FIFTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
Third Regular Session 
) 
) 
) 
SENATE 
S. B. No. 3399 
'13 
Jm~ 29 P 5 :57 
(In substitution of Senate Bill Nos. 257,1083 and 2029, taking into consideration House 
Bill No. 6735) 
Prepared Jointly by the Committees on Health and Demography, and Finance 
AN ACT 
INSTITUTIONALIZING THE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL HEALTH RESEARCH SYSTEM 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
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ARTICLE I 
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General Provisions 
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SECTION 1. Short Title. -
This Act shall be known as the "Philippine National 
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Health Research System Act of 2013". 
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SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. -
It is hereby declared the policy of the State to 
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protect and promote the right to health of the people, instill health consciousness among 
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them and improve the quality of life of every Filipino through health research and 
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development initiatives. 
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SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. -
For the purpose of this Act, the following terms 
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shall be defined as follows: 
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(a) Health shall refer to a state of optimal physical, mental and social well-being 
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and the ability to function at the individual level. 
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(b) Health research stakeholders shall refer to the national and the local public and 
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private agencies/organizations, policymakers, the academe, medical and health 
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societies, people's organizations and others who are concerned with and 
affected by health and development. 


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(c) National Unified Health Research Agenda shall refer to a set of research 
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priorities determined by the country's stakeholders which addresses the health 
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needs of the population vis-a-vis the health sector's goal for universal health 
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care. This agenda is a platform to advocate for local, national and international 
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support. 
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(d) Philippine Council for Health Research flnd Development (PCHRD) shall refer 
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to one of the sectoral planning councils of the Department of Science and 
Technology (DOST) which 
provides central 
direction, 
leadership and 
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coordination in health science and technology (S&T). 
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(e) Philippine Health Research Ethics Board (PHREB) shall refer to the national 
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policymaking body on health research ethics, created under DOST Special 
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Order No. 091, which is mandated to ensure that all phases of health research 
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shall adhere to the universal ethical principles that value the protection and 
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promotion of the dignity of health research participants. 
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(f) Philippine National Health Research System (PNHRS) shall refer to a 
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framework anchored on the principles of Essential National Health Research on 
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inclusiveness, participation, quality, equity, efficiency and effectiveness, which 
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connect to, and converge with, the wider health, economic, political, 
educational and S&T systems of the country. 
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(g) Regional Health Research Systems shall refer to the regional health research 
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consortia or communities in all the regions of the country which mirror the 
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PNHRS framework at the regional level. 
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(h) Research shall refer to the development of knowledge with the aim of 
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understanding health challenges and mounting an improved response to them. 
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This covers the full spectrum of research in five (5) generic areas of activity: (1) 
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measuring the problem; (2) understanding its cause(s); (3) elaborating solutions; 
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(4) translating the solutions or evidence into policy, practice and products; and (5) 
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evaluating the effectiveness of solutions. 
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1 
ARTICLE" 
2 
The Philippine National Health Research System 
3 
SEC. 4. 
Institutionalization of the Philippine National Health Research 
4 
System (PNHRS). 
-
The Philippine National Health Research System (PNHRS), 
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initiated through a Memorandum of Understanding between the DOST and the 
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Department of Health (DOH) in 2003 and 2007, is hereby institutionalized within the 
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mandate of the PCHRD, the national coordinating body for health research. 
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SEC. 5. Objectives of the Philippine National Health Research System. -
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The PNHRS aims to improve the health status, productivity and the quality of life of 
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Filipinos by: 
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(a) Ensuring that health research is linked to the health system needs; 
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(b) Ensuring that investments in health research yield the most benefit; 
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(c) Promoting good governance among health research organizations through 
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efficient, effective, transparent and ethical health research management system; 
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(d) Engaging in national and international partnerships and networks for health 
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research development; and 
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(e) Ensuring sustainability of resources for health research. 
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SEC. 6. Composition of the Philippine National Health Research System. -
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The PNHRS shall be composed of the Governing Council (GC), the Steering 
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Committee, the Technical Working Committees (TWC) and the Secretariat, as 
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described in Section 9 hereof. The whole health research community shall be deemed 
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an indispensable partner and contributor in the effort to strengthen the PNHRS. The 
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interrelationships among these various components shall be described in the 
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implementing rules and regulations (lRR) of this Act. 
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SEC. 7. The Philippine National Health Research System Governing Council. 
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-
The Philippine Council for Health Research Development Governing Council, created 
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under Executive Order (EO) No. 784 of 1982 and EO No. 128 of 1987, shall be the 
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Governing Council of the PNHRS. The PNHRS Governing Council shall be composed 
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of the following: 
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(a) The Secretary of the DOST, as Chair; 
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(b) The Secretary of the DOH as Co-Chair; 
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(c) The Chair of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED); 
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(d) The Chancellor of the University of the Philippines, Manila (UPM); 
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(e) The National Nutrition Council Executive Director; 
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(f) The PCHRD Executive Director; and 
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(g) Five (5) representatives from the private sector. 
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SEC, 8. Powers and Functions of the Philippine National Health Research 
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System Governing Council. -
The PNHRS Governing Council shall: 
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(a) Set policies and directions for the PNHRS; 
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(b) Periodically review and approve the long-term plans and programs of the 
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PNHRS; 
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(c) Evaluate and approve the National Unified Health Research Agenda, and 
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identify areas that will serve as the foci of the National Health Research Agenda; 
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(d) Review, approve or disapprove research programs; and 
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(e) Create committees as the need arises to facilitate and ensure the achievement 
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of its objectives. 
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SEC, 9. 
The PNHRS Secretariat. -
The PCHRD Secretariat, headed by an 
15 
Executive Director, shall serve as the PNHRS Secretariat. The Executive Director shall 
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be responsible for, among others, the smooth implementation of programs and projects 
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and shall, in pursuit thereof, exercise an oversight function over the PNHRS. 
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The Secretariat shall provide technical and administrative support in the following 
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areas: 
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(a) Research and Development Management; 
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(b) Institution Development; 
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(c) Research Information, Communication and Utilization; and 
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(d) Finance and Administration. 
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SEC. 10. Creation and Functions of the Steering Committee. -
(a) The GC 
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shall create a Steering Committee to be headed by the PCHRD Executive Director. It 
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shall be composed of the following: 
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(1) The Executive Director, DOST-PCHRD; 
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(2) The Director, Department of Health-Health Policy Development and 
Planning Bureau (DOH-HPDPB); 
(3) The Director, Commission on Higher Education, Office of Policy, Planning, 
Research and Information (CHED-OPPRI); 
(4) The Executive Director, University of the Philippines, Manila-National 
Institutes of Health (UPM-NIH); 
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(5) The Director of the Social Development Services of the National Economic 
and Development Authority (NEDA); 
(6) The Chair of the Philippine Health Research Ethics Board (PH REB); 
(7) A representative from the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PHIC); 
(8) A representative from the National Statistics Office (NSO); 
(9) A representative from the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC); 
(10) A 
representative 
from 
the 
Department 
of 
Transportation 
and 
8 
Communications-Land Transportation Office (DOTC-L TO); 
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(11) A representative from the Department of Environment and Natural 
10 
Resources-Environment Management Bureau (DENR-EMB); 
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(12) A representative from the local government units (LGUs); and 
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(13) The Chairpersons of relevant PNHRS Technical Working Committees. 
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(b) The Steering Committee shall perform the following functions: 
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(1) Recommend policies to the GC; 
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(2) Perform oversight function on the implementation and harmonization of 
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PNHRS activities and the allocation of the PHNRS fund; 
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(3) Coordinate and harmonize the activities of the six (6) PNHRS Technical 
18 
Working Committees; and 
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(4) Monitor and report to the GC the progress of the PNHRS programs. 
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SEC. 11. Creation of the Technical Working Committees. 
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The GC shall 
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create Technical Working Committees aligned with research themes which are based 
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on the country's health needs and the six (6) building blocks of the World Health 
23 
Organization (WHO) to attain universal health care. 
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The Committees shall develop and monitor their respective strategic plans. They 
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shall work closely with the stakeholders and the Secretariat. 
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SEC. 12. 
The Philippine Health Research Ethics Board (PHREB). 
- The 
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PHREB, created under DOST Special Order No. 091 s. 2006, shall ensure adherence 
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to the universal principles for the protection of human participants in research. It shall, 
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among other things: 
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(a) 
Formulate and update guidelines for the ethical conduct of human health 
31 
research; 
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(b) Develop guidelines for the establishment and management of ethics review 
2 
committees and standardization of research ethics review; 
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(c) Monitor and evaluate the performance of institutional ethics review committees 
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in accordance with procedures outlined in a prior agreement; 
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(d) 
Promote the establishment of functional and effective ethics review 
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committees; 
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(e) Provide advice and make recommendations to the PNHRS Governing Council 
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and other appropriate entities regarding programs, policies and regulations as they 
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relate to ethical issues in human health research; 
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(f) Initiate and contribute to discourse and discussions on ethical issues in human 
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health research; and 
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(g) Network with relevant local, national and international organizations. 
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SEC. 13. Regional Health Research Systems. -
The PNHRS framework shall 
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be mirrored in all the regions of the country, forming a network of regional research 
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consortia. The consortium setup varies depending on the culture and resources of the 
16 
region. Each regional health research system shall address concerns relating to health 
17 
research agenda, development of human resource in health research, conduct of 
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researches, 
dissemination 
of 
research 
results, 
research 
utilization, 
resource 
19 
mobilization, leadership and management. 
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ARTICLE III 
21 
Final Provisions 
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SEC. 14. 
Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountabilities and Annual Report. -
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Regular monitoring and evaluation mechanisms shall be done by the GC through the 
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Secretariat to determine the accountabilities of the PNHRS to the contributing agencies. 
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The specifics/details of monitoring, evaluation, accountabilities and annual reporting 
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shall be provided for in the implementing rules and regulations of this Act. 
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SEC. 15. Implementing Rules and Regulations. -
The DOST-PCHRD, the 
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DOH, the CHED and the UPM-NIH shall promulgate the implementing rules and 
29 
regulations of this Act within sixty (60) days after the effectivity hereof. 
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1 
SEC. 16. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part hereof is held invalid or 
2 
unconstitutional, the remainder of the law or the provision not otherwise affected shall 
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remain valid and subsisting. 
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SEC. 17. 
Repealing Clause. 
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Any law, presidential decree or issuance, 
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executive order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule or regulation contrary to 
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or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, modified or amended 
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accordingly. 
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SEC. 18. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its 
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publication in any newspaper of general circulation. 
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Approved, 
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