVACY ACT ON 
ACCESSIBILITY OF DATA;  
“(I) THE DOH SHALL ESTABLISH HOTLINES AND OTHER FORMS OF 
ACCESS WHERE THE PUBLIC CAN REPORT NOTIFIABLE DISEASES AND 
HEALTH EVENTS OF PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERN;  
“(J) THE DOH SHALL ISSUE CLEAR GUIDELINES ON THE SYSTEMATIC 
REPORTING AND RECORDING OF NOTIFIABLE DISEASES AND HEALTH 
EVENTS OF PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERN, PARTICULARLY, ON THE 
NUMBER OF CONFIRMED CASES, DEATHS, SUSPECTED AND PROBABLE 
CASES; AND  
“(K) THE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL POLICE AND ARMED FORCES OF THE 
PHILIPPINES MAY ASSIST THE DOH IN THE CONDUCT OF CONTACT 
TRACING AND OTHER EPIDEMIOLOGIC INVESTIGATIONS WHERE THE 
ASSISTANCE OF UNIFORMED PERSONNEL ARE NECESSARY.” 
SEC. 2. Section 7 of Republic Act No. 11332 is hereby amended to read as follows:  
“The Secretary of Health shall have the authority to declare epidemics of national 
and/or international concerns [except when the same threatens national security 
In which case, the President of the Republic of the Philippines shall declare a State 
of Public Health Emergency and mobilize governmental and nongovernmental 
agencies to respond to the threat.] IN WHICH CASE THE INTER-AGENCY 
TASK FORCE FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF EMERGING INFECTIOUS 
DISEASES (IATF-EID) CREATED UNDER EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 168, S. 
2014 SHALL IMMEDIATELY CONVENE. THE PRESIDENT OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES SHALL HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO 
DECLARE A STATE OF PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY UPON THE 
RECOMMENDATION OF THE IATF-EID OR UPON THE DECLARATION OF 
THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION OF A PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY 


OF INTERNATIONAL CONCERN. THE STATE OF PUBLIC HEALTH 
EMERGENCY SHALL AUTHORIZE THE PRESIDENT TO MOBILIZE 
GOVERNMENTAL AND NONGOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES TO RESPOND TO 
THE THREAT AND TO EXERCISE OF MEASURES PROVIDED IN REPUBLIC 
ACT NO. 10121 WHEN A STATE OF CALAMITY EXISTS.  
“THE IATF-EID SHALL, WITHIN NINETY (90) DAYS FROM THE APPROVAL OF THIS 
ACT, FORMULATE A NATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY STRATEGY TO 
ADDRESS PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES. THIS STRATEGY SHALL PROVIDE FOR 
AN INTEGRATED POLICY COORDINATION AND STRATEGIC DIRECTION 
CONCERNING ALL MATTERS RELATED TO NATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH AND 
MEDICAL PREPAREDNESS, AND EXECUTION AND DEPLOYMENT OF NATIONAL 
RESPONSE BEFORE, DURING, AND FOLLOWING PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES. 
THE STRATEGY SHALL ALSO INCLUDE THE IDENTIFICATION OF QUARANTINE 
OR ISOLATION FACILITIES IN EVERY PROVINCE.  
"THE IATF-EID SHALL FORMULATE AND IMPLEMENT A NATIONAL 
PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY PLAN UNDER THE NATIONAL PUBLIC HEALTH 
EMERGENCY STRATEGY AS SOON AS THE PRESIDENT DECLARES THE EXISTENCE 
OF THE STATE OF PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY.  
"xx."  
SEC. 3. Section 8 of Republic Act No. 11332 is hereby amended to read as follows: 
"Section 8. Establishment of Epidemiology and Surveillance Units. – The 
DOH [in coordination with the LGUs,] shall ensure that the Epidemiology and 
Surveillance Units (ESUs) are established and functional in all levels of the DOH 
and its local counterparts, and public and private health facilities and laboratories, 
as well as ports and airports in ah provinces, cities and municipalities throughout 
the country.  
ALL PROVINCES, CITIES, AND MUNICIPALITIES SHALL ESTABLISH 
THEIR EPIDEMIOLOGY AND SURVEILLANCE UNITS WHICH SHALL 
CLOSELY COORDINATE WITH THE ESUS OF THE DOH.  
"The ESU shall capture and verify all reported notifiable diseases and health events 
of public health concern; provide timely, accurate, and reliable epidemiologic 
information to appropriate agencies; conduct disease surveillance and response 
activities; coordinate needed response; and facilitate capacity building in the field 
of epidemiology, disease surveillance and response at the Epidemiology Bureau.  
"All ESUs OF THE DOH AND LGUS shall have trained required human resource 
complement and provision of adequate resources, including equipment, logistics, 
communication, transportation, laboratory supplies and reagents, personal 
protective equipment, and health insurance, to effectively perform their disease 
surveillance and response functions." 


SEC. 4. Section 9 of Republic Act No. 11332 is hereby amended to read as follows: 
"SEC. 9. Prohibited Acts. – The following shall be prohibited under this Act: 
"xxx 
"(F) CREATING, PERPETUATING, OR SPREADING FALSE INFORMATION 
REGARDING AN EPIDEMIC OR PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY ON SOCIAL 
MEDIA AND OTHER PLATFORMS, SUCH INFORMATION HAS NO VALID 
OR BENEFICIAL EFFECT ON THE POPULATION, AND IS GEARED TO 
PROMOTE CHAOS, PANIC, ANARCHY, FEAR, OR CONFUSION; AND 
THOSE PARTICIPATING IN CYBER INCIDENTS THAT MAKE USE OR TAKE 
ADVANTAGE OF THE CURRENT CRISIS SITUATION TO PREY ON THE 
PUBLIC THROUGH SCAMS, PHISHING, FRAUDULENT EMAILS, OR OTHER 
SIMILAR ACTS;  
"(G) DISCRIMINATING AGAINST HEALTH WORKERS, INFECTED AND 
RECOVERED PERSONS SUCH AS PROMOTING AND ENCOURAGING 
STIGMA, INCITING VIOLENCE, SUBJECTING THEM TO PROFILING, 
DETENTION, OR VERBAL OR PHYSICAL HARASSMENT; AND  
"(H) 
INTENTIONALLY 
DECLARING 
OR 
REPORTING 
FALSE 
INFORMATION ON INFECTIOUS DISEASES. "  
xxx."  
SEC 5. Separability Clause. – Any portion or provision of this Act that is declared 
unconstitutional shall not have the effect of nullifying other portions or provisions hereof as long 
as such remaining portions can still subsist and be given effect in their entirety.  
SEC. 6. Repealing Clause. – All laws, ordinances, rules, regulations, other issuances, or parts 
thereof, which are inconsistent with this Act, are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.  
SEC. 7. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the 
Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.  
Approved,