Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
 HOUSE BILL NO. ______ 
Introduced by Representative MARLYN L. PRIMICIAS-AGABAS 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Covid-19 pandemic exposed some weaknesses of the Philippine health 
system, and one of which is the lack of medical personnel. At the height of the 
pandemic, our medical frontliners were over worked, exhausted, exposed to more 
harm than they should have been.  
The country needs to be better prepared in the future. Thus, the need to 
establish a Medical Reserve Corps.  
This bill seeks to establish a Medical Reserve Corps. The objective is to 
organize a group of trained and equipped medical and health-related personnel for 
rapid mobilization during national or local public health emergencies. They will 
augment the medical health personnel of government hospitals and local government 
units.  
The MRC shall be composed of all persons who have degrees in the field of 
medicine, nursing, medical technology, and other health-related fields but have yet to 
have their respective licenses to practice. A medical reserve force specifically trained 
to supplement the existing human health resources will ease the burden in our 
healthcare system. This will give our hospitals and medical facilities the added 
capacity to handle the extreme demand for patient care in times of disaster and health 
emergencies. 
September 14, 2022
3:46 pm
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In view of the foregoing, immediate approval of this measure is earnestly requested. 
MARLYN L. PRIMICIAS-AGABAS 


Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
 HOUSE BILL NO. ______ 
Introduced by Representative MARLYN L. PRIMICIAS-AGABAS 
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 II, Section 1 5, 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 II 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 complements of which can 
be expanded rapidly by a well-trained and well-equipped Medical Reserve Corps 
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(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: 
 
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. 
 
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. 
 
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 closes 
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: 
 
a. Bio terrorism; 
b. Appearance of a novel or previously controlled or eradicated infectious 
agent or biological toxin; 


c. A natural disaster; 
d. A chemical attack or accidental release; 
e. A nuclear attack or accident; or 
f. An attack or accidental release of radioactive materials; and 
 
(2) Poses a high probability of any of the following: 
 
a. A large number of deaths in the affected population; 
b. A large number of serious injuries or long-term disabilities in the affected 
population; 
c. Widespread exposure to an infectious or toxic agent that poses e 
significant risk of substantial harm to a large number of people in the 
affected population; 
d. International exposure to an infectious or toxic agent that poses a 
significant risk to the health of citizen of other countries; or 
e. 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. 
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 multipurpose 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 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, 
 
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 Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in the official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
 
 
Approved,