WHEREAS, it is the policy of the government to provide opportunities to its employees at all levels to improve and develop themselves so that they can better contribute to the realization of agency and national goals;

WHEREAS, the Civil Service Commission, as the central personnel agency of the government, exercises the leadership iunction in all training activities and programs and is responsible for integrating such programs into a total career development pattern;

WHEREAS, in the exercise of this function, the Commission has encouraged through appropriate standards and guidelines, the various departments and agencies of the government to establish appropriate training programs iJDnsistent with previously determined needs of their employees;

WHEREAS, although there has been enthusiam and readiness to formulate and conduct training programs on the part of the departments and agencies, the Commission has still found it necessary to conduct direct training affecting those areas of management that are of government-wide application and concern;

WHEREAS, in conducting these training programs, the Commission has been guided by the requirements of a more effective and innovative service in the New Society;

WHEREAS, such requirements dictate that the training program of the Commission which generally affect those occupying middle management and first-line positions', be pursued on a more systematic, integrated and purposeful scale;

WHEREAS, similar training for higher level management are conducted by duly-established training institutions resulting in a greater concentration of resources for this purpose.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby decree:

SECTION 1. There is hereby established a Civil Service Academy, hereinafter referred to as the Academy, which shall be responsible for the planning, formulation, and implementation of training and other employee or career development programs in the first and second levels of the career service that have government-wide application, particularly those concerned with improving the level of competence of supervisors, from first-line to middle management. It shall likewise be responsible for the formulation of policies that shall govern all scholarship programs in the government, locally or abroad.

SEC. 2. The operations of the Academy shall be managed by'a Board of Trustees hereinafter referred to as the Board, to be headed by the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission as Chairman, the Secretary of Economic Planning as Vice-Chairman and the Budget Commissioner, Secretary of Local Government and Community Development, and the President of the Development Academy of the Philippines. A majority of the members of the Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of its business.

SEC. 3. The Office of Training and Personnel Development of the Commission shall provide secretariat and support services to the Academy, including determination of training needs, conduct of training research, preparation of training programs and necessary literature and other instructional materials and evaluation of the training programs. The Director of the Office shall concurrently be the Executive Director of the Academy.

SEC. 4. The Academy shall draw up and conduct continuing training programs for the various employee levels in the career service without precluding individual departments and agencies from conducting their own training programs should the need for such arise. However, these training programs shall first be approved by the Commission.

SEC. 5. Participants in the training programs of the1 Academy shall be accepted upon nomination by (the department and agency heads concerned, in accordance with requirements to be set by the Academy. An appropriate training fee shall be charged for such participation.

SEC. 6. For purposes of the foreign scholarship programs, the Academy shall be assisted by the appropriate office in the National Economic and Development Authority.

SEC. 7. The Civil Service Commission shall initially draw up rules and policies for the effective operation of the Academy. The rules and policies shall be subject to the approval of the Board.

SEC. 8. The Academy shall be operational not later than three months from the promulgation of this Decree, within which period the aforementioned rules and policies shall have been established.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 14th day of October, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-seven.