1 
Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
1st Regular Session 
House Bill No. ________ 
Introduced by Representatives EDVIC G. YAP, JOCELYN P. TULFO, and 
JEFFREY SORIANO 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The 1987 Constitution takes cognizance of the immeasurable role of our military and 
uniformed personnel in the protection of the country’s territory and citizens and the 
maintenance of peace and order in the community.  
In consonance with this mandate is the role of the State in providing adequate 
remuneration and benefits of our military and uniformed personnel, which includes, 
but are not limited to, their separation, pension, and retirement benefits. In addition, 
the urgency of this bill is evident given that its application will be rendered 
immediately even in the newly-hired military and uniformed personnel so as to avoid 
the ballooning effect in the budget of the military in the near future.  
In this regard, this bill seeks to create a sustainable fiscal framework for the pension 
system of the military and uniformed personnel, thereby granting the ease and 
flexibility in the future expenditures of the government while providing the necessary 
remuneration and benefits to our military and uniformed personnel, in recognition of 
their selfless service and love of country. 
In view of the foregoing, approval of this bill is earnestly sought. 
      EDVIC G. YAP 
   JOCELYN P. TULFO 
 JEFFREY SORIANO 
August 22, 2022
12:57 pm
3887


1 
Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Quezon City, Metro Manila 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
1st Regular Session 
House Bill No. ________ 
Introduced by Representatives EDVIC G. YAP, JOCELYN P. TULFO, and 
JEFFREY SORIANO 
AN ACT 
CREATING A SUSTAINABLE FISCAL FRAMEWORK FOR THE PENSION 
SYSTEM OF THE MILITARY AND UNIFORMED PERSONNEL, PROVIDING 
MECHANISMS FOR THE DISPOSITION OF GOVERNMENT ASSETS FOR THE 
PURPOSE, AND APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
TITLE I 
GENERAL PROVISIONS 
SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known as the “Military and 
Uniformed Personnel Pension Act.” 
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. - The State duly recognizes the vital role of the 
military and uniformed personnel in providing internal and external security, 
promoting peace and order, and ensuring public safety. 
The State also recognizes its obligation to secure the pension system for 
the military and uniformed personnel given the distinctive personal risks in their 
role in nation building and national security.  
To protect the military and uniformed personnel against the extraordinary 
hazards, risks, and dangers that they encounter in the performance of their duties, 
the State shall ensure that there shall be an adequate, robust, and a well-managed 
insurance system that shall adequately and sustainably support their needs and 
that of their dependents. 
Towards these ends, the State shall guarantee the sustainability of the pension 
and other benefits of the military and uniformed personnel by creating a fiscal 
framework that fully supports their funding requirements. 
SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. – As used in this Act: 
3887


 
2 
 
a. Military and Uniformed Personnel refers to all employees of the 
government who wear uniforms, with ranks, may be armed or unarmed, 
primarily involved in national defense, enforcement of laws, and in the 
maintenance of peace, order, and security and who belong to any of the 
following services: Armed Forces of the Philippines, Philippine National 
Police, Philippine Coast Guard, Bureau of Fire Protection, Bureau of Jail 
Management and Penology, Bureau of Corrections, and the employees 
of the Hydrography Branch of the National Mapping and Resource 
Information Authority who were transferred from the Bureau of Coast and 
Geodetic Survey;  
 
b. Pension refers to the sum of money representing the monthly retirement 
pay or the monthly life annuity of a military and uniformed personnel; 
 
c. Survivorship Pension refers to the monthly benefit or the monthly life 
annuity of the beneficiaries of a military and uniformed personnel who is 
retired or separated under the provisions of existing laws. 
 
 
TITLE II 
FISCAL SUSTAINABILITY OF PENSION BENEFITS 
 
SEC. 4. Fiscal Risk Management. – To ensure that fiscal risks related to the 
military and uniformed personnel pension system are managed and addressed, 
the Secretary of Finance, as Chairperson of the Military and Uniformed Personnel 
Trust Fund Committee created under Section 9 of this Act, shall: 
 
a. Formulate policies, consistent with law, to ensure the fiscal sustainability of 
the pension of military and uniformed personnel; 
 
b. Assess possible risks to the fiscal sustainability of the pension of military 
and uniformed personnel and propose appropriate policy interventions; 
 
c. Identify, manage, and control risks that the pension of military and 
uniformed personnel may pose to the national government’s fiscal position; 
 
d. Inform Congress of such risks through the annual Fiscal Risk Statement and 
propose legislative reforms to address such risks; and 
 
e. Obtain information from any officer or office of local governments and 
agencies and instrumentalities of the national government, as may be 
necessary. 
 
 
SEC. 5. Maturity Benefit from the Insurance Plan. – A military and 
uniformed personnel who is retired or separated under the provisions of existing 
laws, or the qualified survivors in the case of death before retirement or separation, 
shall receive the maturity benefit from the life insurance plan funded by mandatory 


 
3 
contributions paid by the military and uniformed personnel under Section 14 of this 
Act. The Military and Uniformed Personnel Trust Fund Committee as created under 
Section 9 of this Act, shall provide mechanisms to allow the enjoyment of this benefit 
either as a lump sum or in annuitized payments. 
 
 
SEC. 6. Disability Pension. – In lieu of disability benefits provided under 
existing laws, a military and uniformed personnel who is retired by reasons of 
disability, which is the proximate result of wounds or injuries sustained or sickness 
or disease acquired in the line of duty shall receive a monthly disability pension 
corresponding to the disability incurred at the time of separation: 
 
a. If and while the disability is rated twenty-five percent (25%) – Five 
thousand pesos (P5,000.00); 
 
b. If and while the disability is rated fifty percent (50%) - Ten thousand pesos 
(P10,000.00); 
 
c. If and while the disability is rated seventy five percent (75%) - Fifteen 
thousand pesos (P15,000.00); and 
 
d. If and while the disability is rated one hundred percent (100%) – Twenty 
thousand pesos (P20,000.00). 
 
SEC. 7. Capped Automatic Indexation to Adjustments in Active Personnel 
Pay. – The adjustment in pension of retired or separated military and uniformed 
personnel and survivorship pension of qualified survivors shall be automatically 
indexed to adjustments in the salary of military and uniformed personnel in active 
service holding the same rank: Provided, That within ten (10) years from the effectivity 
of this Act, the adjustment in the salary of active military and uniformed personnel 
shall not exceed five percent (5%) at any given year and the adjustment in the pension 
and survivorship pension shall not exceed five percent (5%) during the same year. 
 
The President of the Philippines is hereby authorized, upon the 
recommendation of the Military and Uniformed Personnel Trust Fund Committee as 
created under Section 9 of this Act, and subject to consultation with the President of 
the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to increase the pension 
and survivorship pension at a rate lower than the adjustment in the salary of active 
military and uniformed personnel of the same rank if the national government incurs 
an unmanageable public sector deficit. 
 
 
TITLE III 
MILITARY AND UNIFORMED PERSONNEL TRUST FUND 
 
SEC. 8. Military and Uniformed Personnel Trust Fund. – The Military and 
Uniformed Personnel Trust Fund, hereinafter referred to as the MUP Trust Fund, is 
hereby created for the budgetary support of the military and uniformed services, 


 
4 
including the payment of pension and survivorship pension under existing laws and 
the disability pension and other benefits under this Act. 
 
SEC. 9. Military and Uniformed Personnel Trust Fund Committee. – To carry 
out the declared policy of this Act, the Military and Uniformed Personnel Trust 
Fund Committee, hereinafter referred to as the Committee, is hereby created. The 
Committee shall be organized within ninety (90) days from the effectivity of this Act. 
The Committee is composed of the following members: 
 
a. Secretary of Finance, as Chairperson; 
 
b. Secretary of Budget and Management; 
 
c. Secretary of National Defense; 
 
d. Secretary of the Interior and Local Government; 
 
e. Secretary of Justice; 
 
f. Executive Secretary of the Office of the President; and 
 
g. President and General Manager of the Government Service Insurance System. 
 
The Bureau of the Treasury shall serve as the Secretariat of the Committee and 
maintain the records and accounts of all investments, receipts, disbursements, and 
other transactions relating to the management, administration, and utilization of 
the MUP Trust Fund: Provided, That these records and accounts are maintained in 
accordance with the existing accounting and auditing laws, rules, and regulations and 
audited by the Commission on Audit. 
 
SEC. 10. Powers and Functions of the Committee. – The Committee shall 
exercise the following powers and functions: 
 
a. Act as Trustee of the MUP Trust Fund and such other assets as may be 
assigned to the pension system of the military and uniformed personnel 
and direct how the assets of the MUP Trust Fund are managed; 
 
b. Manage the MUP Trust Fund, through the fund manager designated under 
Section 11 herein, and ensure that the fund is actuarially and financially 
optimal and sustainable; 
 
c. Authorize the necessary expenses to manage and administer the MUP Trust 
Fund; 
 
d. Authorize and direct the creation of a life insurance system for military and 
uniformed personnel which shall cover death and disability benefits in 
addition to those provided under this Act, to account for the significant 
risks involved in military and uniformed service and indemnify personnel 


 
5 
who suffer such risks, and set reasonable mandatory insurance premiums 
therefor;  
 
Provided, That the insurance system shall be administered by the 
Government Service Insurance System and supervised by the Insurance 
Commission: Provided, further, That the insurance system shall be managed 
separately from the pension system: Provided, finally, That, subject to the 
authorization of the Committee, the insurance system may undertake 
investments in debt and equity securities and in the money market, real estate 
investments, and other viable investments; 
 
e. Authorize and direct the creation of a provident fund or a mutual fund; 
 
f. Implement and execute functions related to the disposition of assets 
identified under this Act; 
 
g. Create, manage, and utilize separate trust fund accounts for the budgetary 
support of the military and uniformed services, retirement and 
survivorship benefits of military and uniformed personnel, provident or 
mutual fund and insurance provisions;  
 
h. Cause the undertaking of a survey or consultation to assess the preferences 
of military and uniformed personnel on the features of the pension 
system, including willingness to pay for contributions and interest in 
various benefit and investment schemes; 
 
i. 
Commission an actuarial evaluation of the fiscal sustainability of the 
pension scheme, including specific recommendations on the rates for 
contributions 
and investment options for the MUP Trust Fund, as 
applicable; and 
 
j. Perform other necessary functions for the effective management of the 
MUP Trust Fund.  
 
Provided, That within one (1) year from the effectivity of this Act, the 
fund manager shall conduct the studies stated in Subsections (h) and (i) 
herein: Provided, further, That the findings and recommendations obtained 
from the studies shall be submitted to the Committee which shall promulgate 
implementing rules and regulations with respect to the mandatory 
contribution scheme, and other features of the pension scheme as applicable: 
Provided, furthermore, That an amount not exceeding Thirty million pesos 
(P30,000,000.00) is hereby appropriated for the conduct of the studies: 
Provided, finally, That the fund manager may engage the private sector, as 
needed, to ensure quality and timeliness in the implementation of the survey, 
consultation, and actuarial evaluation. 


 
6 
 
SEC. 11. MUP Trust Fund Manager. – The Government Service Insurance System 
is designated as the fund manager and benefits administrator of the MUP Trust Fund, 
and shall: 
 
a. Implement an investment management and benefits administration strategy as directed 
by the Committee; 
 
b. Monitor market and economic trends and track securities to make informed 
investment decisions; 
 
c. Recommend its portfolio strategy to the Committee; 
 
d. Track financial results of companies in the portfolio and its various metrics, 
including price-to-earnings ratios, inflation-adjusted return, sales, 
earnings, and dividends; and 
 
e. Perform other acts necessary to fulfill its mandate under this Act, or such Acts 
that may be delegated by the Committee. 
 
SEC. 12. Structure, Staffing Pattern, and Operating Budget. - The 
organizational structure and staffing pattern for the management of the MUP Trust 
Fund within the Government Service Insurance System and for the creation of the 
MUP Trust Fund Secretariat within the Bureau of the Treasury shall be approved by 
the Committee within ninety (90) days from the enactment of this Act: Provided, That 
appointees to various positions shall comply with the qualification standards 
approved by the Civil Service Commission: Provided, further, That the Government 
Service Insurance System shall be entitled to a management fee, to be charged against 
the MUP Trust Fund and its derivative incomes, including budgetary requirement 
commensurate to the expertise and services rendered for the salaries and benefits of 
officials and employees assigned to the Committee. 
 
SEC. 13. Joint Responsibility. – For the purpose of ensuring that only 
qualified military and uniformed personnel retirees and beneficiaries shall receive the 
retirement pension or separation benefits, the respective services or mother units 
shall assist and share, jointly or separately, the duty and obligation with the 
Committee in monitoring proof of life or life events that will affect the qualification of 
pensioners and beneficiaries to receive the pension or benefit. The initial computation 
of pension and benefits accruing to each retiree or beneficiary shall be jointly 
undertaken and agreed upon by the concerned mother unit and the Committee. 
 
SEC. 14. Funding Sources. – The MUP Trust Fund shall be funded through the 
following: 
 
a. Capitalization. – The amount of One hundred thirty billion pesos 
(P130,000,000,000.00) shall be appropriated to the MUP Trust Fund to cover 
the pension requirement of the Fiscal Year for which the fund was 
appropriated. Such sums as may be necessary for the sustainability of the 


 
7 
fund as determined by the Committee shall be automatically appropriated 
and be automatically released to the MUP Trust Fund. 
 
b. Mandatory Contributions. – It shall be mandatory for military and 
uniformed personnel to contribute a percentage of their monthly 
compensation as their personal share to the MUP Trust Fund. There shall 
also be a National Government share which shall be automatically 
appropriated and used exclusively to fund pension benefits of the military 
and uniformed personnel. The mandatory contributions shall be allocated 
as follows: 
 
1. For the first three (3) years after the effectivity of this Act, military and 
uniformed personnel shall contribute five percent (5%) of their 
monthly compensation as personal share, while the National 
Government shall provide an equivalent of sixteen percent (16%) as its 
share; 
 
2. Thereafter, for the next three (3) years, military and uniformed 
personnel shall contribute seven percent (7%), while the National 
Government shall provide fourteen percent (14%); and 
 
3. For every year thereafter, military and uniformed personnel shall 
contribute nine percent (9%) and the National Government shall 
provide twelve percent (12%). 
 
Provided, That contribution rates may be adjusted by the fund manager, 
subject to actuarial validation: Provided, further, That forty-five percent (45%) of 
mandatory contributions of the military and uniformed personnel shall be used for 
the establishment of a life insurance plan as authorized under this Act, with death, 
accident, and disability benefits in addition to those mandated under this Act; forty-
five percent (45%) shall be used to establish the Provident Fund; and ten percent (10%) 
shall be used for the payment of disability pension granted under this Act: Provided, 
furthermore, That such allocations may be periodically adjusted by the Committee 
based on actual need and actuarial soundness: Provided, finally, That the life 
insurance plan shall include a cash benefit that shall be due and collectible at the 
plan’s maturity date, which shall be the date of separation from service. 
 
c. Additional Sources of Funding. – The MUP Trust Fund may be 
augmented from the unprogrammed appropriations and proceeds 
derived from the lease, joint development, auction of development rights, 
or disposition of government properties identified for the purpose, 
investment income from the MUP Trust Fund identified and overseen by 
the fund manager subject to actuarial validation, and savings of the National 
Government. 
 
SEC 15. Government Guarantee. — The government of the Republic of the 
Philippines hereby guarantees the fulfillment of the obligations of the MUP Trust 
Fund to its members when they fall due. 


 
8 
 
SEC. 16. Disposition of Military and Uniformed Services Assets. – Within 
thirty (30) days from the effectivity of this Act, the concerned military and uniformed 
services shall submit a complete list of their real assets in the manner prescribed by 
the Committee to identify additional sources of funding for budgetary support of 
their services, and augment the financing of the separation, retirement, and pension 
benefits of their military and uniformed personnel under existing laws and this Act. 
 
Thereafter, the Committee shall conduct a complete accounting and inventory 
of the assets of military and uniformed services that may be used to support the MUP 
Trust Fund, including the amount, value, description and nature of such funds, 
properties, assets, records, choses in action, and other rights, claims, or causes of 
action pertaining thereto, and submit a report to the Office of the President, Congress, 
and the Commission on Audit. 
 
Within thirty (30) days from the receipt of the inventory by the Committee, 
the Commission on Audit shall audit the accounting and inventory of the assets of 
concerned military and uniformed services to determine the completeness of the 
inventory and establish the reasonableness of the asset valuation. 
 
Within one (1) year from the submission of the accounting and inventory of 
the assets of concerned military and uniformed services, the Commission on Audit 
shall submit to the Committee the audit report, including the complete list of the 
assets of concerned military and uniformed services and their valuation, and the 
empirical basis and the methodologies employed for the valuation. 
 
The Committee shall, within fifteen (15) days from the receipt of audit report, 
publish the audit report in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. Nothing 
herein shall be construed as preventing the designated disposition entity from 
procuring a third-party appraisal of any of the assets of concerned military and 
uniformed services prior to or while preparing the privatization or disposition plans 
of the assets. 
 
The Committee shall coordinate with the Office of the President, Philippine 
Reclamation Agency, and other disposition entities to be identified by the Committee 
in the execution and delivery of this mandate. 
 
The Committee shall prioritize the disposition modes that may generate 
income from these assets without undertaking the sale thereof except when the 
Committee determines that selling a specific asset is the most optimal financial option: 
Provided, That the Committee may sell only portions thereof to meet the financial 
requirements. 
 
To optimize revenues from the assets of the concerned military and uniformed 
personnel services, the Committee may seek the services of the Privatization Group of 
the Department of Finance which shall recommend to the Committee the most 
financially advantageous manner of disposition of the assets. 
 


 
9 
Unless otherwise directed by the President of the Philippines as the 
Commander- in-Chief and upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Finance, the 
proceeds from the disposition of assets of the concerned military and uniformed 
services shall be earmarked for the budgetary support of the military and uniformed 
services for capital outlay and maintenance and other operating expenditures. The 
Committee shall allocate the proceeds from the disposition of assets based on the 
funding requirements of the specific purposes. The proceeds from the disposition 
of asset of the military and uniformed services shall inure to the benefit of, or as 
budget support to, the service to which the asset belongs if used towards budgetary 
support for capital outlays, pension fund, and maintenance and other operating 
expenses. 
 
Within one (1) year from the effectivity of this Act, the military and uniformed 
services may add to the list such real assets required for identification and 
submission under this Section and which belonged to the military and uniformed 
services prior to the effectivity of this Act. Any real asset that is required by this Act to 
be included in the submitted lists and which are not included in actual submissions 
by the military and uniformed services may be disposed by the MUP Trust Fund 
Committee in the manner it deems appropriate. 
 
SEC. 17. Tax Treatment of the MUP Trust Fund. – Notwithstanding any law to 
the contrary, the MUP Trust Fund, its assets, revenues, including all accruals thereto, 
and benefits paid, are exempt from all taxes, assessments, fees, charges, or duties of all 
kinds. These exemptions shall continue unless expressly and specifically revoked.  
 
Subject to Section 20 of this Act, the MUP Trust Fund, the properties of the 
military and uniformed services identified by the Committee to be disposed and sums 
or monies for the payment of the benefits under this Act are exempt from 
attachment, garnishment, execution, levy or other processes issued by the courts, 
quasi-judicial agencies or administrative bodies and from all financial obligations 
of the members, including pecuniary accountability arising from or caused or occasioned 
by the members’ exercise or performance of official functions or duties, or incurred 
relative to or in connection with the members’ position or work except when the 
monetary liability, contractual or otherwise, is in favor of the MUP Trust Fund. 
 
All other applicable tax exemptions granted to the Government Service 
Insurance System shall also apply to the MUP Trust Fund. 
 
 
TITLE IV 
TRANSITORY PROVISIONS 
 
SEC. 18. Transfer of Power and Functions. - For purposes of administration 
of military and uniformed personnel pension and retirement benefits, the powers 
and functions of units or instrumentalities of agencies that employ military and 
uniformed personnel and administer their pension system or parts thereof are hereby 
transferred to the MUP Trust Fund Committee. 
 


 
10 
SEC. 19. Period of Transfer. - There shall be a transition period of five (5) months 
from the effectivity of this Act to implement the transfer of powers and functions, 
rights, assets, and liabilities mentioned in this Title: Provided, That the same 
transition period shall be provided to allow the units or instrumentalities of agencies 
administering the military and uniformed personnel pension system to restructure: 
Provided, further, That all civilian personnel in the units or instrumentalities 
administering the military and uniformed personnel pension system affected by the 
transfer of powers and functions provided in this Title shall continue in office 
without need of reappointment: Provided, finally, That civilian employees in the units 
or instrumentalities of agencies administering the military and uniformed personnel 
pension system who opt to retire or resign as a result hereof, if qualified, shall be 
allowed and be entitled to retirement and separation benefits under existing laws 
to officials and employees affected by an approved reorganization program. 
 
 
TITLE V 
FINAL PROVISIONS 
 
SEC. 20. Non-encumbrance of Benefits. – The benefits authorized under this 
Act, except as provided herein, are not subject to attachment, garnishment, levy, 
execution or any tax whatsoever, and may not be assigned, ceded, or conveyed to 
any third person: Provided, That if a retired or separated military and uniformed 
personnel who is entitled to any benefit under this Act has unsettled money or 
property accountabilities incurred while in the active service, an amount not 
exceeding fifty percent (50%) of the pension gratuity or other payment due to the 
military and uniformed personnel or their survivors under this Act may be withheld 
and be applied to settle such accountabilities. 
 
SEC. 21. Financial Literacy and Career Transition Training. – The Bangko 
Sentral ng Pilipinas, in coordination with the military and uniformed services, shall 
provide mandatory, periodic financial literacy training for active personnel. The 
military and uniformed services shall formulate skills workshops for active 
personnel who plan to transition to other careers outside of the uniformed service. 
 
SEC. 22. Penal Clause. – Any person who participates directly or indirectly in 
the commission of fraud, falsification, misrepresentation of facts, collusion or any 
similar anomaly in the issuance of any certificate or document for any purpose 
connected with this Act shall upon conviction be punished by a fine of not less than the 
amount defrauded but not more than threefold of such amount or imprisonment of 
not less than six (6) months and one (1) day to six (6) years and perpetual disqualification 
from holding public office and from practicing any profession licensed by the 
government. 
 
SEC. 23. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – Within sixty (60) days from 
the effectivity of this Act, the Secretary of Finance shall, in consultation with the 
Secretaries of National Defense, Interior and Local Government, Justice, 
Transportation, Environment and Natural Resources, Budget and Management, and 


 
11 
the Head of the Government Service and Insurance System, promulgate the 
necessary rules and regulations for the effective implementation of this Act. 
 
Supplemental rules and regulations 
governing 
the management and 
administration of the pension system of the military and uniformed personnel may 
be issued within one (1) year from the effectivity of this Act. 
 
SEC. 24. Repealing Clause. – The pertinent provisions of these laws are hereby 
repealed: 
 
a. Presidential Decree No. 361, entitled “Providing for an Armed Forces 
Retirement and Separation Benefits System,” as amended by Presidential 
Decree No. 1656 and Presidential Decree No. 1909; 
 
b. Sections 23, 24, 26, and 31 of Presidential Decree No. 1638, entitled 
“Establishing a New System of Retirement and Separation for Military 
Personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and for Other Purposes,” 
as amended by Presidential Decree No. 1650; 
 
c. Section 11 of Republic Act No. 340, as amended, entitled “An Act to Establish 
a Uniform Retirement System for the Armed Forces of the Philippines, 
to Provide for Separation Therefrom, and for Other Purposes”, as amended; 
 
d. Sections 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 22 of Republic Act No. 5976, otherwise known 
as the “Coast Survey Officers Retirement and Separation Act of 1969”;  
 
e. Section 77 of Republic Act No. 6975, otherwise known as the “Department 
of Interior and Local Government Act of 1990”, as amended; and 
 
f. Sections 4 and 5 of Republic Act No. 9040, otherwise known as the “AFP 
Tax Exemption for Pay and Allowances Act of 2001.” All other laws, rules 
and regulations, and other issuances or parts thereof, which are inconsistent 
with the provisions of this Act, are hereby repealed, amended, or 
modified accordingly. 
 
SEC. 25. Separability Clause. – If any provision or part of this Act is declared 
invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining parts or provisions not affected shall 
remain in full force and effect. 
 
SEC. 26. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
 
 
Approved,