WHEREAS, the Department of Labor has been assigned expanded tasks and responsibilities under the Labor Code of the Philippines, resulting in the increased complexity of its technical and administrative functions;

WHEREAS, there is a need for these duties and responsibilities to be completely aligned with the entire context of our social and economic policy, which in turn requires the development of an innovative and resourceful corps of Department of Labor functionaries who will carry out those functions, as well as a continuing system of research and study in labor and manpower that will serve the ends of development;

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

SECTION 1. There is hereby created in the Department of Labor an Institute of Labor and Manpower Studies, hereinafter referred to as the Institute, which shall be headed by an Executive Director under the immediate supervision of the Secretary of Labor.

SEC. 2. The Executive Director shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines upon recommendation of the Secretary of Labor, and shall receive an annual salary of P36,000.00. He must have a master's degree in economics, public administration or any of the social sciences and must have experience in the labor or manpower fields for at least five (5) years.

SEC. 3. The Institute shall have the following powers and functions:

1. To serve as a staff training center for officials and employees of the Department of Labor;
2. To develop and publish manuals for the guidance of all officials of the Department of Labor in all levels of labor and manpower administration;
3. To prepare and conduct, singly or in cooperation with government and private training institutions, management development and professional upgrading courses for personnel of the Department of Labor and other government agencies, as well as members of workers' and employers' organizations;
4. To serve as national clearing house of information on labor and management policy;
5. To undertake researches and studies in all areas of labor and manpower administration and policy, including labor standards, labor relations, occupational health and safety, manpower development and placement and other subjects related thereto;
6. To undertake, or authorize the undertaking and funding, of operations for the purpose of gathering information in aid of the foregoing functions;
7. To enter into agreements with international or bilateral agencies for the carrying out of the foregoing functions; and
8. To expand the scope of its research interest into the countries of Southeast Asia, particularly the ASEAN Sub-region.

SEC. 4. The Institute shall receive policy guidance from the Secretary of Labor, aided by a Council of the Institute of Labor and Manpower Studies, composed of the Secretary of Labor, the Undersecretary of Labor, Assistant Secretaries and the directors of bureaus under the Department of Labor.

SEC. 5. The technical staff and other personnel of the Institute shall be appointed by the Secretary of Labor upon recommendation of the Executive Director; Provided, That civil service eligibility requirements and WAPCO position and salary schedules shall not apply to positions of the Institute declared to be highly technical by the President, upon recommendation of the Secretary of Labor.

SEC. 6. The unexpended special funds of the Department of Labor as of the effective date of this Decree, and all funds that will accrue to it thereafter from workmen's compensation, safety inspection, registration and other fees, including receipts from the operations of the Overseas Employment Development Board and the National Seamen Board, or such amounts thereof as may be necessary, are hereby authorized to be appropriated for purposes of the organization and operations of the Institute. Thereafter the necessary funds to carry out the functions of the Institute shall be provided in annual appropriations act.

SEC. 7. The Institute is authorized to receive donations from domestic and international organizations and other sources, provided that the same are in accordance with law and are not repugnant to the policies of the State.

SEC. 8. The Secretary of Labor shall issue rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this Decree.

SEC. 9. This Decree shall take effect upon approval.

Done in the City of Manila, this 21st day of December, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-four.