WHEREAS, there is need for total involvement of all sectors of society in the reform and development of Philippine culture and society;

WHEREAS, national development is a complex process requiring the concerted efforts of all sectors of society especially the expertise and competence of specialists in all fields of endeavor;

WHEREAS, one of the goals of the New Society is for the Philippines to take a more active role in international affairs and thereby derive benefits for the country therefrom; and

WHEREAS, there is need to mobilize all institutions of higher learning especially state institutions, as full partners of Government in order to (1) bring together specialists from various disciplines to conduct systematic research at fundamental levels; (2) assist the central Government in the formulation of policies and programs; (3) address themselves to the examination of issues of central concern to the Government, such as problems of national integration, social, technological and cultural change, social effects of national policy, international developments and their impact on our national life, as well as security and strategic problems; and (4) establish degree programs and participate in existing instructional programs in order to produce Filipino experts or specialists for the nation;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, Commander-in-Chief of all the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and pursuant to Proclamation No. 1081, dated September 21, 1972, as amended, in order to effect the needed mobilization of national institutions for the purpose of nation-building do hereby order and decree that the law creating the Asian Center, Republic Act No. 5334, be amended as follows:

1. There is hereby established a Philippine Center for Advanced Studies in the University of the Philippines which shall absorb the present Asian Center, its personnel, building and facilities.
2. The Philippine Center for Advanced Studies shall be composed of the following Institutes and Divisions, which are also hereby ordered established:
   
   
   1. Institute of Islamic Studies
   2. Institute of Philippine Studies
   3. Institute of Asian Studies
   4. Institute of Strategic Studies
   5. Division of Basic Research
   6. Division of Advanced Projects
   7. Division of Academic Instruction
      
      
3. The Philippine Center for Advanced Studies shall be an autonomous unit of the University of the Philippines system. The basic administrative framework of the Philippine Center for Advanced Studies (PCAS) shall follow the organizational and administrative scheme for all autonomous units of the University of the Philippines System with the following modifications:
   
   
   1. There shall be a Board of Trustees that formulates and reviews the objectives and policies as well as nominate the officers and staff of the PCAS.
      
      The Board shall have seven (7) members, namely, the Executive Secretary, the Secretary of National Defense, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, the Secretary of Education and Culture, the President of the University of the Philippines, the Chancellor and Vice Chancellor of the PCAS.

   2. The PCAS shall be headed by a Chancellor who shall be responsible for the leadership and overall management and functioning of the Center.
   3. The following shall constitute the administrative officers of the PCAS: the Chancellor, Vice Chancellor, Secretary, Directors of the three Institutes, and Chairmen of the three Divisions.

4. The Board of Trustees of the PCAS shall take necessary steps in formulating the functions and objectives of the Institutes and Divisions created by this Decree
   
   
5. To fulfill its purposes, the PCAS shall have the following functions:
   
   
   1. To adopt, alter, and use a corporate seal;
   2. To take and hold by bequest, devise, gift, purchase, or lease, either absolutely or in trust for any of its purposes, and property and to invest and reinvest any principal, and deal with and expand the income and principal of the said Center in such manner as will best promote its objectives;
   3. To collect, receive and maintain a fund or funds, by subscription or otherwise, and to apply the income and principal thereof to the promotion of its aims and purposes herein before set out; and
   4. To contract any obligation, or enter into any agreement necessary or incidental to the proper management of its corporate powers.

In general, to carry on any activity and to have and exercise all of the powers of government-owned or -controlled corporations; and to do any and all of the acts and things herein set forth to the same extent as juridical persons could do, and in any person, entity, partnership, association or corporation, domestic or foreign.

6. All funds currently appropriated to the present Asian Center shall be incorporated into the budget of the PCAS. In addition, the University of the Philippines is hereby directed to appropriate From the University budget one and one-half million pesos (P1,500,000) each fiscal year beginning June 1974, to finance the Center's recurring operational expenditures.
7. A PCAS endowment fund shall be created for the purpose of providing for nonrecurring expenditures of the Center. There is hereby appropriated the amount of P20M out of any unappropriated funds in the National Treasury and an additional P5M from the same source for the initial requirements of the Center.
   

   The endowment fund shall be administered as a trust with the Board of Trustees of the Center as Trustees thereof: Provided, That the principal of said endowment shall not be subject to impairment: And provided, furthermore, That only the earnings thereof shall be available for expenditure.
   

8. Expenditures and disbursements made by the PCAS in the conduct of its affairs shall not be subject to the procurement requirement and restrictions imposed by existing law upon government agencies, Instrumentalities and government-owned or-controlled corporations.
9. Any provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, appointments to the teaching, research and administrative staff of the PCAS may be on a part-time basis, and shall be exempt from the requirement and restrictions of the Civil Service Law, laws, rules and regulations on position classification and salary standardization and Section Two Hundred Fifty-nine of the Revised Administrative Code: Provided, That any government retiree employed in the PCAS shall not be required to reimburse or refund any gratuity received from the Government nor shall any pension or annuity to which he is entitled be suspended or reduced on account of his employment in the PCAS.
10. Any or all savings of the PCAS shall constitute a revolving fund and shall not be reverted to the General Fund.
11. The PCAS may, for the purpose of teaching, research, field work, and other activities, obtain the services of scholars and technical personnel of any agency of the Philippine Government including other units of the University of the Philippines to provide instruction, perform research or field work and other activities as may be needed. Such personnel may be given honorarium by the PCAS, any law to the contrary notwithstanding.
    

Done in the City of Manila, this 22nd day of November, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-three.