EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Second Regular Session
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SENATE 
S. No. 2130
ey
-Bit
Introduced by Senator Grace Poe
AN ACT
PROMOTING THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE CABLE TELEVISION 
(CATV) AND DIRECT-TO-HOME TELEVISION (DTH) INDUSTRY AND FOR 
OTHER PURPOSES
Explanatory Note
The 1987 Constitution recognizes the vital role of communication and 
Information in nation-building1 and instructs the State to give priority to education, 
science and technology, arts, culture, and sports to foster patriotism and nationalism' 
accelerate social progress, and promote total human liberation and development.2
The Constitution also promotes access to quality education by all Filipinos and 
mandates the State to take appropriate steps to make such education accessible to 
all.3 Education is undoubtedly one of the main pillars of our Constitution as it 
encourag^ non-formal. Informal, and indigenous learning systems, as well as self­
learning, independent, and out-of-school study programs particularly those that 
respond to community needs.4
These vital state policies will be realized by the passage of this bill into law. The 
rneasure at hand clarifies the governance model of all cable television (CATV) and 
direct-to-home television (DTH) providers in the country. It addresses the gaps 
identified In Executive Order No. 205 (1987) and Executive Order No. 436 (1997) and 
makes certain the role of governing agencies like the National Telecommunications 
Commission, National Economic and Development Authority, Board of Investments, 
Department of Trade and Industry, and both the National and Local Government Units 
in its operations.
The measure also requires CATV operators to reserve at least one public, 
educational, and government access (PEGA) channel for the use of the national 
government, and another one for the use of the local government unit where the
1 Const. (1987), art. n, § 17.
1 Const. (1987), art. II, § 24.
3 Const. (1987), art. XIV, § 1.
4 Const. (1987), art. XIV, § 2(4).


CATV subscribers reside. Meanwhile, DTH operators are also required to reserve at 
least one PEGA channel for the use of the national government. By providing additional 
sources of instructional information and academic materials, education becomes more 
accessible for many Filipinos, especially those living in areas where a traditional school 
system is not established or difficult to come by.
Furthermore, our country's struggles in the previous year In dealing with a 
global pandemic and weathering typhoons have proven that we must squarely address 
the need of our people for more sources of news and relevant information regarding 
these calamities. By democratizing the CATV and DTH Industry, Filipinos will gain more 
sources from which they could get important news and relevant information to better 
prepare In case calamities of such magnitude strike once again.
I file this bill fully confident that its approval will mark a huge difference in the 
lives of many Filipinos, especially those residing in underdeveloped areas and 
belonging to underserved communities.
In view of the foregoing, immediate passage of this bill is earnestly sought.
^RACE POE


EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Second Regular Session
)
SENATE 
S. No. 2130
1HE
,g'?'Rrap<f4
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BY
Introduced by Senator Grace Poe
AN ACT
PROMOTING THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE CABLE TELEVISION 
(CATV) AND DIRECT-TO-HOME TELEVISION (DTH) INDUSTRY AND FOR 
OTHER PURPOSES
Se it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:
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Section 1. Short We. - This Act shall be known as "CATV-DTH Industry 
Development Act."
Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. -The State recognizes the vital role of the cable 
television (CATV) and direct-to-home television (DTH) industry in nation-building, and 
its role in promoting national goals and aspirations of the Filipino nation.
Sec. 3. Definition of Terms. -For purposes of this Act, the following terms shall
mean:
(a) Cable - "Cable" refers to a physical medium, such as, but not limited to, 
copper wire, coaxial cable, or optical fiber, that is used to deliver CATV 
services.
(b) CATV facility — A CATV facility shall be defined to mean a permanent 
structure, comprised of (a) all installed electrical and electronic wiring, 
cabling, and equipment, (b) all supporting structures, such as utility, 
ground network, and electrical supporting structures, and (c) satellite 
downlink antennas, from which CATV services are delivered to and 
managed for subscribers.


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(c) CATV services - CATV services shall include cable television, which is a 
system of delivering television content to subscribers via electrical 
signals transmitted through coaxial cables, light pulses through optical 
fiber, or other similar means of transmission through cable, for a fee. 
CATV services may include the delivery of Internet connectivity and ICT 
services. As CATV services do not form natural monopolies, CATV 
services shall not be defined as a utility. CATV services are not to be 
construed as mass media, telecommunications, or broadcast services.
(d) Content creator - A content creator is a natural or juridical person who 
creates motion pictures, television programs, video publicity materials, 
or cinematography or videography material.
(e) Content distributor - A content distributor is a natural or juridical person, 
such as a film distributor, broadcast syndication lessor, video sharing 
platform, or content distribution platform, who may not be a content 
creator but possesses, in whole or in part. Intellectual property rights 
over the content, and Is authorized to distribute the content to CATV and 
DTH operators.
(f) Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) - service provider equipment used 
to provide the subscriber with CATV or DTH services, that is located at 
the physical location of the subscriber.
(g) DTH facility - A DTH facility shall be defined to mean a permanent 
structure, comprised of (a) all installed electrical and electronic wiring, 
cabling, and equipment, (b) all supporting structures, such as utility, 
ground network, and electrical supporting structures, and (c) satellite 
uplink and downlink antennas, from which DTH services are managed 
for subscrioers.
(h) DTH services - DTH services shall include direct-to-home satellite 
television, which is a system of delivering television content to 
subscribers via radio-frequency signals transmitted by a satellite to a 
receive-only system at the location of the subscriber within the satellite 
footprint, for a fee. For purposes of this Act, the delivery of a television 
receive-only (TVRO) service, for a fee, shall also be defined as a DTH


service. DTH services may include the delivery of internet connectivity 
and ICr services. As DTH services do not form natural monopolies, DTH 
services shall not be defined as a utility. DTH services are not to be 
construed as mass media, telecommunications, or broadcast services.
(i) Passive infrastructure operator - an entity, that may be a power, water, 
sewerage or other public utility, a telecommunications company, a CATV 
services operator, a local cooperative, a municipal corporation, or a 
property developer that owns utility poles, streetlamp posts, 
microtrenches, underground culverts, shared utility corridors, and other 
related support structures, and/ or controls rights of way used or useful, 
in whole or In part, in the provision of CATV services, 
telecommunications, and utilities.
(j) Public, educational, and government access (PEGA) television channel - 
a PEGA channel is a not-for-profit channel used for television 
programming for purposes of information dissemination, public service, 
public health, public safety, education, tourism, culture, the arts, disaster 
risk reduction and management, and other matters of public interest and 
public welfare.
Sec. 4. Qualifications of a CATV operator. - The provision of CATV services In 
the Philippines shall be open to all citizens of the Philippines, or to corporations, 
cooperatives, or associations subject to the relevant provisions of the Public Service 
Act governing public services, under a Certificate of Authority to Provide Local CATV 
Services granted by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) Regional 
Office having jurisdiction over the place of business registration of the CATV operator. 
The business of a CATV operator shall be registered in the city or municipality where 
its primary CATV facility is to be operated, and shall pay business, income, and other 
relevant taxes to the local Revenue District Office where its CATV services are to be 
offered.
Sec. 5. Qualifications of a DTH operator. — The provision of DTH services in the 
Philippines shall be open to all citizens of the Philippines, or to corporations, 
cooperatives, or associations subject to the relevant provisions of the Public Service 
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granted by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) Regional Office
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having jurisdiction over the place of business registration of the DTH operator. The
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business of a DTH operator shall be registered in the city or municipality where the
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primary DTH facility Is to be operated, and shall pay business, income, and other
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relevant taxes to the local Revenue District Office having jurisdiction over the primary
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DTH facility.
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Sec. 6. Service Area. - A Certificate of Authority to Provide Local CATV Services
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shall authorize a CATV operator to offer CATV services within a city or municipality on
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a non-exclusive basis. A Certificate of Authority to Provide DTH Services shall authorize
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a DTH operator to offer DTH services on a non-exclusive basis anywhere In the
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Philippines that is covered by its satellite footprint. Consistent with existing competition
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law, there shall be no limit to the number of CATV or DTH operators authorized to
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offer services in a service area.
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Sec. 7. Coverage of Certificate of Authority. - A Certificate of Authority shall be
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valid for a period of not to exceed ten (10) years, renewable for another similar period.
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A Certificate of Authority governing a service area shall not be granted on an exclusive
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basis. The NTC shall require the possession of a Certificate of Authority by the CATV
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or DTH operator for the issuance of the relevant licenses to use the radio frequency
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spectrum in its operations.
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Sec. 8. Provisionai Authority for New Service Areas Oniy. - A Provisional
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Authority shall be valid for a period of not to exceed ten (5) years, governing a new
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service area where the CATV or DTH operator shall be offering services. A Provisional
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Authority shall not be renewable, and the grantee of a Provisional Authority must apply
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for a Certificate of Authority to continue operations.
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Sec. 9. Advertising and Paid Segments. -Subject to provisions of this Act and
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other relevant laws, CATV and DTH operators may carry advertisements and other
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similar paid segments for which the CATV or DTH operator may charge and collect
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reasonable fees.
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Sec. 10. Classification as to size. - Based on the number of subscribers it has,
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a CATV or DTH operator shall be classified into one of the following categories:
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(a) Very Large CATV or DTH operator - over 500,000 subscribers;
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(b) Large CATV or DTH operator - between 150,000 to 500,000 subscribers;


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(c) Medium CATV or DTH operator - between 50,000 to 150,000;
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(d) Small CATV or DTH operator -- between 10,000 to 50,000 subscribers;
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(e) Very small CATV or DTH operator - less than 10,000 subscribers, or;
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(0 Community CATV or DTH operator -- less than 1,000 subscribers.
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The National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) and the Board of
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Investments (BOI) of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) are authorized to
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recommend to the appropriate agencies the grant of incentives for the establishment,
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growth, and development of Community and Very Small CATV-DTH operators.
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Sec. 11. Relationship with content creators. -CATV and DTH operators shall
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comply with the Intellectual Property Code and other laws governing the transmission
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and broadcast of intellectual property and the prevention of piracy.
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Unless the right is assigned to the CATV or DTH operator by the content
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creator, no CATV or DTH operator shall Infringe on broadcast television markets by
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inserting advertisements in the programs it carries or retransmits without the consent
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of the content creator concerned.
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Consistent with existing laws prohibiting child pornography, CATV and DTH
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operators shall not transmit child pornography content or online sexual abuse and
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exploitation of children (OSEAC) content.
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Sec. 12. Relationship with content distributors. -CATV and DTH operators shall
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comply with the Intellectual Property Code and other laws governing the
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retransmission and rebroadcast of intellectual property whose distribution rights have
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been assigned by a content creator to a content distributor, and the prevention of
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piracy of such intellectual property.
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If the right is assigned by a content creator to a content distributor, no CATV
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or DTH operator shall infringe on broadcast television markets by inserting
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advertisements in the programs It carries or retransmits without the consent of the
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content distributor concerned.
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Consistent with existing laws prohibiting child pornography, CATV and DTH
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operators shall not retransmit child pornography content or online sexual abuse and
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exploitation of children (OSEAC) content. CATV and DTH operators shall report content
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distributors providing child pornography content or online sexual abuse and
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exploitation of children (OSEAC) content to the relevant authorities.


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Sec. 13. Relationship with national government and local government -A CATV 
operator shall reserve at least one (1) PEGA channel for the use of the national 
government, and one (1) PEGA channel for the use of the local government unit where 
the CATV subscribers reside.
A DTH operator shall reserve at least one (1) PEGA channel for the use of the 
national government. A DTH operator may opt to, but is not obligated to, reserve one 
(1) PEGA channel for the use of the local government unit where the majority of its 
subscribers reside.
The use and management of CATV and DTH PEGA channels shall be governed 
by a CATV-DTH PEGA Channel Use Code developed for this purpose by a body chaired 
by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and 
composed of CATV and DTH operators and national and local government 
stakeholders.
National government stakeholders for the development of the CATV-DTH PEGA 
Channel Code shall be composed of representatives from the Office of the Senate 
President, the Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Office of the 
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the Presidential Communications Operations Office 
(PCOO), the Department of Education (DepEd), the Commission on Higher Education 
(CHED), the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), the 
Department of Health (DOH), the Department of Social Welfare and Development 
(DSWD), and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) Commissioner.
Local government stakeholders for the development of the CATV-DTH PEGA 
Channel Use Code shall be composed of representatives from the League of Cities, the 
League of Municipalities, the League of Provinces, the Commission on Elections 
(COMELEC), the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council 
(NDRRMC), the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department 
of Agriculture (DA), the Department of Tourism (DoT), the National Commission for 
Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP), 
the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), the National Council on Disability Affairs 
(NCDA), and the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) Regional Directors.
Revisions of the CATV-DTH PEGA Channel Use Code shall be proposed by any 
CATV or DTH operator, or any member of the public, and shall be approved by the


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majority of the body composed of CATV and DTH operators, and national and local 
government stakeholders, voting separately.
CATV and DTH operators may form a non-profit organization for the 
implementation of the CATV-DTH PEGA Channel Use Code and for other purposes; 
provided that, the main source of funding for the non-profit organization shall be 
donations by CATV or DTH operators and other donors; provided further, that such 
donations shall be exempt from tax.
For purposes of additional funding. Congress may, voting separately, approve 
the collection of a non-taxable fund not exceeding one peso per subscriber of CATV 
or DTH services; provided that, the collection shall be charged only to current 
subscribers of CATV or DTH services; provided further, that the non-profit organization 
may only make a request to Congress for funding no earlier than five (5) years after 
a previous request, and; provided finally, that the funds shall be used exclusively for 
the implementation of the CATV-DTH PEGA Channel Use Code
.Sec. 14. Relationship with passive infrastructure operators. - Consistent with 
the provisions of existing law, CATV operators shall be allowed non-discriminatory 
access to infrastructure owned or controlled by passive infrastructure operators, 
subject to relevant regulations, recognized standards of safety, industry best practices, 
and generally accepted engineering principles.
Sec. 15. Special tight of government - A special right is hereby reserved to the 
President of the Philippines, in times of war, rebellion, public peril or other national 
emergency and/or when public safety requires, to cause the closure of any CATV or 
DTH operator or to authorize the use or possession thereof by the government without 
compensation.
Sec. 16. Prohibited Acts and Penalties. -
(a) Sections 4 and 5 of Republic Act No. 10515, or the "Anti-Cable Television 
and Cable Internet Tapping Act of 2013", are adopted in their entirety, 
mutatis mutandis.
(b) Consistent with the provisions of Republic Act No. 10667, or the 
"Philippine Competition Act", the Philippine Competition Commission 
(PCC) shall impose fines and penalties for anti-competitive behaviors 
committed by or against a CATV or DTH operator.


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(c) Consistent with the provisions of Repubiic Act No. 7394, or the 
"Consumer Act of the Philippines of 1991" and other laws protecting 
consumer rights, the Department of Trade and Industry shall impose 
fines and penalties related to misfeasance, nonfeasance, and 
malfeasance of the terms of contracts between CATV and DTH operators 
and third parties, and of the terms of subscription contracts of CATV and 
DTH subscribers, under the Consumer Act and other relevant laws.
(d) The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) shall Impose fines 
and administrative penalties related to poor quality of service delivered 
by a CATV or DTH operator to a subscriber, which include but are not 
limited to outages, poor signal reception, or poor quality of add-on and 
value-added services, that are within the control of the CATV or DTH 
operator.
Rnes and administrative penalties for poor quality of service shall not exceed 
the value of three (3) months of the maximum subscription cost offered to the public, 
for every subscriber affected, for every day or fraction per day of outage or poor 
quality of service. Penalties for unlawful or criminal behavior committed by or against 
a CATV or DTH operator shall be consistent with the provisions of existing law.
Sec. 17. Preparation of Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR). - Within 
180 days of approval of this Act, the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), 
the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), and the Department of Trade and Industry 
(DTI) shall publish the IRR for the Implementation of this act in a Joint Memorandum 
Circular.
Within 30 days of publication of the IRR, the BIR shall publish a Revenue 
Memorandum Circular for the implementation of this Act.
Within 30 days or publication of the IRR, the DTI shall publish a Memorandum 
Circular for the implementation of fines and administrative penalties related to 
business-to-business and subscription contracts related to CATV and DTH services 
under this Act, the Consumer Act and other relevant laws.
Within 30 days of publication of the IRR, the NTC shall publish a Memorandum 
Circular for the Implementation of fines and administrative penalties related to the 
quality of CATV and DTH services under this Act and other relevant laws.
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Within two (2) years of the approval of this Act, the CA7V-DTH Government 
Channel Use Code shall be published. Revisions to this Code shall be published no 
later than thirty (30) days after approval.
Sec. 18. Sepdrabi/ity dduse. — If any provision or part hereof is held invalid or 
unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provisions not otherwise affected 
shall remain valid and subsisting.
Sec. 19. Repealing clause—law, presidential decree or issuance, executive 
order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule, or regulation contrary to, or 
inconsistent with, the provisions of this Act, is hereby repealed, modified, or amended 
accordingly, EO 205 series of 1987 and EO 436 series of 1997 are hereby repealed.
Sec. 20. Effectivlty clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after 
its online publication in the Official Gazette. Within seven (7) days after its online 
publication, this Act shall be published on (2) newspapers of general circulation.
Approved,