WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 38 (s. 1947) as amended by Executive Order 451 (s. 1951) adopted a Coat of Arms, Seal and Flag of the President and Vice President of the Philippines;

WHEREAS, pursuant to Executive Order No. 19 (s. 1998) the Seal of the President of the Philippines shall be of the following design:

The shield shall consist of the eight-rayed Philippine sun ravonnant in golden yellow; on the center, an equilateral triangle in gules (red); overall, the traditional sea lion of the Coat of Arms granted to the City of Manila in 1596, on guard with sword, or at hilt and one mullet in golden yellow in the corner of each of the three angles of the equilateral triangle: one mullet representing Luzon; one, Visayas; and another, Mindanao.

The shield shall be surrounded by stars in the form of amulet with one point of each star outward on the imaginary radiating center lines, the number of stars conforming to the number of provinces of the Republic at any given time.

The whole shall be encircled with the words "Seal of the President of the Philippines" or "Sagisag ng Pangulo ng Pilipinas;" and,

WHEREAS, the Seal of the President of the Philippines is personal to the President of the Republic of the Philippines; and

WHEREAS, there has been widespread unauthorized commercial use of the Seal of the President of the Philippines by way of stickers, pins, keychains, calling cards, stationery and the like, leading to abuse.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH EJERCITO ESTRADA, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order:

SECTION 1. The Seal of the President shall be for the exclusive use of the President. Accordingly, any other person and/or organization are prohibited from using the Seal.

SECTION 2. The unauthorized use of the Seal of the President in various forms such as, among others, stickers, stamps, business cards, passes, car plates, clothing, tokens, souvenirs and stationeries, shall constitute illegal acts. Likewise prohibited are the unauthorized manufacture, sale and distribution of the Seal of the President in various forms such as those stated therein.

Any person or organization found guilty of violating this provision shall be subjected to the penalties as provided for under Article 179 of the Revised Penal Code.

SECTION 3. The forgery or fraudulent alteration of the Seal of the President shall likewise constitute an illegal act. Any person or organization found guilty of violating this provision shall be subjected to the penalties as provided for under Article 161 of the Revised Penal Code.

SECTION 4. The Presidential Security Group (as lead), Department of Justice, National Bureau of Investigation, Philippine National Police, Metro Manila Development Authority, and the Land Transportation Office, shall immediately enforce this Order and ensure its proper implementation, monitoring, apprehension and confiscation, investigation and filing of appropriate charges for violations thereof.

SECTION 5. Similarly, the use of pins with the Seal of the President and "ERAP" Plates is likewise prohibited.

SECTION 6. The Presidential Security Group shall submit to the Office of the President, through the Presidential Management Staff, a report on the implementation of this Order, within twenty (20) days from the date of effectivity of this Order.

This Executive Order shall take effect immediately.

Adopted: 12 Aug 1999

(SGD.) JOSEPH E. ESTRADA
President

BY THE PRESIDENT:

(SGD.) RONALDO B. ZAMORA
Executive Secretary