FIFTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
) 
) 
) 
SENATE 
S. No. 2667 
'11 
JAN 31 
P 4 :49 
HECEI\iED BY:--@:-
, 
Introduced by Senator JUAN MIGUEL F. ZUBIRI 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The recent years have seen a rapid increase in the rate of criminality in the 
Philippines. The threat to peace and order posed by such criminality has already 
reached an alarming state. It has, therefore, become imperative not only upon the 
government but upon the private sector to employ and make use of all available 
mechanisms to help curb criminality. Patrol 117 is an already existing mechanism 
institutionalized by Administrative Order No. 36 dated 2 May 2002 which aims to 
promote peace and order and public safety. Despite the numerous issuances of the 
, 
government aiming the same end, however, Patrol 117 remains ineffectual. 
Of the total calls received by Patrol 117 since its inception in 2003, about ninety 
eight percent (98%) are prank calls. In a day, an officer with a twelve-hour shift of the 
Patrol 117 Office receives an average of one thousand five hundred (1,500) calls. Of 
these calls, only three or four are legitimate calls. 
This bill, therefore, aims to strengthen and reinforce Patrol 117 as an institution. 
It aims to address the problem posed by illegitimate or prank calls. In order to curb the 
rising number of illegitimate or prank calls, the bill provides for stiffer penalties in the 
form of a fine and or imprisonment. 
Hence, this Representation humbly asks the approval of this bill. 
UEL F. ZUBIRI 


FIFTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES ) 
First Regular Session 
) 
'11 
JAN 31 
P 4 :49 
SENATE 
S. No. 2667 
Introduced by Senator JUAN MIGUEL F. ZUBIRI 
, 
AN ACT INSTITUTIONALIZING AND FURTHER DEVELOPING "117" AS THE 
NATIONWIDE EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE TELEPHONE NUMBER FOR PUBLIC 
SAFETY AND SECURITY AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
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SECTION 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be known and cited as the "Hotline '117' 
2 
Act of 2011" 
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SEC. 2. Institutionalization of "117" as the Nationwide Emergency 
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Assistance Telephone Number. - (a) Telephone number "117" is hereby designated 
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as the nationwide emergency assistance number both for landline and wireless 
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telephone systems in the whole territory of the Philippines. 
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(b) There shall be a Hotline "117" Public Saf~ty Answering Center (Call Center) 
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in every region, province, city, municipality and Barangay. 
, 
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(c) The major service responders of Hotline "1 H" are: 
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1) The Philippine National Police (PNP); 
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2) The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP); 
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3) The Bureau of Jail Management and. Penology (BJMP); 
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4) The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA); 
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5) The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI); 
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6) The Emergency Assistance and Response Network (EARnet); 
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7) The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA); 
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8) Other agencies such as the Department of Public Works and Highways 
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(DPWH), the Department of Health (DOH), the Department of Social 
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Welfare and Development (DSWD). the Philippine Red Cross (PRe) 
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and the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of the Philippines; 
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9) Volunteer nongovernment organizations (NGOs); and 
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10) Other affiliated civic sector groups find public safety volunteers. 


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(d) The Efl:Rnet is a network of responders composed of government and private 
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institutions NGOs, Emergency Medical Service (EMS) and Special Rescue 
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Unit of the BFP, in coordination with the DPWH, the DSWD, the MMDA, the 
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DOH and other government agencies and with the cooperation of private 
, 
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hospitals, electric companies, water distriCts, civil rescue groups, the Boy 
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Scouts and Girl Scouts of the Philippines and other affiliated civic sector 
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groups and public safety volunteers. 
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(e) The establishment of the Hotline "117" call center shall anchor on the 
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mandatory participation of the existing private communication carriers 
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operating in the locality. 
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(f) In areas where an emergency telephone number does not yet exist, the 
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National Telecommunications Commission',(NTC) shall immediately direct the 
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concerned telephone companies to designate "117" as the nationwide 
, 
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emergency telephone number within a reasonable period of time. Any 
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emergency telephone hotline established ,by any local government or state 
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agency using a number other than "117" shall be changed to "117". 
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(g) All existing agreements in connection witl<l the effective operation of Hotline 
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"117" with the private sector and the NGO's prior to the enactment of this law 
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shall continue to be enforced. 
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SEC. 3. Institutionalization of Hotline "117" Community-based Volunteer 
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Network. 
-
A 
Hotline "117" 
community-based 
volunteer network is 
hereby 
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institutionalized constituting the Volunteer Service Responders Network. 
, 
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(a) There shall be a Hotline "117" barangay-based Volunteer Service 
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Responders Network to be organized from various components such as the 
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studentry, the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of the Philippines, the Sangguniang 
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Kabataan (SK) and the out-of-school youth, 
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(b) There shall be organized a group to advocate, train, organize, mobilize and 
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monitor (ATOMM) field level implementers of Hotline "117, headed by the 
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Chief of Police of the city/municipality as t,eam leader with the Department of 
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the Interior and Local Government (DILG) C/M LGOO as co-team leader and 
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members from various government organizations and NGOs, such as 
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respective representatives from the office of the mayor, the municipal/liga 
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president, the municipaJlcity SK chairman, the Department of Education 
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(DepEd), the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts of the Philippines coordinators, the 
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BFP, the BJMP and other affiliated public safety volunteers and civil sector 
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groups. 
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2 


SEC. 4. The Hotline "117" Commission - The present PATROL "117" 
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Commission, as per Presidential Administrative Order No. 36 dated May 3, 2002, in 
, 
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conjunction with Presidential Administrative Order No. 124 dated June 2, 2003, shall 
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continue to exist as the Hotline "117" Commission. 
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The Commission shall be headed by the Secretary of the Interior and Local 
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Government and the Chairman of the National Police Commission (NAPOLCOM), as 
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chairman, and the Chairman of the Foundation for Crime Prevention, as cochairman. 
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Its members are: 
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(a) From the government sector: 
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(1) The PNP; 
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(2) The DepEd; 
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(3) The Commission on Higher Education (CHED); 
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(4) The NTC; and 
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(5) The MMDA; and 
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(b) From the private sector: 
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(1) The leading telephone carrier; 
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(2) The Kapisanan ng mga Brodkasters sa Pilipinas (KBP); 
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(3) The Bankers Association of the Philippines; 
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(4) The Filipino-Chinese Chamber of CQmmerce and Industry; and 
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(5) Four other members to be selected by the q,airman from the private 
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sector. 
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SEC.5. Functions of Hotline "117" Commission. -
(a) Prepare and 
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recommend, for the approval of the President, policies on crime prevention and public 
25 
safety operations of stakeholders and volunteers. 
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(b) Prepare and recommend thrusts, proposals and measures that would 
I 
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effectively respond to the national security and development interests. 
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(c) Perform such other duties and functions as the President may direct. 
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SEC.G. The Hotline "117" Development Office. - The existing DILG Hotline 
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"117" Development Group, activated by the DILG under the PATROL "117" 
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Commission, is hereby institutionalized as the H~~line "117" Development Office to 
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implement the Hotline "117" Program which shall consist of existing uniformed 
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personnel of the interior sector and the nonuniformed plantilla personnel of the PATROL 
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"117" Commission. It shall serve as the secretariat of the Hotline "117"Commission. 
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Furthermore: 
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(a) The Streetwatch plantilla and the IACCAG plantilla of the DILG shall be 
, 
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transferred to the Hotline "117" Development Office to constitute the Hotline 
3 
"117" plantilla, subject to revision; 
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(b) The said office shall be staffed with personnel, subject to existing civil service 
5 
rules and regulations; 
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(c) The said office shall be headed by a director with an equivalent plantilla 
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position of Director IV, to be appointed by the President, upon the 
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recommendation by the Secretary of the Interior and Local Government, 
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subject to civil service rules and regUlations; and 
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(d) The said office shall have parallel organization in the regional level, to be 
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headed by a regional officer, and in the field level to monitor provincial, city, 
municipal and barangay operations. 
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SEC.7. Functions of the Hotline "117" Development Office. - (a) Plan and 
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implement the Hotline "117" Program as a nationwide network. 
, 
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(b) Institutionalize the ATOMM Team Network' in every city and municipality. 
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(c) Institutionalize the barangay-based Volunteer Service Responders Network. 
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(d) Conduct readiness test, monitor and evafuate the response capability of all 
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systems in Hotline "117" operations. 
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(e) Undertake such other duties as the Commission may direct. 
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SEC. 8. Involvement of Other Agencies of the Government. - All government 
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agencies are stakeholders in the promotion of peace and order and public safety. 
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Hence, they shall provide the necessary support in the advocacy for and the 
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implementation of this program with the Secretary of the Interior and Local Government 
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as the lead coordinator. 
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SEC. 9. Participation by the Private Sector. - The private sector and the NGOs 
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are enjoined to actively participate in whatever capacity in advocating crime prevention 
30 
and public safety by supporting Hotline "117". 
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SEC. 10. Penalties for Illegitimate "117" Calls. - (a) Definition of an Illegitimate 
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Caller - Whoever accesses Hotline "117" for the purpose of making a prank call, false 
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alarm, deceitful complaint or giving untrue inforr:nation which could result in the 
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emergency response of any public safety agency or cause delay in answering legitimate 
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calls is an illegitimate caller and shall therefore be punished as follows: 
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(1) For the first offense, a fine of Five thousand pesos (P5,OOO.OO) shall be 
38 
imposed; 
4 


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(2) For the second offense by the same offender, a fine of Ten thousand pesos 
2 
(Pi 0,000.00) shall be imposed; 
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(3) For the third offense by the same offender, a fine of Twenty thousand pesos 
4 
(P20,000.00) and imprisonment for a period of fifteen (15) to thirty (30) days, 
, 
5 
at the discretion of the court, shall be imposed; and 
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(4) For succeeding offenses committed by the same offender, a fine of Fifty 
7 
thousand pesos (P50,000.00) and imprisonment for a period of one month 
8 
and one day to six months, at the discretion of the court, shall be imposed. 
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• 
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(b) A call made to Hotline "117" constitutes ,an authorization or consent by the 
11 
caller for his/her distress call to be automatically recorded. In case the call turns out to 
12 
be illegitimate, the recording shall be used as evidence against the offender and the 
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provisions of Republic Act No. 4200, otherwise known as the "Anti-Wiretapping Act", 
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cannot he invoked by the offender. 
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(c) A telecommunications company can be compelled, through a subpoena 
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duces tecum issued by a duly authorized governme~t agency, to disclose the name and 
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address of the owner/subscriber of the telephone line from where an illegitimate call 
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was established to have originated. 
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SEC.11. Funding. -
The funding requirements needed to sustain the 
institutionalization of Hotline "117" shall be derived from: 
(a) The regular appropriations of the DILG; 
(b) The imposition of a reasonable call fee to'.callers for the value-added service 
of Hotline "117" based on the generally accepted practice in other countries. Funds 
derived from this source shall strictly be used for the modernization and upgrading of 
the program. The amount and mechanics of the collection and use of the emergency 
call fee shall be contained in the implementing rules and regulations of this Act; and 
( c) The proceeds from the different fines imposed and collected in the 
enforcement of this Act, 
SEC. 12. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The Secretary of the Interior 
and Local Government shall formulate and issue the'c,implementing rules and regulations 
(I RRs) necessary for the efficient and effective impl.ementation of the provisions of this 
Act within one month from its effectivity. Said IRR shall be reviewed every year 
thereafter and revised upon the recommendation by the Hotline "117" Commission for 
• 
the purpose of updating its efficiency and effectiveness. 
5 


1 
SEC. 13. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive orders and issuances 
2 
or any part thereof which are inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or amended 
3 
accordingly. 
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SEC. 14. Separability Clause. - If any p~ovision of this Act shall be held 
6 
unconstitutional or invalid, the other provisions not otherwise affected shall remain in full 
7 
force and effect. 
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SEC. 15. Effectivity. - This Act shall take' effect fifteen (15) days after its 
10 
publication in any two national newspapers of general circulation. 
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Approved, 
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