caring and child-placing agencies and foster homes maintain viability; and (e) do policy research in collaboration with the Intercountry Adoption Board and other concerned agencies. The office shall be manned by adoption experts from the public and private sectors. Section 24. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – Within six (6) months from the promulgation of this Act, the Department, with the Council for the Welfare of Children, the Office of Civil Registry General, the Department of Justice, Office of the Solicitor General, and two (2) private individuals representing child-placing and child-caring agencies shall formulate the necessary guidelines to make the provisions of this Act operative. Section 25. Appropriations. – Such sum as may be necessary for the implementation of the provisions of this Act shall be included in the General Appropriations Act of the year following its enactment into law and thereafter. Section 26. Repealing Clause. – Any law, presidential decree or issuance, executive order, letter of instruction, administrative order, rule, or regulation contrary to, or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act is hereby repealed, modified, or amended accordingly. Section 27. Separability Clause. – If any provision of this Act is held invalid or unconstitutional, the other provisions not affected thereby shall remain valid and subsisting. Section 28. Effectivity Clause. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days following its complete publication in any newspaper of general circulation or in the Official Gazette. Approved: February 25, 1998 The Lawphil Project - Arellano Law Foundation