WHEREAS, as a result of the large scale epidemic of FMD among livestock pigs, cattle and carabaos with an incidence of 99% particularly in pigs, President Ramos issued Executive Order No. 251, œDeclaring the Island of Luzon as a Calamity Area as a Result of the Foot and Mouth Epidemic, Rationalizing Public Safety Measures for the Eradication of Foot and Mouth Disease in the Country and Appropriating Funds Therefore ;

WHEREAS, the epidemic has resulted in economic losses amounting to P2 billion;

WHEREAS, one of the recommended procedures to prevent and control the disease, is to vaccinate all the susceptible livestock against the disease;

WHEREAS, as a result of the outbreak the country has to import US$3.1 million worth of foreign made FMD vaccines since these cannot be produced in the country at present;

WHEREAS, as a result of the FMD epidemic and the sudden increased demand for the supply of the FMD vaccines, there was a shortage of the foreign made vaccines.

WHEREAS, because of the outbreak, some legislators of the Congress of the Philippines inquired why in spite of the billions of pesos being allocated to the Departments of Agriculture, and Science and Technology, the FMD vaccine is not being produced in the Philippines;

WHEREAS, there are two (2) proposals for the production of FMD vaccines in the Philippines: one, is the development and pilot production of the vaccine under the auspices of the Department of Science and Technology by Dr. Luciano Talens through the Balik Scientist Program; the second, is the Commercial Production of Monovalent FMD Vaccine in the Philippines by the College of Veterinary Medicine, UPLB, through Dean Mauro F. Manuel;

WHEREAS, there is an urgent need to fast track the local production of the FMD vaccine which should be of international quality and lower in price than the imported vaccines;

NOW, THEREFORE, WE, the respective heads of the Department of Agriculture, Department of Science and Technology and the University of the Philippines System, do hereby order the formation of a Technical Integrating and Coordinating Committee for the production of FMD vaccine in the Philippines, which will be composed of the representatives of the above mentioned agencies and a representative from a Non-Government Organization (NGO) as follows:

1. Department of Agriculture - Rubina Cresencio, DVM, Division Chief, Philippine Carabao Center

2. Department of Science and Technology - Teudolo M. Topacio, Jr., DVN, Academician, National Academy of Science and Technology; Member, Technical Panel on Biotechnology, Philippine Council for Advanced Science and Technology Research and Development (PCASTRD), DOST.

3. University of the Philippines, Los Ba os - Mildred Padilla, DVM, Assistant Professor, College of Veterinary Medicine

4. Non-Government Organization (NGO) - Frankel Viado, DVM, Representative from the private sector

The Technical Committee will perform the following functions:

1. Review the technical aspects of the two (2) proposals

2. Recommend activities that will integrate and coordinate the 2 proposals which will eventually achieve the objective of producing the vaccine in sufficient quantity and quality with competitive pricing, to meet the demand.

3. Recommend a proposed organizational structure to implement the project.

4. Give recommendations that will lead to the sustainability of the project through the commercialization of the vaccine.

5. Recommend other technical personnel who can give additional and relevant advice in the development and production of the vaccine.

6. Give other recommendations that will lead to the achievement of the objectives of the proposal.

The Committee will meet once a week or more often if necessary. The Committee will elect among themselves as to who will be the Chairman. The Chairman will be a non-voting member of the Committee.

The Committee will submit its recommendation within two (2) months after the approval of the Joint Special Orders and signed by the respective heads of the agencies concerned.

The Committee members who are qualified shall receive an honorarium of P500.00 per meeting but not to exceed P2,000.00 per month. The Chairman shall receive an honorarium of P1,000.00 per meeting but not to exceed P3,000.00 per month. The honoraria, if available, shall be chargeable against the funds appropriated for such activities from the respective agencies subject to government existing accounting and auditing rules. The honorarium or consultant fee of Dr. Frankel Viado will be charged from the National Agribusiness Corporation (NABCOR).

Adopted: 13 June 1996

(SGD.) SALVADOR H. ESCUDERO III
Secretary, Department of Agriculture

(SGD.) WILLIAM G. PADOLINA
Secretary, Department of Science and Technology

(SGD.) EMIL Q. JAVIER
President, University of the Philippines System