■r^iiK' c! 1
EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) 
Third Regular Session 
)
72 FFB 12 P4‘-47
SENATE 
S. No? 12507
?xr. . ■
Introduced by Senator Francis "Tol" N. Tolentino
AN ACT
EXPANDING THE COVERAGE OF THE MANDATORY BASIC IMMUNIZATION 
FOR ALL INFANTS AND CHILDREN UP TO ELEVEN (11) YEARS OF AGE, 
AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10152, OTHERWISE 
KNOWN AS THE "MANDATORY INFANTS AND CHILDREN HEALTH 
IMMUNIZATION ACT OF 2011"
Explanatory Note
On 7 February 2022, the Philippine government started vaccinating children 
ages 5 to 11 years old against COVID-19. The Pfizer vaccine is being used for these 
children as it is the only vaccine that has received emergency use authorization for 
the 5 to 11 age group from the country's Food and Drug Administration (FDA). As of 
12 February 2022, a total of 52,262 children aged 5 to 11 years old have been 
inoculated against COVID-19. The government expects that around 1.5 million 
children aged 5 to 11 years old will receive the vaccine.
According to the Health Technology Assessment Council (HTAC), the 
independent advisory body to the Department of Health (DOH) and the Philippine 
Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), created under Republic Act (RA) No. 
11223, from March 2020 to January 2022, there were 110,609 COVID-19 and 1,916 
confirmed hospitalization among children 5 to 11 years old. There was a notable 
increase in cases and hospitalization among this age group during the Omicron wave 
in January 2022. While it is difficult to determine the real burden of the disease on 
the pediatric population due to limited testing, limited contact tracing, poor 
reporting, and other issues, the HTAC found that the potential adverse health 
outcomes of the disease in children justified pediatric vaccination against COVID-19. 
These health adverse complications include multisystem inflammatory syndrome 
(MIS-C) and "long COVID" or the persistence of COVID-19 symptoms even after


recovery among children, and 
hospitalization and deaths.
in rare cases, severe COVID-19 leading to
RA 10152, otherwise known as the "Mandatory Infants and Children Health 
Immunization Act of 2011," provides for the mandatory basic immunization for all 
infants and children up to 5 years of age against the following diseases: 
tuberculosis; diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis; poliomyelitis; measles; mumps; 
rubella or German measles; hepatitis-B; H. influenza type B (HIB); and such other 
types as may be determined by the Secretary of Health in a department circular.
The mandatory immunization under RA No. 10152 only covers children up to 
5 years of age. Hence, there is a need to amend the law to expand the coverage to 
children up to 11 years of age to prevent policy confusion as the government 
continues to roll out the COVID-19 vaccine for children 5 to 11 years old. This will 
also enable the government to protect the right to health of children in the face of 
future pandemics.
In the United States, Pfizer recently announced that it is postponing its 
application with the United States Food and Drug Administration for the approval of 
its COVID-19 vaccine for children between 6 months and 4 years old. The 
pharmaceutical company said it will wait for data from a study evaluating 
administering a third dose two months after the second dose, which may provide a 
higher level of protection in this age group.
In view of the foregoing, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought.
TOL" N. TOLENTINO


EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) 
Third Regular Session 
)
SENATE
S. No. 2507
ifMili ' Q. 1 -
72 FEB W P4-47
F.i;rLi
Introduced by Senator Francis "Tol" N. Tolentino
1 
AN ACT
2 
EXPANDING THE COVERAGE OF THE MANDATORY BASIC IMMUNIZATION
3 
FOR ALL INFANTS AND CHILDREN UP TO ELEVEN (11) YEARS OF AGE,
4 
AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10152, OTHERWISE
5 
KNOWN AS THE "MANDATORY INFANTS AND CHILDREN HEALTH
6 
IMMUNIZATION ACT OF 2011"
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:
1 
Section 1. Section 3 of Republic Act No. 10152, otherwise known as the
8 
"Mandatory Infants and Children Health Immunization Act of 2011," is hereby
9 
amended as follows:
10
11
12
13
"SEC. 3. Coverage. - xxx.
The mandatory basic immunization shall be given for free at 
any government hospital or health center to infants and 
children up to five (5) ELEVEN (11) years of age.
14
15
16 
17
XXX.
Section 2. Repealing Clause. All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules, and 
regulations or parts thereof which are inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed, 
amended, or modified accordingly.


1 
Section 3. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its
2 
publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) newspapers of general
3 
circulation.
Approved,