H. No. 164; 109 OG No. 33, 5670 (August 19, 2013); Manila Bulletin; Philippine Star, May 27, 2013

[ REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10535, May 15, 2013 ]

AN ACT TO SET THE PHILIPPINE STANDARD TIME (PST) IN ALL OFFICIAL SOURCES THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY, TO PROVIDE FUNDS FOR THE INSTALLATION, OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE OF SYNCHRONIZED TIME DEVICES TO BE DISPLAYED IN KEY PUBLIC PLACES AND TO DECLARE THE FIRST WEEK OF EVERY YEAR AS NATIONAL TIME CONSCIOUSNESS WEEK

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

SECTION 1. Short Title. – This Act shall be known as “The Philippine Standard Time (PST) Act of 2013?.

SEC. 2. Display of the Philippine Standard Time. – All national and local government offices shall display the Philippine Standard Time (PST) on their official time devices, including bundy clocks, in accordance with the official time being provided by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) using its network time protocol. All of these offices shall coordinate, at least once a month, with the PAGASA to synchronize their official timepieces and devices.

SEC. 3. Monitoring, Maintenance and Dissemination of the PST. – The PAGASA’s Time Service Unit, in coordination with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), shall be tasked to monitor, maintain and disseminate the PST throughout the country. The PAGASA shall operate and maintain a timekeeping system to perform these functions and shall endeavor to install and maintain sufficiently large and prominently displayed synchronized time devices in all their field stations and in key public places.

SEC. 4. Procurement of Equipment for the Automatic Dissemination of Time. – The procurement of equipment necessary for the automatic dissemination of time with global positioning system (GPS) shall be in accordance with the provisions of Republic Act No. 9184 (Government Procurement Reform Act). The DOST shall be the procurement overseer of said equipment.

SEC. 5. General Appropriations. – The amount necessary for the implementation of this Act shall be included in the appropriation of the PAGASA under the DOST in the General Appropriations Act. Thereafter, such amount as may be necessary for the upgrading and/or maintenance of the timekeeping system shall be included in the annual budget of the DOST and the PAGASA.

SEC. 6. Role of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC).– The NTC shall require the participation of all government and private television and radio stations in order to ensure the synchronization of timekeeping devices can be undertaken even in the most remote parts of the country.

SEC. 7. Violations. – The NTC shall have jurisdiction to enforce obedience to the provisions of this Act by writ of injunction or by other process, mandatory or otherwise, restraining further violations of this Act and enjoining obedience thereto.

Owners of private television and radio stations who shall fail to calibrate and synchronize their time devices with the PST during their broadcast shall, upon hearing and due proceedings, be penalized with a fine of not less than Thirty thousand pesos (P30,000.00) but not more than Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00) and in case of second offense, revocation and cancellation of their franchises to operate.

The fine to be collected as penalty for the violation of this Act shall be deposited in the general fund of the National Treasury.

SEC. 8. Information Campaign. – All national and local government offices, including all schools, public or private, shall conduct a continuing information campaign about the value of time and the need to respect the time of others, in order that the people may realize the imperative of synchronizing the official time.

SEC. 9. Institutionalization of the “National Time Consciousness Week”. – The “National Time Consciousness Week” shall be institutionalized and celebrated every first week of the year.

SEC. 10. Implementing Guidelines. – The PAGASA, in coordination with the DOST, the NTC, the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of National Defense (DND), the Department of Health (DOH), the Department of Education (DepED) and the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), shall promulgate the necessary guidelines for the effective implementation of the calibration and synchronization of the timekeeping devices and implementation of this Act within ninety (90) days from the effectivity of this Act.

SEC. 11. Separability Clause. – If any provision of this Act is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the remaining parts or provisions not affected shall remain in full force and effect.

SEC. 12. Repealing Clause. – All laws, decrees, executive orders, proclamations, rules and regulations, and issuances, or parts thereof, which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or amended accordingly.

SEC. 13. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.

Approved,

This Act which is a consolidation of Senate Bill No. 3284 and House Bill No. 164 was finally passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on February 4, 2013.

Approved: MAY 15 2013

(Sgd.) BENIGNO S. AQUINO III President of the Philippines

Source: Supreme Court E-Library