WHEREAS, Sub-section 1, Section 9, Article XV of the Constitution provides that the advancement of science and technology shall have priority in the national development and that all educational institutions shall develop scientific, technological and vocational efficiency;

WHEREAS, the Eulogio Rodriguez Vocational School which was converted into Eulogio "Amang" Rodriguez Memorial School of Arts and Trades under Republic Act No. 5088 and later on renamed Eulogio "Amang" Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology under Republic Act No. 6595, has grown into a much bigger institution serving an ever increasing student population, particularly of the City of Manila;

WHEREAS, there is a need to extend greater opportunity to thousands of poor but bright students graduating from the 28 public secondary schools of the City of Manila seeking admission in courses designed to develop manpower skills required by industry;

WHEREAS, with the continuing expansion of its curricular offerings and community extension services, and for purposes of relating more effectively its academic program to national development goals, the Institute needs the guidance of a policy-making body.

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

SECTION 1. Section two of Republic Act Numbered Four Thousand Seventy-Two is further amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 2. The Eulogio "Amang" Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology shall be headed by a President whose salary shall not be less than the salary paid the president of comparable institutions. The present head of the school shall continue as president of the Institute until after the President of the Philippines, upon the recommendation of the Board of Trustees provided for in Section 7-B hereof, shall have appointed a new president. The powers and duties of the President of the Institute, in addition to those specifically provided for in this decree, shall be those already pertaining to the Office of the President of the State Colleges and Universities."

SEC. 2. Section 6 of the same Act is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 6. The operational and maintenance of the science and arts department, vocational-technical teacher education department, the graduate education department, including the day and evening vocational school departments, but excluding the Science High School Department, technical education department and technology department shall be financed by the Government of the City of Manila.

"In addition to funds obtained from other sources, at least fifteen percent of the funds raised for the City of Manila under Republic Act Numbered Five Thousand Four Hundred and Forty-Seven as amended shall be appropriated for the said departments of the Institute.

"The present teachers and other personnel of the Institute shall continue to serve in the same capacity.

"SEC. 6-A. The City Government of Manila is authorized to establish a vocational-technical school in each of its congressional districts or in other areas in Metro Manila as branches of the Institute, or may convert any of its existing secondary schools into a vocational-technical school upon recommendation of the Board of Trustees in consultation with the City Government of Manila and approval by the Secretary of Education. Each of these branches shall be headed by a vocational-technical superintendent whose salary shall be equal to that of the Superintendent of City Schools of Manila. The operation and maintenance of these vocational-technical school branches shall be financed jointly by the City Government and National Government."

SEC. 3. There are hereby further inserted between Sections seven and eight of the same Act five new sections to be known as Section Seven-B, Section Seven-C, Section Seven-D, Section Seven-E and Section Seven-F to read as follows:

"SEC. 7-B. The Government of the said Institute is vested in a Board of Trustees to be composed of the Secretary of Education and Culture, who shall be ex-officio chairman of the Board; the Chairman of the National Science Development Board; the Director-General of the National Economic & Development Authority; the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industries in the Philippines, or their duly authorized representatives, and the President of the Eulogio "Amang" Rodriguez Institute of Science and Technology.

"The members of the Board of Trustees shall serve without compensation other than an allowance of three hundred pesos per meeting actually attended but not more than six hundred pesos a month; Provided that they shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred on other official business authorized by resolution of the Board.

"There shall be a Secretary of the Institute who shall also serve as the Secretary of the Board to be appointed by the Board of Trustees upon the recommendation of the President of the Institute.

"SEC. 7-C. Subject to existing laws, the Board of Trustees shall have the following powers and duties in addition to its general powers of administration:

"a) To appropriate such sums as may be provided by law for the support of the Institute;

"b) To authorize the President of the Institute to locate and acquire or cause to be located and acquired an additional school site for the establishment of the technical education department and other departments as well as the construction of needed buildings of the Institute in the City of Manila or Metro Manila;

"c) To authorize the President of the Institute to award proficiency certificates to students who have finished non-degree courses and diploma to graduates of the secondary curriculum;

"d) To approve the curriculum and rules of discipline drawn by the Institute Council;

"e) To fix, in as moderate amount as possible, the rates of tuition, matriculation, graduation, laboratory, and all other fees which shall constitute trust funds for the institute;

"f) To provide fellowship for faculty members and scholarships to students showing special evidence of merit;

"g) To prescribe rules for its own government, and to enact for the Institute such rules and regulations as are consistent with the purpose of the Institute as defined in Section Two of this Act;

"h) To appoint, on the recommendation of the President of the Institute, Deans, Professors, Instructors, Supervisors, Teachers, Lecturers, and other officials and employees of the Institute; To fix their compensation, hours of service, and such other duties and conditions as it day deem proper: To grant to those in its discretion, leaves of absence under such regulations as it may promulgate, any other provisions of law to the contrary notwithstanding, and to remove them for cause after an investigation and hearing shall have been had; and

"i) To receive in trust, legacies, gifts, land grants and donations of real and personal property of all kinds tax-free and to administer the same for the benefit of the Institute or a department thereof, or for aid to any student or students, in accordance with the direction or instructions of the donor and in default thereof, in such a manner as the Board of Trustees may in its discretion determine.

"SEC. 7-D. The President of the Institute, with the cooperation of Superintendents of Schools, may use one or more of their Elementary, Secondary or Vocational Schools for Student-Teaching of the Institute. Likewise, advance students of special vocational and technical courses may be assigned as trainees in various offices or industrial centers as a requirement for graduation.

"SEC. 7-E. The body of instructors, supervisors, counselors, department heads, professors and deans of the Institute shall constitute the faculty of the Institute, with the President of the Institute as the Presiding Officer. In the appointment of professors, instructors and other personnel of the institute, no religious test shall be applied, nor shall the religious opinions or affiliations of the faculty of the Institute be made a matter of examination or inquiry: Provided, that no instructors or professors in the Institute shall inculcate sectarian tenets in any of the teaching, nor attempt either directly or indirectly, under penalty of dismissal by the Board of Trustees, to influence students or attendants at the Institute towards an ideology, political or otherwise, which preaches the overthrow of the duly constituted government.

"SEC. 7-F. There shall be a council of the Institute, consisting of the President of the Institute, and of all instructors, supervisors, counselors, department heads and professors, deans, and the Vice-President. Subject to existing laws, the council shall have the power to prescribe the courses of study and rules of discipline, subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees. Subject to the same limitations, it shall fix the requirements for admission to the Institute as well as for graduation and conferment of degrees. The council alone shall have the power to recommend students or others to be recipients of degrees or diplomas, through its President or committee. It shall have disciplinary powers over the students within the limits prescribed by the rules of discipline approved by the Board of Trustee."

SEC. 4. Section eight of the same Act is further amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 8. The sum of ten million pesos is hereby appropriated, for the operation and maintenance of the Science High School Department, the technical education department and technology department of the institute during the fiscal year nineteen hundred seventy-eight. Thereafter, such sums as may be necessary for operation and maintenance of the said departments shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Decree."

SEC. 5. The Secretary of Education shall take such steps as are necessary for the immediate implementation of this Decree.

SEC. 6. All laws, decrees, executive orders or parts thereof contrary to or inconsistent with this Decree are hereby repealed or amended accordingly.

SEC. 7. This Decree shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 11th day of June, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-eight.

			(Sgd.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS President of the Philippines
	By the President:
	(Sgd.) JUAN C. TUVERA
		Presidential Assistant