Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Philippines

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 3294

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE ALFRED VARGAS

AN ACT
MODERNIZING THE NATIONAL MEASUREMENT SYSTEM (NMS) OF THE
PHILIPPINES, CREATING FOR THIS PURPOSE THE NATIONAL MEASUREMENT
INSTITUTE OF THE PHILIPPINES, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES

EXPLANATORY NOTE

In 2003, the Republic Act 9236, also known as the “National Metrology Act of 2003,
established the National Measurement Infrastructure System (NMIS). The National
Metrology Division (NMD) of the Industrial Technology Development Institute (ITDI) is the
one tasked to develop, maintain, and disseminate measurement standards in the country.
However, coping with today’s rapid technological changes have become more difficult due
to its limited fund, personnel, and facility.

Metrology affect standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment. It plays a
crucial role in the development of society, trade and consumer protection. Verify, its scope
is too broad to be under a multi-disciplinary institute such as ITDI.

Hence, the proposed legislation seeks to transform the NMD into National Measurement
Institute of the Philippines (NMIPhil), which shall be directly attached to the Department of
Science and Technology (DOST). Also set forth in the bill are the distinct functions of the
NMIPhil and the national Metrology Board (NMB). The latter's composition, as created
under Section 5 of RA 9236, shall now include the secretary or duly authorized
representative of the following agencies/offices: (DPWH). Department of National Defense
(DND), Department of Information and Technology (DICT), Department of Transportation
(DOTr), Local Authorities of the Philippines, and Committees on Science and Technology of
the Senate and House of Representatives, The NMB shall be responsible for the


control of measurement, ensuring harmonization of policies/regulations, and its
proper implementation and coordination.

This will enable our country to formally establish its linkages with international and
regional metrology organizations and/or associations such as Metre Convention, Asia
Pacific Metrology Programme (APMP) and the Asia Pacific Legal Metrology Forum (APLMF)
among others. A national measurement system that is consistent with the ASEAN and
international standards will minimize market failure, reduce transaction costs, increase
economic efficiency, and support innovation.

Thus, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

‘ALFRED VARGAS


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City, Philippines

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 3294

INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVE ALFRED VARGAS

AN ACT
MODERNIZING THE NATIONAL MEASUREMENT SYSTEM (NMS) OF THE
PHILIPPINES, CREATING FOR THIS PURPOSE THE NATIONAL MEASUREMENT
INSTITUTE OF THE PHILIPPINES, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress
assembled:

Section 1. Title. - This Act shall be known and cited as the “Modernized National
Measurement System Act”,

Section 2. Declaration of Policy, - It is hereby declared to be the policy of the State to
facilitate the development of scientific and technical knowledge and progress in the
national economy by providing a modernized national Measurement System (NMS) that
will ensure the integrity of measurements in the country, meet regional and international
requirements, and provide support of the competitiveness of the Philippines products and
services. The State shall also support the undertaking of necessary activities to promote
metrology, to develop appropriate infrastructures, to support research in metrology and to
protect the health safety and interest of every citizen and his environment against possible
abuse related to measurements.


The State shall support the harmonization of national requirements, including technical
regulations, document standards and conformity assessment procedures, with
international requirements as envisioned in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC),
World Trade Organization (WTO) and other international agreements and covenants

resulting to free flow of goods and services, and a predictable trading environment.

The State shall provide support to metrology research and Development for the purpose of
continuously improving the national Measurement standards and their measurement
uncertainties, developing Novel measurement techniques and technologies aiming at
Philippines Industry take-up to stimulate industrial innovation: coming-up with solutions
for societal challenges focusing on contributions for energy efficiency, food security,
environment protection, and citizen's health, security and economic well-being: and
address locally the measurement needs of society and industry.

Section 3. Scope. - This Act shall cover all agencies, institutions entities involved in
metrological activities and processes, both private and Public.

Section 4. Objectives. - In furtherance of the policies enunciated in this Act, the following
objectives shall be pursued:
a, Transform the existing National Metrology Division of the Industrial
Technology Development institute to the National Measurement
Institute of the Philippines directly under the Department of
Science and Technology;
b. Designate the National Measurement Institute of the Philippines as
the country’s national metrology institute;
Ensure that measurements in the country are reliable;
d. Strengthen and harmonize the country’s measurement system in
accordance to international best practices to support confidence to in

measurements in for regulation, trade and manufacturing;


e. Implement legal metrological controls of measuring instruments in
the country-in the interest of fair trade, health, safely, law
enforcement and environment protection

f£ Disseminate knowledge on state-of-the-art calibration techniques
And develop competencies on legal metrological controls through
Capacity building programs; and

g. Foster a metrology culture that will instill a keen appreciation of
Metrology as a discipline through the integration of metrology

Courses in the educational system,

Section 5. Definition of terms, -For the purpose of harmonizing with International best
practices, the following terms are in reference to the International Vocabulary of Metrology
and International Vocabulary of Legal Metrology:

a. Accreditation - is the process in which an authoritative body formally
recognizes the competence, impartiality and capability of an organization
to carry out specific activities, such as certification, testing. Calibration
and inspection.

b. ASEAN Common Requirement of Pre-packaged Products ~ is a regionally-
agreed document specifying the labelling requirements and allowed
quantity deficiency in pre-packaged products for ASEAN Member States
namely Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia. Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia,
Myanmar, Philippines. Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam.

c. Asia Pacific Legal Metrology Forum (APLMF) - is a grouping of legal
metrology authorities from the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation
member economies and other economies in the Pacific Rim for the
development of legal metrology and promotion of free and open trade in
the Asia Pacific region through harmonization and Removal of technical
of administrative barriers to trade in the field of legal metrology.

d. Asia Pacific Metrology Programme (APMP) - is a grouping of National
metrology institutes from the Asia-Pacific region for the promotion and

support of a measurement infrastructure in the Asia Pacific region that


facilitates international trade, improves Industrial efficiency and
competitiveness. Ensures equity in the marketplace, and enhances the
quality of life and the environment through reliable measurements.
Calibration ~ operation that, under specified conditions, in a first step.
Establishes a relation between the quantity values with measurement
uncertainties provided by measurement standards and corresponding
indications with associated measurement uncertainties and, in a second
step. Uses this information to establish a relation for obtaining a
measurement result from an indication.

Calibration laboratories - public or private entities that perform tests and
/or calibrations in a permanent, temporary, or remote location.
Certification - procedure by which a third party provides written
attestation that a product, process or service meets specified
requirements.

|. Conformity assessment - is a set of processes that shows a product,
service or system meets specified requirements the main forms of
conformity assessment are testing, certification, and inspection.
Designated Institutes - are organizations or entities appointed by a
country’s national metrology institute to hold specific measurement
standard or services that are not covered by the national metrology
institute.

Inspection - examination of a measuring instrument to ascertain all or
some of the following verification mark and/or certificate is valid. No
sealing marks are damaged, after verification the instrument suffered no
obvious modification, its errors do not exceed the maximum permissible
in service error. Inspection of a measuring instrument may be done only
after verification.

International System of Units or System International d’Unites (SI) in
French - is the modern metric system establishing seven base units for
base quantities namely metre for length, kilogram for mass, second for
time, ampere for electric current, kelvin for thermodynamic temperature,


mole for amount of substance and candela for luminous intensity. The
derived units of the SI (e.g.metre per second. Watt. Newton, etc.) are them
formed as products of powers of the base units, according to the algebraic
relations that define the corresponding derived quantities in terms of the
base quantities

Legal Metrological Controls - series of evaluations and periodic checks
performed on regulated measuring instruments throughout their life
timer to monitor if they are still suitable for their intended use. For pre-
packaged products, it refers to the checking of the quantities contained in
the packaged with reference to the quantity indicated in the label.

|. Legal Metrology- is the practice and process of applying regulatory
structure and enforcement to measurements and measuring instruments
to ensure trade and legal decisions are fair, and that the health, safety and
interest of every citizen and his environment are protected against
possible abuse related to wrong measurements.

Legal Units of Measurement- units of measurement required or permitted
by regulations.
Measurement Standard - is a material measure, measuring instrument,
reference material or measuring system intended to define, realize,
conserve or procedure a unit, or one or more values of a quantity to serve
asa reference.

. Measuring Instrument - is a device used for making measurements, alone
or in conjunction with one or more supplementary devices. This may be
an indicating measuring instrument or a material measure.

. Metre Convention- is a diplomatic treaty which established a permanent
organizational structure for member governments to act in common
accord on all matters relating to metrology.

Metrological traceability - is the property of a measurement results
whereby the result can be related to a reference through a documented
unbroken chain of calibrations, each contributing to the measurement

uncertainty.


Metrology - science of measurement and its application. It includes all
theoretical and practical aspects of measurement.

National Accreditation Body - is a national organization which attests to
the competence and impartiality of conformity assessment bodies
(testing and calibration laboratories, certification and inspection bodies),
according to internationally accepted standards.

National Measurements Standards - measurements standard recognized
by national authority to serve in a state or economy as the basis for
assigning quantity values to other measurements standards for the kind
of quantity concerned.

National Measurement System (NMS) - collective infrastructure of
national facilities, expertise, knowledge and research, and is also a legal
framework for reliable, consistent and internationally recognized
measurement. The infrastructure encompasses essential elements of both
the public and private.

National Metrology Institutes - are bodies with the responsibility of
maintaining the national measurement standards and disseminating the
SI Units nationally (ie. they provide metrological traceability).
International Organization for Legal Metrology or Organisation
Internationale de Metrologie Legale (OIML) in French - is an
intergovernmental organization comprising of one hundred twenty-six
(126) governments that establishes the coordination and harmonization
at the international level the administrative and technical regulations
applied to measurements and measuring instruments passed by different
governments,

. OIML Recommendations - are model regulations that establish the
metrological characteristics required of certain measuring instruments
and which specify methods and equipment for checking their conformity.
These model regulations are concerned with the acceptable tolerances
referred to as maximum permissible error, within which regulated

measurements and measuring instruments should operate despite


variations in temperature and humidity, power supply and
electromagnetic interference.

z. Prepackaged Products - are commodities that are enclosed in a container
or wrapped in any manner, and for which their quantities have been
determined and indicated on their labels prior to being offered for sale.
The quantity contained cannot be changed without the prepackaged
product being opened or doing a perceptible modification.

a

B

. Proficiency Testing - is a comparison activity that determines the
performance of individual laboratories for specific tests or measurements
and is used to monitor laboratories’ continuing performance.

bb. Working Measurements Standard - is a measurements standard that is

used routinely to calibrate or verify measuring instruments or measuring

systems.

Section 6. National Measurement Institute of the Philippines. - The National Metrology
Division (NMD), a division under Industrial Technology Development Institute responsible
for establishing and maintaining the national measurement standards in physical
quantities, is hereby transformed to the National Measurements Institute of the Philippines
(NMIPhil), Thereafter , all powers, functions duties, records, files and assets including
plantilla positions of the NMD shall be transferred to the NMIPhil. There shall be no
diminution of rank and salaries, allowances and benefits of transferred employees of
NMIPhil shall be entitled to the same allowances and benefits as those of the transferred

employees.

The NMIPhil shall be designated as the country’s national metrology institute. It shall be an
attached agency of the department of Science and Technology (DOST) for policy, program
coordination and administrative supervision.

As the chief executive officer of the NMIPhil, the Director General shall exercise general
supervision and control to its technical and administrative and technical support
complement necessary for the effective and efficient operations of the Institute.


Section 7. Functions, Duties And Responsibilities of the National Measurement
Institute of the Philippines.- The NMIPhil shall have the following functions:

a

To maintain and continuously update the national measurements standards in all
relevant fields for the Philippines; as such the NMIPhil shall guarantee that all
metrological laboratories, infrastructures, equipment, instruments artefacts,
reference standards and other similar articles are in good condition, internationally
compliant and reliant and other qualities that may be required in the future;

. To provide metrological traceability to the International System of Units (SI) for

measurements used in regulations, trade and manufacturing;

-. To facilitate international harmonization and comparability of measurements;
|. To strengthen the collaboration with calibration laboratories in the areas of capacity

building-and harmonization of measurement procedures;

. To offer technical support to industry in measurement related issues;

To appoint competent laboratories as “Designated Institutes” for specific
measurement fields of national interest not covered by the national metrology
institute e.g, ionizing radiation and time among others;

To coordinate with other local institutes /bodies having metrological responsibilities
(radiation, standard time, and dissemination, etc);

. To disseminate knowledge and competencies in metrology through education and

capacity building programs to relevant regulatory bodies and other entities
responsible for the implementation of legal metrological controls;

To engage and/or coordinate research and development work in metrology;

To strengthen and develop a human resource development programs. Hence, there
shall be a continuing human resource development program; provided that capacity
building activities needed to upgrade capacity building activities needed to upgrade
capacities of technical personnel to a travel bond or its equivalent return of service
as determined by existing laws. Otherwise, the NMIPhil may invite foreign experts
to conduct trainings, render technical services such as repairs, calibration and the
like, which shall be charged to its funds;


k. To represent the Philippines’ interest in international and regional metrology
organizations;

1 To provide support to Quality Infrastructure-related institutes, especially
standardization and accreditation in aspects related to metrology.

Section 8, National Measurement Standards - The NMIPhil shall periodically undertake
metrological activities, calibration, re-calibration and other related activities to effectively
undertake its functions, duties and responsibilities, and comply with international
standards.

Section 9. Memberships of the Philippines - The state shall ensure, through the NMIPhil,
that the Philippines’ measurement system is linked to the global metrology system by
becoming a Signatory to the Metre Convention, a Full Member of the Asia Pacific Metrology
Programme (APMP), a full Member state of the International Organization for Legal
Metrology (OIML) and a Member State of the International Organization for Legal
Metrology Forum (APLMF).

Linkages or affiliations other international and regional metrology organizations
and/or associations, other than those mentioned, that are of interest to the country’s

national measurement system shall be established.

Section 10. National Metrology Board. The National Metrology Board (NMB),
hereinafter referred to as the Board, shall be chaired by the Secretary of the DOST. It shall
be composed of the Secretaries of the following agencies or their duly authorized
representatives, preferably with the rank of Undersecretary, as ex officio members:

(a) Department of Environmental and Natural Resources (DENR)

(b) Department of Health (DOH)

(©) Department of Trade and Industry (DTI)

(d) Department of Energy (DOE)

(e) Government Recognized body representatives from the Local Government Units

(8) National Measurement Institute of the Philippines (NMPhil)

(g) One (1) representative each from the


i, manufacturing industry sector;
ii, Local manufacturer of measuring instruments; and

ili, Private calibration laboratories/professional metrology association of

national membership;

Each member shall be appointed by the Secretary of the DOST and shall have a term (3)
years.

When the Board deems it necessary for the effective implementation of this Act, it may call
upon the heads of the following departments/agencies and private institutions such as, but
not limited to:

‘© Department of Agriculture (DA)
‘© Department of Justice (DO})

© Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)

* Department of National Defense (DND)

‘* Department of Information Communication Technology (DICT)
© Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH)

© Department of Transportation (DOTr)

* Local Government Units (LGUs)

‘© Bureau of Customs (BOC)

Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC)

* Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA)

© Manila Electric Company (MERALCO)

‘© Manila Water Company, Inc.

© Maynilad Water Services, Inc.

‘© Metropolitan Manila Development Agency (MMDA)

© Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System (MWSS)

‘© National Food Authority (NFA)

* National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS)


* National Telecommunications Commission (NTC)
© Oil Industry Management Bureau (OIMB)

* Philippines Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA)

© Sugar Regulatory Authority (SRA)

The Board shall convene at least twice a year. Special meetings may be convened upon the
request of the Chair or majority of the Board members. Each member of the Board shall be
entitled to incentives and allowances for his/her attendance to regular and special

meetings based on prevailing DOST guidelines.

The National Measurement Institute of the Philippines is hereby mandated to serve as the
Board's Secretariat.

Section 11. Functions, Duties and Responsibilities of the National Metrology Board. -
The Board shall be responsible for the legal metrological controls in the country, in
coordination with other executive branches of government. It shall ensure uniformity of

procedures and their proper implementation.

In the exercise of its function, duties and responsibilities, the Board shall have the power to
engage both public and private entities in imposing its policies in order to ensure that
measurement and measuring instrument used in trade, health, safety, law enforcement and
environment protection are subjected to legal metrological controls and are complying
with the relevant regulations,

The Board shall likewise perform such other functions which may be necessary in
implementing this Act.

Section 12. National Measurement System. - The National Measurement System (NMS)
shall provide and maintain the necessary infrastructure to support confidence in
measurement used for regulation, trade, and manufacturing in the country and it shall

cover the following:

a. Legal units of measurement;

b. National measurement standards;


c. Hierarchy of measurement standards and metrological traceability;

d. National legal metrology regulations for measurements and measuring
instrument;

e. Legal metrological controls;

f. Certification system; and

g. Accreditation system.

Section 13. Registration of Regulated Measuring Instruments. - The State shall require
the registration of all measuring instruments used in trade, health, safety, law enforcement
and environment protection with the National Regulators and Local Government Units,

Those measuring instruments used as working measurement standards by the National
Regulators, Local Government Units, and Board-authorized entities in the implementing of
legal metrological controls, shall be registered with the Board, through the NMB
Secretariat.

Section 14, Legal Units of Measurement. - The International System of Units (SI) and
combination of those units shall be the legal units of measurement mandated to be used in
the Philippines including the following:

a. Non-SI units accepted for use with the SI (e.g. minute, hour, day for time,
hectare for area, tone for mass, bar for pressure, angstrom for length,
nautical mile for distance, decibel for sound level); and

b. Non-SI units allowed by international agreement (eg. feet for altitude
navigation and mm Hg for blood pressure).

Section 15. Hierarchy of Measurement Standards. - The NMIPhil shall maintain the
national measurement standards for the legal units and provide calibrations at appropriate
levels of accuracy for the calibration laboratories, National Regulators and Board-
authorized public or private entities to disseminate the SI units. The national measurement
standards shall in all cases be those assumed to be the most accurate measurement

standards of the country.


Private and public calibration laboratories including the DOST Regional Offices shall, in
turn provide lower-accuracy calibrations and measurement to industries and communities
using working measurement standards that have been calibrated by the NMIPhil. Similarly,
National Regulators, Local Government Units and entities authorized by the Board, on the
premise that their working measurement standards are of the same accuracy level as those
of measuring instruments using working measurement standards calibrated by the
NMIPhil.

Section 16, Metrological Traceability - Measurements in both the regulated and non-
regulated areas shall be traceable to the SI through the national measurement standards
maintained by the country's national metrology institute to ensure international
compatibility and acceptance of measurement results.

For traceability not provided through the NMIPhil, the State shall recognize measurement
standards of other national metrology institutes provided they are internationally accepted
by the global metrology community

Section 17. Legal Metrological Controls. - Measuring instruments Used in trade, health,
safety, law enforcement and environment protection shall be evaluated based on the
relevant OIML Recommendations and / or ASEAN Guidelines by the National Regulators,
Local Government Units and other Board- authorized entities. Compliance to quantity and
labelling requirements of prepackaged products shall be checked by the National
Regulators and Board -authorized public and private entities in accordance with the

ASEAN Common requirements of prepackaged Products and / or OIML Recommendations.

Section 18 Right of Access; - The National Regulators, Local Government Units and Board
~ authorized public or private entities, upon Presentation of their credentials, shall have
the right of access to every Establishment or commercial premise, where regulated

measuring instruments are, or may be installed, kept or used.

In the same manner, they shall also have the right of access to every premise of facility
where prepackaged products are manufactured, or may be filled, packed, labelled, kept or
offered for sale.


Any officer or agent of the establishments, commercial premises or other facilities who
shall refuse the inspection shall be liable to the penalties imposed under Section 25 of this
Act.

Section 19. Certification System. - The State shall establish a certification system to
ensure that the legal metrological controls are carried out only by competent personnel.

Section 20. Accreditation System. - The state shall maintain an accreditation system to
ensure the technical competence of calibration and testing laboratories in the performance
of their services under the terms of ISO/IEC 17025 “General Requirements for the
Competence of Testing and Calibration Laboratories.”

The Philippine Accreditation Bureau (PAB), as the national accreditation body of the
Philippines, shall be responsible to accredit inspection, testing and certifying bodies, and
other bodies offering conformity assessment services.

Section 21. Prohibited Acts. - The following shall constitute prohibited acts of any person
or juridical person and are hereby declared unlawful:

a) To sell, offer, or expose for sale goods or products with a quantity less
than the quantity represented;

b) To represent the quantity in any manner or intending to mislead or in any
way deceive another person;

©

q)

e)

Failure to register regulated measuring instrument ;

Use of unregistered regulated measuring instrument;

Hinder or obstruct any National Regulators, Local Government Units and

Board-authorized entities in the performance of their duties;

£) Impersonate a National Regulation, Local Government Units and Board-
authorized public and private entity.

) affix fake or undue conformity marking or verification marks;

h) Use of units other than the legal units of measurement in trade,

commercials transactions, documentation and advertisements for

products and service, publications, or trainings.


use of regulated measuring instruments which have not been submitted

to legal metrological control;

J)_use of regulated measuring instruments which have failed the legal

k) metrological control and are giving false / wrong measurements; affix
false conformity marking or affix conformity markings illegally on
measuring instruments;

1) falsification of documents relative to legal metrological control;

m) remove or tamper any tag, seal, or mark from any weight or measure or
measuring instrument without being duty authorized by the proper
authority; and

n) Manipulate software and / or hardware of measuring instruments to give

false measurements.

Section 22. National Metrology Training Center. - A National Metrology Training Center
shall be established and operated by the NMIPhil to undertake training on metrology for
the capacity builder of calibration Laboratories, National Regulators, Local Government
Units and other Board-Authorized entities responsible for implementing legal metrological
controls

Inthe country.

Section 23. Public Information / Advocacy. - The NMIPhil, in Collaboration with other
concerned government agencies and stakeholders, shall engage in information campaigns
and advocacy programs to increase the public’s awareness on metrology and instill greater
appreciation of metrology by the public.

Section 24, Education. - The NMIPhil, Department of Education, Commission on Higher
Education, and other concerned government agencies shall formulate the design and
details of a curriculum on metrology and its inclusion in all levels of the Philippines’
education system.

Section 25. Penalties. - Any person who violates any provision of this Act shall be
penalized by imprisonment of not less than six (6) months but not more than five (5) years
or fine of not less than fifty thousand pesos (Php 50,000.00) but not more than five
hundred thousand (Php 500,000.00) or both upon the discretion of the court: Provided,
however, that if the violator is a corporation, firm, partnership or association, the penalty
shall be imposed upon the president or the manager or any officer thereof who knows or
ought to have known the commission of the offense.

Section 26. Transitory Provision. The transfer of function, assets, Funds, equipment,
properties, transaction, and personnel of the affected agency, and the formulation of the


internal organic structure, staffing pattern, operating system, and revised budget of this
Act, during such time, the existing personnel shall continue to assume their posts in
holdover capacities until new appointments are issued.

After the transformation of National Metrology Division as specified in Section 6 of this Act,
the DOST, in coordination with the DBM, shall Determine and create new position.

Section 27. Appropriations. - This amount necessary to carry out the Provisions of this
Act shall be included in the General Appropriation Act for the year following its enactment
and every year thereafter.

In addition to the GAA, eighty percent (80%) of the fees and charges collected by the
NMIPhil, NMB Secretariat and the DOST Regional Offices from metrology - related works
including calibration and measurement services, technical trainings, and proficiency testing
services shall be retained and correspondingly used by the NMIPhil and DOST Regional
Offices in the upkeep and modernization of measurement standards and Facilities,
purchase of measurement standards and equipment, promotion of Metrology culture,
awareness raising programs and advocacy campaigns,

Among others, The remaining amount shall be remitted to the National Treasury.

Section 28. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The DOST, in Coordination with
order concerned government departments, agencies and eighty (180) days from the
effectivity of this Act, issue the necessary implementing rules and regulations of this Act.

Section 29, Congressional Oversight Committee on National Measurement System. -
The Congressional Oversight Committee on National Measurement System (COCNMS) is
hereby created and shall be chaired by the Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Science
and Technology co-chaired by the Chairperson of the Committee of Science and Technology
of the House of Representative, with (5) members from the Senate and five (5) member
from the House of Representative to be respectively designated by the President of the
Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives.

The Committee shall, in aid of legislation, perform the following Function, among others:

a) To set the guidelines and overall framework to monitor and ensure the proper
implementation of this Act;

b.) To ensure transparency and require the submission of reports from government
agencies concerned on the conduct of programs, projects and policies relating to the
Implementation of this Act;

c) To submit periodic reports to the President of the Philippines and Congress on
the implementation of the provisions of this Act;

d.) To determine inherent weaknesses in the law and recommend remedial
legislation or executive measures; and

e) To perform other duties, function and responsibilities as may be necessary to
effectively attain the objectives of this Act.


Section 30. Separability Clause. - If for any reason, any provision of this Act is declared
unconstitutional, the other sections or provisions hereof which are not affected shall
continue to be in full force and effect.

Section 31. Repealing Clause, - Republic Act No. 9236 and all laws, after its complete
publication in the Official Gazette or in at least two (2) Newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,