WHEREAS, to provide for a more authentic grassroot participation of the citizenry in the affairs of the government, the Sangguniang Bayan has been organized in the municipal, city and provincial levels throughout the country pursuant to Presidential Decree 824 and 826;

WHEREAS, by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 877, a national federation referred to therein as the Katipunan ng mga Sanggunian was established to enable the members of the Sangguniang Bayan to perceive and identify problems not only on a local but, more importantly, on a national perspective and to provide the proper solutions thereof; and

WHEREAS, the members of the Sangguniang Bayan should likewise be organized on a regional basis in order to strengthen and thereby institutionalize the Katipunan ng mga Sanggunian;

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

SECTION 1. Organization and Membership.—There shall be an organization of all the members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan and Sangguniang Panlungsod to be established in each of the twelve (12) regions of the country, which shall hereinafter be known as the Pampook na Katipunan ng mga Sanggunian. In addition thereto, Metropolitan Manila shall be treated as one region, and all the members of the Sangguniang Panlungsod and Sangguniang Pambayan therein shall comprise the Pampook na Katipunan ng mga Sanggunian in such region notwithstanding the provisions of Section 1 of Presidential Decree No. 877.

The presiding officers (governors and mayors) of the Sangguniang Bayans mentioned in the two preceding paragraphs shall also be included as members of their respective Pampook na Katipunan ng mga Sanggunian.

SEC. 2. Annual Conference.—The Pampook na Katipunan ng mga Sanggunian shall meet in conference at least once a year on a date set by its Executive Committee, or at the call of the President of the Philippines;

SEC. 3. Officers.—The Pampook na Katipunan ng mga Sanggunian shall elect a temporary chairman and such other officers as may be necessary at the start of the conference, whose terms of office shall extend only for the duration of such conference. The chairman shall be the presiding officer of the meetings of the Pampook na Katipunan ng mga Sanggunian for the duration of its conference.

SEC. 4. Executive Committee.—There shall be an Executive Committee to be elected by and among the members of the Pampook na Katipunan ng mga Sanggunian, which shall be authorized to act for and in behalf of the Pampook na Katipunan ng mga Sanggunian when not in session.

The Executive Committee shall be composed of seven (7) members, to wit:

1. one governor or mayor;
2. one barangay federation president;
3. one kabataang barangay federation president; and
4. four sectoral representatives.

SEC. 5. Regional Secretariat.—The Pampook na Katipunan ng mga Sanggunian in each of the regions stated in Section 1 hereof shall have a permanent secretariat, the staff support of which shall be provided by the Department of Local Government and Community Development.

SEC. 6. Repealing Clause.—All laws or parts of laws, as well as all executive orders, or regulations, inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed or amended accordingly.

SEC. 7. Date of Effectivity.—This Decree shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 24th day of April, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-six.