WHEREAS, the Constitution of the Philippines prescribes that all educational institutions shall aim to develop scientific technological and vocational efficiency;

WHEREAS, Presidential Decree No. 6-A (Educational Decree of 1972) declared it a policy that educational objectives shall be attained through the undertaking of educational development projects by expansion of agricultural and higher education programs and agricultural extension activities to meet the demands and needs of the New Society;

WHEREAS, it is imperative that agricultural institutions, particularly agricultural schools, cooperate to the maximum in the massive land reform programs of the government to uplift the tenant-farmer from lethargy and ignorance and to release him from the bondage of tenancy;

WHEREAS, the Tarlac College of Agriculture can carry out with greater strength its goals, agricultural programs and its vital role in national economic development effectively and efficiently if granted complete autonomy.

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

SECTION 1. The Tarlac College of Agriculture of the Tarlac College of Technology, located in the Municipality of Camiling, Province of Tarlac, is hereby separated from the latter college and established as an independent state college. The Tarlac College of Agriculture shall offer a four-year secondary agricultural course and special course leading to the title of Associate in Technical Agriculture; Courses leading to the degrees of Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Education, Bachelor of Science in Home Technology, and Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Engineering, post graduate course leading to the degrees of Master of Science in Agriculture, and other degree courses and special courses as the Board of Trustees of the college may deem necessary.

SEC. 2. The aim of the said college shall be to provide professional, technical and special instruction for special purposes and to promote research extension services and progressive leadership in agriculture, agricultural education, home technology and other related educational fields.

SEC. 3. The head of this institution shall be known as the President of the Tarlac College of Agriculture. He shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines upon the recommendation of the board of trustees as hereinafter provided. The powers and duties of the president of the college, in addition to those especially provided for in this Decree, shall be those usually pertaining to the office of the president of the state colleges.

SEC. 4. The government of said college is hereby vested in a board of trustees of the Tarlac College of Agriculture, The board of trustees shall be composed of the Secretary of Education, who shall be ex-officio chairman of the board, the Provincial Governor of Tarlac, the Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Secretary of Agrarian Reform, the Secretary of Labor, the Director of Vocational Education, the president of the college and the president of the Tarlac College of Agriculture Alumni Association.

Members of the board shall serve without compensation, other than actual and necessary expenses incurred either in attendance upon meetings of the board or upon other official business authorized by resolution of the board.

SEC. 5. The board of trustees shall have the following powers of administration:

1. To create, in addition to the existing College of Agriculture, a College of Forestry, College of Veterinary Science, College of Inland Fisheries and other allied colleges as the Board may deem necessary;
2. To receive and appropriate to the ends specified by law sums of money as may be provided by law for the support of the college;
3. To confer the title of Associate of Agricultural Education, the degrees of Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, Bachelor of Science in Home Technology, and such other titles and degrees, corresponding to the courses which the board of trustees may offer: Provided, That it may confer the usual honorary degrees upon any person in recognition of learning, statesmanship, leadership or eminence in literature, science, art, agriculture or public service;
4. To appoint, upon the recommendation of the president of the college, instructors, professors, lecturers and other employees of the college: Such recommending power of the President shall, however, be subjected to limitations as may be provided by a Code for the College; to fix their compensation, hours or service and such other duties and conditions as may be deemed proper; to grant to them in its discretion, leaves of absence under such regulations as it may promulgate, any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, and to remove them for cause after an investigation and hearing shall have been conducted;
5. To approve the curricula and rules of discipline drawn up by the college council as hereinafter provided;
6. To fix the tuition fees, graduation fees and fees for laboratory courses and all special fees, and to remit the same in special cases;
7. To provide fellowships for faculty members and scholarships to students showing special evidence of merit;
8. To provide rules for its own government, and to enact, for the government of the college, such general ordinances and regulations not contrary to law, as are consistent with the purposes of the college; as defined in Section two of this Act; and
9. To receive in trust, legacies, gifts, donations of real and personal property of all kinds and to administer the same for the benefit of the college or for aid to any student, in accordance with the directions and instructions of the donor, and in default thereof, in such manner as the board of trustees may, in its discretion, determine.

SEC. 6. A quorum of the board of trustees shall consist of a majority of all the members.

SEC. 7. On or before the fifteenth of June of each year, the board of trustees shall file with the President of the Philippines a detailed report, setting forth the progress, condition and needs of the college.

SEC. 8. There shall be a college council consisting of the president of the college, as presiding Officer and of all instructors and professors of the college, as members. The council shall have the power to prescribe the curricula and rules of discipline of the college, subject to the approval of the board of trustees. It shall fix the requirements for admission to the college, as well as for graduation and the award of a title or a degree. The council shall also have the power to recommend students or other persons to be awarded titles or degrees. Through the president, it shall have disciplinary power over the students within the limits prescribed by the rules and discipline approved by the board of trustees.

Other powers of the council shall be embodied in the Code for the College to be hereinafter enacted.

SEC. 9. The body of the instructors and professors of the college shall constitute the faculty of the college. In the appointment of professors or instructors of the college, no religious test shall be applied nor shall religious opinions or affiliations of any of the faculty members be made a matter of examination or inquiry: Provided, however, That no instructor or professor in the college shall inculcate sectarian tenets in any of his teachings, nor shall he attempt either directly or indirectly, under penalty of dismissal, to influence students for or against any particular church or religious sect.

SEC. 10. No civil service eligibility shall be required for appointment to the college as a professor or regular instructor.

SEC. 11. There shall be a secretary of the college, appointed by the board of trustees, who shall also act as the secretary of the board, and shall keep such records of the college as may be designated by the board.

SEC. 12. The Treasurer of the Philippines shall be ex-officio treasurer of the college. All accounts and expenses therefore shall be audited by the Commission on Audit and all disbursements shall be made in accordance with existing auditing rules and regulations.

SEC. 13. Heads of bureaus or offices of the National Government are hereby authorized to loan or transfer, upon request of the president of the college, such apparatus or supplies as may be needed by the college and to detail employees for duty therein, when, in the judgment of the head of the bureau or office, such supplies or employees can be spared without serious detriment to the public service. Employees so detailed shall perform such duties as may be required of them by the head of the institution, and the time they spent under detail shall be counted as part of their regular official service.

SEC. 14. The president of the college, with the approval of the Director of Public Schools, may use one or more public schools as training or laboratory schools of the college.

SEC. 15. An Officer-in-Charge to be appointed by the President of the Philippines shall take the place and/or take over the functions and powers of the president in the Tarlac College of Agriculture until the need for the latter arises.

SEC. 16. In order not to interrupt the smooth functioning of the Tarlac College of Agriculture, the faculty as well as the other personnel thereof as are presently employed on full-time basis, shall be absorbed by the said college. Salaries of the personnel shall be adjusted in the discretion of the Board of Trustees, and all properties and assets, such as lands, buildings, equipment and facilities; also the land grant in Mayantoc, Tarlac, if and when it is released by the Bureau of Forest Development, as well as all its liabilities, shall be absorbed by the new college.

SEC. 17. For the purpose of giving effect to this decree, each college shall maintain its budget share up to the end of the current fiscal year. In addition to this, one-half of all unexpended balance of the appropriation for the Tarlac College of Technology during the current fiscal year are hereby made available and shall be remitted to the Tarlac College of Agriculture. Thereafter, such sums as may be necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this Decree shall be included in the Annual General Appropriations Decree.

SEC. 18. Provisions consistent with this Decree and which shall complement, strengthen and make effective the provisions thereof, shall be embodied in a Code of the College to be hereinafter enacted.

SEC. 19. Such provisions of Republic Act Numbered Forty-three hundred thirty-seven as are inconsistent with the provisions of this Decree are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 20. This Decree shall take effect upon its approval.

Done in the City of Manila, this 18th day of December, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-four.