Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Constitution Hills, Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
Second Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ____________ 
Introduced by MARINO Party-list Representatives 
SANDRO L. GONZALEZ 
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 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The State has the obligation to secure the pension of military and uniformed personnel 
(MUP). However, because of the long-standing issues in its design, the MUP pension now faces 
an imminent existential threat. The funding requirements for MUP pension continuously grows at 
a fiscally unsustainable rate owing to the fact that pension payments are based on the growing 
salaries of active MUP members. With the increase MUP pension requirements vis-à-vis the 
financial source to cover these payments, it creates a great fiscal risk to the government and as 
such expose the MUP pension to economic shocks.  
Thus, this proposed measure seeks to make a crucial change to the pension of the MUP 
system in order to keep the pension system alive for present and future pensioners. 
In view of the foregoing, approval of this bill is most urgently and earnestly recommended. 
SANDRO L. GONZALEZ 
Representative 
MARINO Party-list 
August 29, 2023
5:11 pm
8997


Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Constitution Hills, Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
Second Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ____________ 
Introduced by MARINO Party-list Representatives 
SANDRO L. GONZALEZ 
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 
SEC. 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.  
8997


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:  
 
(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 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) (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, 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 catty 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 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; and 
(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. 
 
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 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:  
 
i. 
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: 
ii. 
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 
iii. 
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.  
 
 
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 militaty 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.  
 
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.  
 
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 of 
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 of 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 VI 
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 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