Republic of the Philippines 
House of Representatives 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
House Bill No. _______ 
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE PM VARGAS 
AN ACT 
EXPANDING THE COVERAGE OF THE MANDATORY BASIC 
IMMUNIZATION PROGRAM AND PROVIDING A SYSTEM IN THE 
DETERMINATION OF OTHER TYPES OF VACCINE-PREVENTABLE 
DISEASES, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10152, 
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE "MANDATORY INFANTS AND CHILDREN'S 
HEALTH IMMUNIZATION ACT OF 2011" 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
In 2016, the Department of Health (DOH) released a survey showing 
that there are around 3,670 cases of children aged 5 years and below 
hospitalized for Rotavirus Diarrhea in the Philippines. The agency also 
reported a total of 229 diarrheal cases received from regional hospitals as they 
performed an outbreak investigation.1  Globally, there are 215,000 cases of 
deaths caused by the Rotavirus, which accounts for 3.4% of all child deaths.2 
In Asia, Japanese Encephalitis (JE) is the leading cause of viral 
encephalitis, resulting in brain inflammation that also leads to brain infection 
with symptoms including high fever, chills, and headache. This disease is 
transmitted by Culex mosquitoes breeding in water pools or flooded rice fields. 
In the Philippines, families in nearby pig farms and rice fields are the most 
vulnerable. In Regions I, II, and III, there were 340 cases of Japanese 
Encephalitis in 2018.3 
1 Department of Health (2016). Status of Rotavirus and Rota vaccine in
the Philippines. https://preventrotavirus.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Silva_Status-of-
Rotavirus-and-Rota-vaccine-in-the-Philippines.pdf (Accessed 26 October 2022)  
2 World Health  Organization (2016). Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals.  
https://www.who.int/immunization/monitoring_surveillance/burden/estimates/rotavirus/en/ 
(Accessed 26 October 2022)  
3 Outbreak News Today (2019) Japanese encephalitis takes the life of Pangasinan teen.  
http://outbreaknewstoday.com/japanese-encephalitis-takes-the-life-of-pangasinan-teen-87898/. 
(Accessed 26 October 2022) 
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Pneumococcal Conjugate, just like the Rotavirus, mostly affects 
children below 5 years old and adults over 55 years old, especially those with 
heart diseases. It may come from indoor air pollution or overpopulated 
neighborhoods. In 2008, the Pneumococcal Conjugate became the 4th leading 
cause of death with 35,756 Filipinos, and 586,186 more Filipinos suffering 
from pneumonia and respiratory tract infections.4 
As of 2018, there are 7,190 new cervical cancer cases diagnosed yearly 
in the Philippines, and it is the 2nd leading cause of female cancer in the 
country. This is very common in women aged 15 to 44 years old. In Asia, there 
are 62,456 cases annually and 569,847 cases globally.5 
Under the 1987 Philippine Constitution, the State has to protect and 
promote the health of the Filipinos and instill health consciousness among 
them. It is significant for the State to adopt an integrated and comprehensive 
approach to health development and make health and social services 
accessible to all at the most affordable cost.  
With recent data supporting the increase of infection rates of these 
diseases among Filipino children, our efforts to strengthen existing health 
policies must also keep up with the needs of the times. 
This bill seeks to expand the measures of the Republic Act No 10152 which 
mandates infants and children health immunization by including Rotavirus, 
Japanese Encephalitis (JE), Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine, and Human 
Papillomavirus Vaccine to the coverage. More importantly, it seeks to further 
highlight the task of the Secretary of the Department of Health (DOH) to 
determine other types of vaccine-preventable diseases. In order to democratize 
the process, this legislation requires the recommendations of the Formulary 
Executive Council (FEC) and the National Immunization Committee prior to 
the determination of new vaccines to be included in the National 
Immunization Program. 
In view of the foregoing, the immediate passage of this bill is earnestly 
sought. 
REP. PM VARGAS  
Fifth District, Quezon City
4 Inquirer (2015) Preventing pneumococcal disease through vaccination.  
https://business.inquirer.net/203995/preventing-pneumococcal-disease-through-vaccination. 
(Accessed 26 October 2022)  
5 HPV Information Center (2019) Human Papillomavirus and Related Diseases Report.  
https://www.hpvcentre.net/statistics/reports/PHL.pdf?t=1559474177321. (Accessed 26 October 
2022)  


Republic of the Philippines 
House of Representatives 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
TWENTIETH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
House Bill No. _______ 
INTRODUCED BY REP. PM VARGAS 
AN ACT 
EXPANDING THE COVERAGE OF THE MANDATORY BASIC 
IMMUNIZATION PROGRAM AND PROVIDING A SYSTEM IN THE 
DETERMINATION OF OTHER TYPES OF VACCINE-PREVENTABLE 
DISEASES, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10152, 
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE "MANDATORY INFANTS AND CHILDREN 
HEALTH IMMUNIZATION ACT OF 2011" 
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 “Expanded 
Mandatory Infants and Children Health Immunization Act”. 
SECTION 2. Section 3 of Republic Act No. 10152 is hereby amended to read 
as follows: 
“Section 3. Coverage. - The mandatory basic immunization for all 
infants and children provided under this Act shall cover the following vaccine-
preventable diseases: 
(a) Tuberculosis;
(b) Diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis;
(c) Poliomyelitis;
(d) Measles;
(e) Mumps;
(f) Rubella or German measles;
(g) Hepatitis-B;
(h) H. Influenza type B (HIB); [and]
(i) ROTAVIRUS;
(j) JAPANESE ENCEPHALITIS;
(k) PNEUMOCOCCAL CONJUGATE VACCINE (PCV);
(l) HUMAN PAPILLOMAVIRUS (HPV); AND
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(m) 
Such other types as may be determined by the Secretary of Health 
in a department circular[.] IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE 
RECOMMENDATIONS 
OF 
THE 
FORMULARY 
EXECUTIVE 
COUNCIL 
(FEC) 
AND 
THE 
NATIONAL 
IMMUNIZATION 
COMMITTEE (NIC) CREATED AS AN ADVISORY GROUP TO 
PROVIDE TECHNICAL SUPPORT TO THE SETTING OF A DOH 
POLICY 
DIRECTION 
ON 
THE 
NATIONAL 
IMMUNIZATION 
PROGRAM (NIP). 
 
xxx”  
 
 
SECTION 3. A new section to be numbered as Section 7 is hereby added after 
Section 6 of the same Act to read as follows: 
 
 
 
"SEC. 7. ANNUAL REPORT. - THE DOH SHALL SUBMIT TO THE 
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES, THE SENATE 
COMMITTEE ON HEALTH AND DEMOGRAPHY, AND THE HOUSE OF 
REPRESENTATIVES COMMITTEE ON HEALTH ON OR BEFORE THE END 
OF DECEMBER OF EVERY YEAR, OR UPON REQUEST OF ANY OF THE 
AFORESAID COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS, A REPORT GIVING A 
DETAILED ACCOUNT OF THE STATUS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF 
THIS ACT." 
 
SECTION 4. Sections 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 of the same Act are hereby 
renumbered as Sections 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12, respectively. 
 
SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in 
the Official Gazette or in any newspaper of general circulation. 
 
Approved,