WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 236 dated 19 September 2004 established the Honors Code of the Philippines;

WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 236 affirmed the Order of National Arts, the Order of National Scientists and the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan;

WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 540 dated 13 June 2006 established within the Order of Lakandula the rank of Champion for Life ( Kampeon Habang Buhay)

WHEREAS, there is a further need to establish a separate œspecial class  within the Order of Lakandula distinct from its existing ranks, for a specific Honor for Champions of sports, academics and similar fields of competition and achievement that foster extraordinary national pride and inspiration towards excellence, and place such an Honor as being equivalent in the order of precedence to the orders of cultural and scientific merit;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order;

SECTION 1. There is hereby established a special class of the Champion for Life ( Kampeon Habang Buhay ) within the Order of Lakandula, distinct from its existing ranks, to be conferred, upon Filipino individuals, groups or organizations, who have attained, as determined by the President, extraordinary achievement in sports, academics and other fields of competition that foster national pride and inspiration toward excellence, and bring honor and prestige to the country.

SECTION 2. The special class of Champion for Life ( Kampeon Habang Buhay ) in the Order of Lakandula, shall be equivalent to the Order of National Artists, the Order of National Scientists, the Gawad sa Manlilikha ng Bayan and other orders of cultural and scientific merit.

SECTION 3. The first recipients of the special class of the Champion for Life ( Kampeon Habang Buhay ) in the Order of Lakandula, shall be Manny Pacquiao, Precious Lara Quigaman, the Filipino Gold Medalists in the Southeast Asian Games, and the Filipinos who reached the peak of Mount Everest in the year 2006.

SECTION 4. The six original ranks in the Order of Lakandula is hereby restored.

SECTION 5. Executive Order No. 236, dated 19 June 2003 and Executive Order No. 540, dated June 13, 2006 are hereby amended accordingly. All other Presidential directives, issuances, orders, rules and regulations on parts thereof insofar as they are inconsistent with the Executive Order are likewise hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SECTION 6. This Executive Order shall take effect immediately.

Manila, 25 July 2006

(SGD.) GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO

BY THE PRESIDENT:

(SGD.) EDUARDO R. ERMITA
Executive Secretary