$ 
L 
THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
First Regular Session 
') 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
1 
S E N A T E  
~~ 
~ 
~~ 
Introduced by Senator Flavier 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
It is a declared policy of the State to ensure and protect the rights of patients to 
decent, humane and quality health care. 
Further, the State shall adopt an integrated and comprehensive approach to health 
and development which shall endeavor to make essential goods, health and other social 
services available to the people at affordable costs. The State shall likewise endeavor to 
provide free medical care to pauper. 
Therefore, this proposed Magna Carta of Patients Rights shall provide patients the 
following basic rights: right to proper and appropriate medical care and humane 
treatment; right to informed consent; right to privacy and confidentiality; right to 
information; right to choose physiciadhealth care provider; right to self-determination; 
right to religious belie6 right to medical records; right to leave; riglit to refuse 
participation in medical research; right to correspondence and to receive visitors; right to 
express grievances; right to be informed of his rights and obligations as a patient. 
With rights come responsibilities. As we seek to improve our patients, we also 
envision to make them more responsible citizens of this country. 
In view of the foregoing, immediate approval of this measure is earnestly sought. 
R 


THIRTEENTH CONGlFPESS OF THE REPUBLIC 
} 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
1 
First Regular Session 
1 
S E N A T E  
n e 
S. NO. w - 
Introduced by Senator Flavier 
AN ACT DECLARING THE RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF PATIENTS AND 
ESTABLISHING A GRIEVANCE MECHANISM FOR VIOLATIONS 
THEREOF AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES 
Be enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congr.ess 
assembled: 
Title I: Title and Declaration of Policies 
Section 1. Short Title. - This Act shall be luiown as the “Magna Carta of 
Patient’s Rights and Obligations.” 
Sec. 
2. DecZardon of Poky. - It shall be the policy of the State to protect and 
promote the right to health of the people and instill health and consciousness among 
them. It shall likewise be the policy of the State for Congress to give the highest priority 
to the enactment of measures that protect and enhance the right of all people to human 
dignity. Towards this end, the State shall ensure, provide and protect the rights of 
patients to decent, humane and quality health care. 
Title 11: Definition of Terms 
Sec. 
3. Definition of Terms. As used in this Act, the following terms are 
defined as follows: 
(1) Advance Directive- is a document with written instructions made by a 
person before he/she reaches the terminal phase of a terminal illness or a 
persistent vegetative state and incapable of malting decisions about medical 
treatment when the question of aiministering the treatment arises. It 
includes, but is not limited to, a health care proxy or a living will. It is 
preferably, a duly notarized document executed by a person of legal age and 
of sound mind, upon consultation with a physician and family members. It 
1 


directs health care providers to refrain from providing extraordinary 
measures when the person executing such directive reaches the terminal 
phase of his terminal illness. 
(2) 
Emergency - an unforeseen combination of circumstances which is 
unanticipated and 
episodic; life-theatening; and there is disability of 
function which calls for immediate medical intervention to preserve the life 
and limb of a person and/or patient as may be determined by a responsible 
health care worker. 
(3) 
Health Care - measures taken by a health care provider or that are taken in 
a health care institution in order to determine a patient's state of health or to 
restore or maintain it. 
Wealth Care Institution - a site devoted primarily to the maintenance and 
operation of facilities for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and care of 
individuals suffering from illness, disease, injury, or deformity if in need of 
medical and nursing care. 
Health Care Professionalh'ractitioner - any physician, dentist, nurse, 
pharmacist or paramedical and other supporting health personnel, including, 
but not limited to, medical and dental technicians and technologists, nursing 
aides, therapists, nutritionists trained in health care and/or duly registered 
(4) 
( 5 )  
and licensed to practice in the Philippines as well as traditional and 
alternative health care practitioners. 
(6) Health Maintenance Organization - any entity licensed by the appropriate 
government regulatory agency which arranges for coverage designated 
health services needed by plan members for a fixed prepaid premium. 
(7) Human Experimentation - the physician's departure from standard 
medical practice of treatment for the purpose of obtaining new knowledge or 
testing a scientific hypothesis on human subjects. 
Indigent Patient - a patient who has no visible means of income or whose 
income is insufficient for the subsistence of his family. 
(8) 
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(9) Informed Consent - the vol~mtary agreement of a person to undergo or be 
subjected to a procedure or other bodily intervention based on his 
understanding of the relevant consequences of receiving a particular 
treatment, as clearly, truthfully and reasonably explained by the health care 
provider in a manner and language understandable to the patient. Such 
permission must be in writing. 
(10) Mass Media - embraces means of communication that reach and influence 
large numbers of people, including print media, especially newspapers, 
periodicals, and popular magazines, radio, television, and movies, and 
involved in the gathering, transmission and distribution of news, 
information, messages, signals and all €orms of written, oral and visual 
communications. 
(1 1) Media Practitioner - any person who is engaged in the practice of mass 
media. 
(12) Medically Necessary - a service or procedure which is appropriate and 
consistent with diagnosis and which, using accepted standards of medical 
practice, could not be omitted without adversely affecting the patient’s 
condition. 
(1 3) Patient - a person who avails himself or herself of health and medical care 
services or is otherwise the subject of such services 
(14) Public Health and Safety - the state of well-being of the population in 
general, the protection of which may require the curtailment or suspension 
of certain rights of patients. 
(15) Terminal Care - is an array of services offered by a team of doctors, 
nurses, therapists, social workers, clergy and volunteers which provide 
active total care directed at maintaining or improving the comfort of a 
person suffering from terminal illness, including the management of pain 
and physical symptoms, and the provision of spiritual, psychological and 
emotional support for the person and his family in an institution, a hospital 
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or at the patient’s home. Care does not hasten nor postpone death. It affirms 
life and regards dying as a normal process. Care continues so that the 
remaining life can be lived to the fullest until a dignified and peaceful death 
comes in the terminal phase of the person’s illness. 
(16) Terminal Illness - is an illness or condition resulting in death within the 
foreseeable future. 
(17) Terminal Phase - is the stage of terminal illness when there is no real 
prospect of recovery or remission of symptoms on either a permanent or 
temporary basis. 
(18) Traditional and Alternative Health Care - the sum total of knowledge, 
sltills and practices on health care, other than those embodied in 
biomedicine, used in the prevention, diagnosis and elimination of physical 
or menta1 disorder. 
(1 9) Traditional and Alternative Health Care PractitionerlProvider - a 
person who practices other forms of non-allopathic, occasionally non- 
indigenous or imported healing methods, such as reflexology, acupuncture, 
massage, acupressure, chiropractic, nutritional therapy, and other similar 
methods. 
(20) Unwarranted Public Exposure - a situation where the patient is subjected 
to exposure, private or public, either by photography, publication, 
videotaping, discussion, TV broadcasting or radio broadcasting, or by any 
other means that would otherwise tend to reveal his person or identity and 
circumstances under which he has or will be under medical or surgical 
treatment without hidher consent. 
Title 111: Declaration of Rights 
Sec. 
4. The Rights ofPntients. - The following rights of the patient shall be 
respected by all those involved in his care: 
(1) Right to Appropriate Medical Care and Humane Treatment.- Every 
person has a right to health and medical care corresponding to his state of health, without 
4 


any discrimination and within the limits of the resources, manpower and competence 
available for health and medical care at the relevant time. 
The patient has the right to appropriate health and medical care of good quality. 
In the course of such care, his human dignity, convictions, integrity, individual needs and 
culture shall be respected. 
If any person cannot immediately be given treatment that is medically necessary 
he shall, depending on his state of health, either be directed to wait for care, or be referred 
or sent for treatment elsewhere, where the appropriate care can be provided. If the 
patient has to wait for care, he shall be informed of the reason for the delay. 
Patients in emergency shall be extended immediate medical care and treatment 
without any deposit, pledge, mortgage or any form of advance payment for treatment. 
(2) Right to Informed Consent. - The patient has a right to a clear, truthful and 
substantial explanation, in a manner and language understandable to the patient, of all 
proposed procedures, whether diagnostic, preventive, curative, rehabilitative or 
therapeutic, wherein the person who will perform the said procedure shall provide his 
name and credentials to the patient, possibilities of any risk of mortality or serious side 
effects, problems related Lo recuperation, and probability of success and reasonable risks 
involved: Provided, That, the patient will not be subjected to any procedure without his 
written informed consent, except in the following cases: 
a. 
b. 
C. 
d. 
in emergency cases, when the patient is at imminent risk of physical injury, 
decline or death if treatment is withheld or postponed. 
In such cases, the 
physician can perform any diagnostic or treatment procedure as good practice of 
medicine dictates without such consent; 
when the health of the population is dependent on the adoption of a mass health 
program to controi epidemic; 
when the law makes it compulsory for everyone to submit to a procedure; 
when the patient is either a minor, or legally incompetent, in which case, a third 
party consent is required; 
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e. when disclosure of material information to patient will jeopardize the success of 
treatment, in which case, third party disclosure and consent shall be in order; 
f. when the patient waives his right in writing. 
Informed consent shall be obtained from a patient concerned if he is of legal age 
and of sound mind. In cme the patient is incapable of giving consent and a third party 
consent is required, the following persons, in the order of priority stated hereunder, may 
give consent: 
1. 
.. 
11. 
iii. 
iv. 
V. 
spouse; 
son or daughter of legal age; 
either parent; 
brother or sister of legal age, or 
guardian 
If a patient is a minor, consent shall be obtained from his parents or legal 
guardian. 
If next of kin, parents or legal guardians refuse to give consent to a medical or 
surgical procedure necessary to save the life or 1in.b of a minor or a patient incapable of 
giving consent, courts, upon the petition of the physician or any person interested in the 
welfare of the patient, in a summary proceeding, may issue an order giving consent. 
(3) Right To Privacy and Confidentiality. - The privacy of the patients must be 
assured at all stages of his treatment. The patient has the right to be free from 
unwarranted public exposure, except in the following cases: a) when his mental or 
physical condition is in controversy and the appropriate court, in its discretion, orders 
him to submit to a physical or mental examination by a physician; b) when the public 
health and safety so demand; and c) when the patient waives this right. 
The patient has the right to demand that all information, communication and 
records pertaining to his care be treated as confidential. Any health care provider or 
practitioner involved in the treatment of a patient and all those who have legitimate 
access to the patient’s record is not authorized to divulge any information to a third party 
who has no concern with the care and welfare of the patient without his consent, except: 
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a) when such disclosure will benefit public health and safety; b) when it is in the interest 
of justice and upon the order of a competent court; and c) when the patients waives in 
writing the confidential nature of such information; d) when it is needed for continued 
medical treatment or advancement of medical science subject to de-identification of 
patient and shared medical confidentiality for those who have access to the information. 
Informing the spouse or the family to the first degree of the patient’s medical 
condition may be allowed; Provided, That the patient of legal age shall have the right to 
choose on whom to inform. In case the patient is not of legal age or is mentally 
incapacitated, such information shall be given to the parents, legal guardian or his next of 
kin. 
(4) Right to Information. - In the course of hidher treatment and hospital care, 
the patient or hisher legal guardian has a right to be informed of the result of the 
evaluation of the nature and extent of hisher di,;ease, any other additional or fLirtlzer 
contemplated medical treatment on surgical procedure or procedures, including any other 
additional medicines to be administered and their generic counterpart including the 
possible complications and other pertinent facts, statistics or studies, regarding hisher 
illness, any change in the plan of care before the change is made, the person’s 
participation in the plan of care and necessary changes before its implementation, the 
extent to which payment maybe expected from Philhealth or any payor and any charges 
for which the patient maybe liable, the disciplines of health care practitioners who will 
furnish the care and the frequency of services that are proposed to be furnished. 
The patient or his legal guardian has the right to examine and be given an 
itemized bill of the hospital and medical services rendered in the facility or by hidher 
physician and other health care providers, regardless of the manner and source of 
payment. He is entitled to a thorough explanation of such bill. 
The patient or hidher legal guardian has the right to be informed by the physician 
or hidher delegate of hidher continuing health care requirements following discharge, 
including instructions about home medications, diet, physical activity and all other 
pertinent information to promote health and well-being. 
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At the end of hidher confinement, the patient is entitled to a brief, written 
summary of the course of hisher illness which shall include at least the history, physical 
examination, diagnosis, medications, surgical procedure, ancillary and laboratory 
procedures, and the plan of further treatment, and which shall be provided by the 
attending physician. He/she is likewise entitled to the explanation of, and to view, the 
contents of the medical record of hidher confinement but with the presence of his/her 
attending physician or in the absence of the attending physician, the hospital’s 
representative. 
Notwithstanding that he/she may not be able to settle his accounts by reason of 
financial incapacity, he/she is entitled to reproduction, at hidher expense, the pertinent 
part or parts of the medical record the purpose or purposes of which he shall indicate in 
hislher written request for reproduction. The patient shall likewise be entitled to medical 
certificate, free of charge, with respect to hidher previous confinement. 
The patient has likewise the right not to be informed, at hidher explicit request. 
(5) The Right To Choose Health Care Provider and Facility. - The patient is 
free to choose the health care provider to serve him as well as the facility except when he 
is under the care of a service facility or when public health and safety so demands or 
when the patient expressly or impliedly waives this right. 
The patient has the right to discuss his condition with a consultant specialist, at 
the patient’s request and expense. He also has the right to seek for a second opinion and 
subsequent opinions, if appropriate, from another health care provider/practitioner. 
(6) Right to Self-Determination. - The patient has the right to avail 
himself/herself of any recommended diagnostic and treatment procedures. Any person of 
legal age and of sound mind may make an advance written directive for physicians to 
administer terminal care when he/she suffkrs from the terminal phase of a terminal 
illness: Provided, That a) he is informed of the medical consequences of his choice; b) he 
releases those involved in his care from any obligation relative to the consequences of his 
decision; c) his decision will not prejudice public health and safety. 
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(7) Right to Religious Belief. - The patient has the right to refuse medical 
treatment or procedures which may be contrary to his religious beliefs, subject to the 
limitations described in the preceding subsection: Provided, That such a right shall not be 
imposed by parents upon their children who have not reached the legal age in a life 
threatening situation as dctermined by the attending physician or the medical director of 
the facility. 
(8) Right to Medical Records. - The patient is entitled to a summary of his 
medical history and condition. He has the right to view the contents of his medical 
records, except psychiatric notes and other incriminatory information obtained about 
third parties, with the attending physician explaining contents thereof. At his expense 
and upon discharge of the patient, he may obtain from the health care institution a 
reproduction of the same record whether or npt he has fully settled his financial 
obligation with the physician or institution concerned. 
The health care institution shall safeguard the confidentiality of the medical records 
and to likewise ensure the integrity and authenticity of the medical records and shall keep 
the same within a reasonable time as may be determined by the Department of Health. 
The health care institution shall issue a medical certificate to the patient upon 
request. Any other document that the patient may require for insurance claims shall also 
be made available to him within a reasonable period of time. 
(9) Right to Leave. - The patient has the ight to leave a hospital or any other 
health care institution regardless of his physical condition: Provided, That a) he/she is 
informed of the medical consequences of hidher decision; b) he/slie releases those 
involved in hidher care from any obligation relative to the consequences of his decision; 
c) hidher decision will not prejudice public health and safety. 
No patient shall be detained against his/her will in any health care institution on the 
sole basis of his failure to fully settle is financial obligations. However, he/she shall only 
be allowed to leave the hospital provided appropriate arrangements have been made to 
settle the unpaid bills: Provided, further, that unpaid bills of patients shall be considered 
9 


as lost income by the hoyital and health care provider/practitioner and shall be deducted 
from gross income as income loss for that particular year. 
(10) Right to Refuse Participation in Medical Research. - The patient has the 
right to be advised if the health care provider plans to involve him in medical research, 
including but not limited to human experimentation which may be performed only with 
the written informed consent of the patient. Provided, further, That, an institutional 
review board or ethical review board in accordance with the guidelines set in the 
Declaration of Helsinki be established for research involving human experimentation: 
Provided, finally, That the Department of Health shall safeguard the continuing training 
and education of fbture health care provider/practitioner to ensure the development of the 
health care delivery in the country. 
(11) Right to Correspondence and to Receive Visitors. - The patient has the right 
to communicate with relatives and other persons and to receive visitors subject to 
reasonable limits prescribed by the rules and regulations of the health care institution. 
(12) Right to Express Grievances. - The patient has the right to express 
complaints and grievances about the care and services received without fear of 
discrimination or reprisal and to know about the disposition of such complaints. The 
Secretary of Health, in consultation with health care providers, consumer groups and 
other concerned agencies shall establish a grievance system wherein patients may seek 
redress of their grievances. Such a system shall afford all parties concerned with the 
opportunity to settle amicably all grievances. 
(13) Right to be Informed of His Rights and Obligations as a Patient. - Every 
person has the right to be informed of his rights and obligations as a patient. The 
Department of Health, in coordination with health care providers, professional and civic 
groups, the media, health insurance corporations, people’s organizations, local 
government organizations, shall launch and sustain a nationwide information and 
education campaign to make known to people their rights as patients, as declared in this 
Act. Such rights and obligations of patients shall be posted in a bulletin board 
conspicuously placed in a health care institution. 


It shall be the duty of health care institutions to inform patients of their rights as 
well as of the institution’s rules and regulations that apply to the conduct of the patient 
while in the care of such institution. 
Sec. 5. Societal Rights of Patients. - In addition to the individual rights oof 
.patients, the patient has likewise their societal rights. Following are the societal rights of 
patients: 
B 
(1) Right to Health. - The patient has the right to regain and/or acquire the highest 
attainable standard of health, in a non-discriminatory, gender sensitive, and equal 
manner, which health authorities and health practitioner must progressively 
contribute to realize. 
(2) Right to Access to Quality Public Health Care. - The patient has the right to 
functioning public health and health car:: facilities, goods and services and 
programs needed and sufficient quantity. They shall likewise be provided with 
health facilities and services with adequate provision of essential drugs, regular 
screening programs, appropriate treatment of prevalent diseases, illnesses, injuries 
and disabilities, including provision of public health insurance. Towards this end, 
the government shall, as far as practicable, approximate the international standard 
allocation for the health sector as set by World Health Organization. 
(3) Right to Healthy and Safe Workplace. - The patient has the right to a healthy 
natural workplace environment with adeqiate supply of safe and potable water 
and basic sanitation, industrial hygiene, prevention and reduction of exposure to 
harmful substances, preventive measures for occupational accidents and diseases, 
and an environment that discourages abuse of alcohol, tobacco use, drug use and 
other harmful substances. 
(4) Right to Prevention and Education Programs . - The patient has the right to 
prevention and education programs on immunization, on the prevention, treatment 
and control of diseases, for behavior-related concerns, for disaster relief and 
emergency situations during epidemics and similar health hazards. 
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( 5 )  Right to Participate in Policy Decisions. - The patient has the right to participate 
in policy decisions relating to patient’s right to health at the community and 
national levels. 
Title IV: Declaration of Obligations 
Sec. 6.. The Obligations of Patients.- Patients shall at all times fulfill their 
obligations and responsibilities regarding medical care and their personal behavior. 
(1) Know Rights. - The patient shall ensure that he/she knows and understands 
what the patients’ rights are and shall exercise those rights responsibly and reasonably. 
(2) Provide Accurate and Complete Information. - The patient shall provide, to 
the best of his knowledge, accurate and complete information about all matters pertaining 
to hidher health, including medications and past or present medical problems to his/her 
health care provider. 
(3) Report Unexpected Health Changes. - It shall be the duty of every patient to 
report unexpected changes to hidher condition or symptoms, including pain, to a member 
of the health care team. 
(4) Understand Purpose and Cost of Treatment. - The patient shall ensure that 
he/she understands the purpose and cost of any proposed treatment or procedure before 
deciding to accept it. He/she shall notify the health care provider or practitioner if he/she 
does not understand any information about hidher care or treatment. The patient shall 
insist upon eiplanations until adequately informed and consult with all relevant persons 
before reaching a decision. 
(5) Accept Consequences of Own Informed Consent, - The patient shall accept 
all the consequences of the patient’s own informed consent. If he/she refuses treatment or 
do not follow the instructions or advice of the health care provider or practitioner, he/she 
must accept the consequences of his/her decision azd thus relieve the health care provider 
or practitioner of any liability. 
(6) Settle Financial Obligations. - The patient shall ensure that financial 
obligations of hisher health care are fulfilled as promptly as possible, otherwise, he/she 
shall make appropriate arrangements to settle unpaid bills in the hospital and/or 
12 


< 
4 
I’ 
professional fees of the health care provider through post-dated checks or promissory 
notes or any similar medium. 
(7) Relation to Others. - The patient shall so conduct himself or herself so as not 
to interfere with the well-being or rights of other patients or providers of health care. 
He/she shall act in a considerate and cooperative manner, respect the rights and property 
of others and follow the policies and procedures of the health care establishment. 
(8) Exhaust Grievance Mechanism. - The patient shall first exhaust the 
grievance mechanism provided in this bill before filing any administrative or legal action. 
Title V: Grievance Mechanism 
Sec. fMediation. - Any written complaint arising from violation of any of the 
right of patients under Section 4 of this bill shall first be submitted for mediation. There 
shall be two (2) types, namely: hospital-based grievance mechanism and out-of-hospital- 
based grievance mechanism. The Hospital-based Grievance Committee shall be 
composed of a grievance officer appointed and designated permanently by the hospital 
who shall act as Chairperson and two (2) physicians agreed upon by both parties, as 
members. For out-of-hospital grievance mechanism, the Committee shall be composed of 
the Local Health Officer as Chairperson and the Barangay Human Rights Action Officer 
and representative each from the Philippine Medical Association, tlie Council of Health 
Practitioner Association and the Philippine Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health 
Care, as members. 
For this purpose, the Department of Health shall ensure the establishment of 
these Grievance Committees. 
The hearing procedure shall not be adversarial in nature. The patient and the 
health care provider or practitioner shall be given the opportunity to discuss tlie cause of 
complaint and effort shall be made for its settlement. No monetary compensation shall be 
involved during this stage and neither shall a legal counsel be present at this stage. The 
parties to the complaint shall be bound by the rules on confidentiality. The aggrieved 
party shall be given thirty (30) days from occurrence of incident to file hidher written 
complaint to the appropriate grievance mechanism. Upon receipt of written complaint, 
13 


the Chairperson shall give due notice to the respondent. Upon receipt of the written 
complaint and due notice to the respondent, the Grievance Committee shall be given 
thirty (30) days to resolve the said complaint. Otliqrwise, the complainant shall have the 
option proceed to the no-fault arbitration process or to file administrative and legal action 
under existing laws. 
Sec. 8 No-fault Arbitration Process . - If and when the complaint is not resolved 
through mediation within the prescribed period, the complainant has the option to file a 
case for settlement at the no-fault arbitration process. However, only complaints arising 
from treatment-related physical injuries shall proceed to this arbitration process. 
The No-Fault Arbitration Committee shall be a five-man peer review team 
composed of physicians. The claimant and he,.ilth care provider may choose one 
physician-member each of the peer review team. The peer review team may come out 
with a decision based on documentary evidence including depositions. However, hearings 
may be held to gather testimony. Within thirty (30) days froin receipt of the complaint, 
the Committee shall make a decision. All decisions shall be appealable to the Court of 
Appeals. 
Compensation shall be limited to actual monetary loss only. It will not cover for 
“pain and suffering” or other explicitly non-monetary losses. 
A Health-Provider Compensation Fund shall be established in all health facilities 
by health provider associations/organizations or when not possible, through the 
Philippine Health Insurance Corporation. The funding shall come from assessments paid 
by the health care providers. For this purpose, the Philippine Health Insurance 
Corporation shall ensure the establishment of this Fund. 
Sec.6) Prescriptive Period. - The time during which the case is submitted for 
mediation shall toll the running of the prescriptive period for the filing of a civil or 
criminal case under the Revised Penal Code or any administrative case under existing 
laws. 
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Title VI: Miscellaneous Provisions 
See.@. Incliision In Sclzool Ciirriculiim, Licensiire Examinations and Training. 
- The provisions of this Act shall be considered in medical and medical-related school 
curriculum and licensure examinations, including trainings and seminars of traditional 
and alternative health care providers or practitioners. 
Sec.lp. Rides and Regiilations - The Secretary of Health, in consultation with 
the Philippine Medical Association, the Philippine Hospital Association, the Philippine 
Institute of Traditional and Alternative Health Care, Philippine Health Insurance 
Corporation and concerned private agencies, non-governmental organizations and 
people’s organizations shall promulgate such rules and regulations as may be necessary 
for its implementation within One Hundred Eighty (1 80) days from the effectivity of this 
Act. 
Sec. 18. Repealing Clause. - All Acts, Executive Orders, Rules and Regulations, or 
parts thereof that are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or 
modified accordingly. 
Sec. 1s Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (1 5 )  days after the date of its 
publication in at least two (2) major newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved, 
15