[ PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 279, August 24, 1973 ]

CREATING THE "DESIGN CENTER PHILIPPINES" TO DEVELOP, PROMOTE AND ENHANCE THE PRODUCT DESIGN OF ALL PHILIPPINE PRODUCTS AND HANDICRAFT.

WHEREAS, it is the avowed policy of the Government to promote and increase export trade, particularly of products which are made out of indigenous raw materials and are of high labor content, in order to increase the foreign exchange earnings of the country and broaden the base of entrepreneurship and employment;

WHEREAS, Philippine-manufactured products, including cottage, small-scale, and medium-size industries products from indigenous raw materials, are mostly labor intensive,

WHEREAS, exports of Philippine products have manifested a high market potential, particularly cottage industry products, as shown in 1971 when cottage industry exports gained the sixth position among the Philippines' ten top exports, from its tenth position in 1967, and small scale and medium size industries now have high priority in the development of industries with high export potentials;

WHEREAS, in the export of Philippine-manufactured products, including cottage, small scale and medium size industries products, the area of product design poses a problem, among others, due to its limited adaptability or lack of it, to meet the practical and aesthetic taste of the foreign market, even as it should be expressive of Philippine culture; and

WHEREAS, the development, promotion and enchancement of the product design of Philippine manufactured products, including cottage, small scale and medium size industries products, could be best achieved through a directed, specific and organized effort for the purpose, under circumstances most conducive to art and creativity;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me as Commander-in-Chief of all the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and pursuant to Proclamation No. 1081, dated September 21, 1972, and General Order No. 1, dated September 22, 1972, in order to effect the desired reforms in the social, economic and political structure of the country, do hereby order and decree:

SECTION 1. To promote the policy enunciated in this Decree, there is hereby created under the Department of Trade a government entity to he known as "Design Center Philippines" hereinafter referred to as the "Center," with offices in the City of Manila.

SEC. 2. The Center shall have the following functions:

1. To create, develop, promote and enhance the product design of all Philippine-manufactured products, including cottage, small-scale and medium-size industries products;
2. To develop, promote and enhance product adaptability of all Philippine-manufactured products, particularly cottage, small-scale and medium-size industries products;
3. To develop and maintain a creative research and development program on product design and product adaptability of Philippine-manufactured products, including cottage, small-scale and medium-size industries products;
4. To develop and promote the minor and applied arts, the traditional and contemporary crafts, the appreciation for beauty and skill and the training of artisans and craftsmen to bring about cooperative efforts among artists, craftsmen and producers in cottage, small-scale and medium size industries;
5. To coordinate all functions related to product design and product adaptability that are undertaken by all other agencies both Government and private;
6. To specify, approve or otherwise regulate the product design of all Philippine-manufactured products, particularly cottage, small-scale and medium-size industries products, intended for export; and
7. To promulgate such rules and regulations as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this Decree.

SEC. 3. The powers and functions of the Center shall be vested in a Board which shall be composed of nine members, as follows: the Secretary of Trade, as Chairman; the Chairman of the Board of Investments, as Vice-Chairman; the Secretary of Tourism, the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs, the Administrator of the National Cottage Industries Development Authority, the Director-General of the National Manpower and Youth Council, the Executive Director of the Center, as ex officio members thereof; and two members from the private sector who shall be citizens of the Philippines, of good moral character and of recognized competence in any of the fields of economics, trade, or the arts, to be appointed by the President of the Philippines, upon recommendation of the Chairman of the Board.

The presence of five members shall constitute a quorum and all decisions of the Board shall require the concurrence of the majority of such quorum. The representatives of the private sector shall receive a per diem of fifty pesos for every meeting attended, but the total thereof shall not exceed one thousand pesos a month. The ex officio members shall receive commutable representation and travelling allowances not to exceed one thousand pesos a month.

SEC. 4. The Center shall have an Executive Director, who shall be appointed by the President. He shall execute, administer and implement the policies, plans and measures approved by the Board and perform such functions as may be necessary to carry out specific responsibilities in connection with said plans and measures.

A quarterly report of the accomplishments of the Center shall be submitted by the Executive Director to the Board. The Board shall submit an annual report to the President of the Philippines on the fiscal year basis, not later than one month after the end of each fiscal year.

SEC. 5. To carry out the provision of this Decree, the Center shall be initially funded, for the Fiscal Year ending June 30, 1974, with the sum of one million two hundred fifty thousand pesos, contributed as follows: the sum of five hundred thousand pesos from the unprogrammed appropriation of the Department of Trade; lour hundred thousand pesos from the unprogrammed appropriation of the National Cottage Industries Development Authority (NACIDA); two hundred fifty thousand pesos from the unprogrammed appropriation of the National Manpower and Youth Council; one hundred thousand pesos from the unprogrammed appropriation of the Department of Tourism; and such sums as may be thereafter appropriated out of the funds of the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated.

SEC. 6. The Center shall be staffed by administrative personnel to be appointed by the Executive Director subject to the approval of the Board and in accordance with the Civil Service Law, and the Rules and Regulations of the Wage and Position Classification Office. The services of technical personnel, including consultants, shall be contracted for by the Executive Director subject to the approval of the Board, on the basis of competence, integrity and honesty.

The Center may call upon any official, agent, employee, agency or instrumentality of the Government for staff or any other assistance that may be deemed necessary to carry out the purposes of this Decree and said agency or instrumentality of the Government shall, with the approval of the Office of the President, assign the official, agent or employee to the Center or provide the assistance requested by it.

SEC. 7. Any person violating any provision of this Decree or of the rules and regulations promulgated hereunder shall, upon conviction by a court of competent jurisdiction, suffer the penalty of imprisonment of not less than six months nor more than five years or a fine of not less than two thousand pesos nor more than twenty thousand pesos, or both, at the dicretion of the court: Provided, Thai if the offender is a corporation, firm, partnership or association, the penalty shall be imposed upon the guilty officer or officers, as the case may be of the corporation, firm, or association and if such guilty officer or officers are aliens, in addition to the penalties herein prescribed, he or they shall be deported without further proceedings on the part of the Commission on Immigration and Deportation.

SEC. 8. This Decree shall take effect immediately after publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation in the country.

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

			(Sgd.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS President Republic of the Philippines
	By the President:
	(Sgd.) ROBERTO V. REYES
		Assistant Executive Secretary