WHEREAS, the Constitution of the Philippines directs the State to establish and maintain a complete, adequate, and integrated system of education relevant to the goals of na tional development and further prescribes that all educa tional institutions shall aim to develop scientific, techno logical and vocational efficiency;

WHEREAS, under Presidential Decree No. 6-A also known as the Educational Development Decree of 1972 promulgated on September 29, 1972, it had been declared a policy of the government to re-orient the educational system to ward an accelerated national economic growth and meaningful social development;

WHEREAS, Basa Air Base Community College originally established with the approval of the Secretary of Education and Culture to cater to the educational needs of the military personnel of Basa Air Base, their dependents, and civilians residing in the surrounding communities has successfully brought into this rural area, college education at a minimal cost;

WHEREAS, the Department of Education and Culture authorizes community colleges to offer two-year courses only and the authority of Basa Air Base Community College as a full-fledged college was granted merely as an exception to this policy of the National Board of Education for lack of a clear-cut legal basis;

WHEREAS, civic action is one important activity adopted by the AFP to help the government achieve national economic growth and the goals of the New Society, and the pro motion of education especially along aircraft technology through a system similar to that of Basa Air Base College is a civic action of the highest form without expenses on the part of the AFP other than the loan of available buildings and facilities for instructional purposes;

WHEREAS, the conversion of the Basa Air Base Community College into a Philippine Air Force College of Aeronautics providing for its own charter, broadening for this purpose its curricular offerings would serve to better achieve the foregoing;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution do hereby order and decree to be part of the law of the land the following:

SECTION 1. The present Basa Air Base Community College located at the two PAF bases of Nichols and Basa, a self-supporting and non-profit institution, is hereby converted into the Philippine Air Force College of Aeronautics. The Philippine Air Force College of Aeronautics shall hereafter be referred to in this Decree as the College.

SEC. 2. The College shall primarily provide professional and advanced vocational and technical instruction and training in the field of aeronautics, electronics, and supply management. It shall also promote research and advanced studies, and progressive leadership in its field of specialization.

SEC. 3. In addition to its present secondary and collegiate curricular offering the college shall, whenever the Board of Trustees has determined that the financial and instructional facilities of the college permit, offer post graduate courses in the field of specialization above mentioned, subject to existing laws and DEC rules and regulations.

SEC. 4. The college shall be opened to the public and no student shall be denied admission to the college by reason of sex, ethnic consideration or religious belief or affiliation. However, whenever space in classrooms and training facilities of the college limit the number of students to be admitted, priority shall be given to residents of the PAF community responsible for the initial support and establishment of the college.

SEC. 5. The college shall have a Board of Trustees which shall be the governing body of the college. The Board shall consist of the Secretary of Education and Culture as chairman, CG, PAF as vice-chairman, Director of the Bureau of Public Education, a representative of the CAA, and the incumbent Director, Basa Air Base Community College who shall be replaced by the college President upon the latter's appointment, as members.

SEC. 6. The college shall be headed by a President to be appointed by the President of the Philippines upon recommendation of the Board of Trustees. His salary, or honorarium shall be fixed by the Board of Trustees subject to existing laws, and which shall, whenever applicable, be comparable to that being received by Presidents of similar educational institution of like enrollment and standing.

SEC. 7. The powers and duties of the President of the college in addition to those specifically provided for in this Decree shall be those usually pertaining to the Office of the President of a University.

SEC. 8. Until such time as a President is appointed and in order not to interrupt existing projects and the smooth functioning of the college, the Director of Basa Air Base Community College shall act as Officer-in-Charge of the College. The faculty as well as the other personnel thereof as are presently employed on full-time basis, shall likewise be absorbed by the said college. Salaries of the personnel shall be adjusted in the discretion of the Board of Trustees, subject to existing laws and regulations, and all properties and assets, as well as all its liabilities shall be absorbed by the new college. The present compound and buildings now

used by the main school at Basa Air Base and the Annex at Nichols Air Base shall likewise continue to be used by the college on loan basis from the Philippine Air Force.

SEC. 9. A quorum of the Board of Trustees shall consist of a majority of all the members holding office at the time a meeting is called. All processes against the Board of Trustees shall be served on the President or Secretary thereof.

SEC. 10. The members of the Board of Trustees shall be entitled to an allowance comparable to that of other educational institutions of like enrollment and standing to be paid out of the school budget.

SEC. 11. The Board of Trustees shall have the following powers and duties in addition to its general powers of administration, and the exercise of all the powers of a corporation as provided in Section Thirteen of Act Numbered Fourteen Hundred Fifty-Nine as amended otherwise known as the Corporation Law:

1. To appropriate for the purposes specified by laws such sums as may be provided for the support for the College;
2. To confer degrees upon successful candidates for graduation of the College. It may also confer honorary degrees upon persons in recognition of learning, statemanship or eminence in any of the fields of specialization of the college, or in recognition of public service: Provided, that such degrees shall not be conferred in consideration of or to reciprocate some personal favors; Provided, further, that such honorary degrees shall not be conferred without prior approval of the Secretary of Education and Culture;
3. To authorize the President of the College to award proficiency certificates or diploma to students who have completed non-degree courses;
4. To appoint on recommendation of the President of the College, a vice-president, deans, directors, secretaries of the College, registrar, heads of departments, professors, instructors, lecturers, and other officials and employees of the College; to fix their compensation, hours of service, and such other duties and conditions as it may deem proper; and to grant them in its discretion, leave of absence, under such regulations as it may promulgate, to remove them for cause after an investigation and hearing; to establish chairs in the College, and to provide for the maintenance or endorsement of such chairs as may be necessary;
5. To approve the curricula and rules of discipline drawn by the College Council as hereinafter provided;
6. To fix tuition fees, matriculation fees, graduation fees, and such special fees as will constitute a special trust fund for the College;
7. To provide fellowship for qualified faculty members and scholarships to deserving students;
8. To prescribe for the College such rules and regulations, not contrary to law, as may be necessary to carry out the purpose and function of the College;
9. To receive in trust legacies, gifts and donations of real and personal property of all kinds, to administer the same for the benefit of the College, or any department thereof, or aid to any student in accordance with the directions and instructions of the donor, and in difficult thereof , in such manner as the Board of Trustees may in its discretion determine. All such donations shall be exempt from all taxes and deductible items from the income tax of the donors; and
10. To "authorize the College to undertake construction and/or repair of its buildings, machinery and equipment and other facilities, subject to existing laws, orders and decrees.

SEC. 12. On or before the fifteenth day of the second month after the opening of regular classes each year, the Board of Trustees shall file with the Office of the Secretary of Education and Culture a detailed report, setting forth the progress conditions and needs of the College.

SEC. 13. There shall be a College Council consisting of the President of the College and all members of the faculty with the rank of professors. The Council shall have the power to prescribe the curricula and rules of discipline subject to the approval of the Board of Trustees. It shall fix the requirements for admission to the College, as well as for graduations and the conferring of degrees subject to review by the Board of Trustees. The Council shall have the power to recommend students or others to be recipients of degrees. Through the President of the College or its duly authorized committee, the Council shall have disciplinary power over the students within the limits prescribed by the rules of discipline.

SEC. 14. The body of instructors and professors of the College shall constitute the faculty of the College.

SEC. 15. No member of the faculty of the College shall attempt directly or indirectly, under penalty of dismissal by the Board of Trustees, to influence students or any person in the College towards any ideology, political or otherwise, which preaches the over-throw of the govern ment through violence or subversion.

SEC. 16. 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. 17. 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 when, in the of the head of the bureau or office, such sup apparatus can be spared without detriment to the public service. The Commanding Gen eral, Philippine Air Force and the Director, Civil Aeronautics Administration may allow employees to serve with the College, subject to existing laws, rules and regulations.

SEC. 18. The College shall be self-supporting, non­ profit and shall aspire to give low-cost education and training without sacrificing such standard as comparable to other technical institutions. The income derived from fees of students shall be used to defray the cost of its operations and any balance thereof shall be used to improve its facilities in order to broaden its curricular offerings.

SEC. 19. This Decree shall take effect upon its approval.

Done in the City of Manila, this 26th day of January, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Seventy-seven.

 

			(Sgd.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS President of the Philippines
	By the President:
	(Sgd.) JACOBO C. CLAVE
		Presidential Executive Assistant