NINETEENTH CONGRESS
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
First Regular Session )

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

House Bill No. 3 003
EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill was filed during the 18 Congress and was approved by the House of
Representatives.

After the 9/11 attacks in the US, President George W. Bush called for the establishment of
the USA Freedom Corps. The USA Freedom Corps is a coordinating entity in the White House
charged with promoting a culture of service, citizenship, and responsibility in America. It
promotes and expands volunteer service in America by supporting Federal service programs,
serving as a resource for non-profits, recognizing volunteers, and helping to connect
individuals with volunteer organizations in their communities.

The Medical Reserve Corps was created as an extension of the Freedom Corps. The Medical
Reserve Corps (MRC) is a network in the U.S. of community-based units initiated and
established by local organizations to meet the public health needs of their communities. It
consists of medical and non-medical volunteers who contribute to local health initiatives, such
as activities meeting the Surgeon General's priorities for public health, and supplement
existing response capabilities in time of emergency. The MRC provides the structure
necessary to pre-identify, credential, train, and activate medical and public health volunteers.

In the Philippines, the importance of an MRC was realized during the COVID-19 pandemic
wherein we saw that we lack medical personnel leaving our hospital front liners thoroughly
overwhelmed and exhausted.

This bill proposes to establish a Medical Reserve Corps which shall be composed of ail
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.

The Medical Reserve Corps may be called upon and mobilized during national health
emergencies to assist the national government and the local government units in their
functions related to addressing medical needs. This measure allows our hospitals and medical
facilities to handle the extreme demand for patient care in times of disaster and health
emergencies.

In view of the foregoing, immediate approval of this measure is earnestly requested.

he “36h
RurUs B. RODHIGUEZ

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NINETEENTH CONGRESS )
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES )
First Regular Session )

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Introduced by Representati

Rufus B. Rodriguez

House Bill No. 3003

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 Il 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 complement 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 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 heaith 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
ules 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 aiso 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 iliness 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. Anatural disaster;

d. A chemical attack or accidental release;

e. Anuclear attack or accident; or

f. Anattack 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;

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. Intemational 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.

op

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, aa 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, - {f 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,