Pursuant to Republic Act No. 10532 known as the Philippine National Health Research System Law, the Philippine Health Research Ethics Board (PHREB) has set requirements for accreditation of all Research Ethics Review Committees (RERCs) in the country to ensure adherence to the universal principles for the protection of human participants in research.

Based on the guidelines issued on 02 February 2014, all RERCs which currently conduct review of research proposals must undergo accreditation by PHREB by 30 December 2015. All ERCs desiring Level 3 accreditation should apply before 30 April, 2015 to enable the PHREB Sub-Committee on Standards and Accreditation to schedule the applicant ERC for the accreditation visit before 30 December 2015.

As one of the implementing agencies of the Philippine National Health Research System, the Department of Health issued Department Circular no. 2015 – 0059 to facilitate the accreditation of all DOH RERCs and require them to apply before the set deadline.