WHEREAS , the dawning of the new century calls both for a celebration as well as a reflection of the need to craft strategic goals to meet the growing needs of the population;

WHEREAS , even as the new century unfolds, most of the country still remains backward insofar as agricultural production methods and practices are concerned thus substantially affecting the country ™s ability to produce enough food for its people, let alone provide livelihood for people in the countryside;

WHEREAS , with the advent of the millennium and the dawning of 21 st century, there is expected to be a quantum surge of advances in the field of science and technology;

WHEREAS , these advances are expected to have substantial effects on all aspects of human life, whether in commerce, information, health or the production of basic goods and utilities;

WHEREAS , in the light of these expected advances, there is a need to craft policies and programs to ensure that the fruits of science and technology shall be fully developed and applied to all programs of this administration;

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

SECTION 1. Presidential Commission on the New Century and the Millennium. A Presidential Commission on the New Century and the Millennium (hereinafter referred to as the œCommission ) is hereby established under the Office of the President to be composed as follows:

a.	Secretary of Agriculture	Chairman
b.	Secretary of Science and Technology	Co-Chairperson
c.	Secretary of Budget and ManagemenGovernment t	Member
d.	Secretary of Trade and Industry	Member
e.	Secretary of Interior and Local	Member
f.	Secretary of Tourism	Member
g.	Press Secretary	Member
h.	Director General of the National Economic Development Authority	Member
	Presidential Adviser on Political Affairs - representing the Office of the President	Member
	Chairman of the Social Security System -	Member
k.	President and CEO, Land Bank of the Philippines	Member
	Chairman, National Youth Commission	Member
m.	Two (2) representatives from the Private sector to be designated by the	Member
	President
n.	Director General of the Commission	Ex-Officio Member

SEC. 2. Functions of the Commission. The Commission shall be an advisory body to the President and shall exercise the following functions and responsibilities:

a. Develop and recommend to the President the country ™s strategic vision and goals in the next century on how the country should prepare and adopt expected advances in science and technology for agriculture and other priority areas;

b. Prepare and recommend to the President the Master Plan on the Millennium and the New Century, with emphasis on science and technology to advance the country ™s agriculture sector;

c. Identify, coordinate and operationalize all related activities necessary to implement the country ™s celebration of the millennium and the above-mentioned master plan; and

d. Accept or receive donations and other conveyances by gratuitous title of funds, materials and services for the use in the planning, operationalization and management of the country ™s celebration of the millennium and the above-mentioned master plan, subject to the usual accounting and auditing rules and regulations;

e. Undertake all other measures necessary for the successful implementation of the said master plan.

SEC. 3. Committee on the Turn - of - the - Century Celebration. n order to ensure the success of the country ™s celebration of the turn-of-the-century from September to December 31, 1999, and coordinate the participation of the entire citizenry nationwide, a committee on the turn-of-the-century celebration is hereby established under the supervision of the Commission, to be composed as follows:

a.	Secretary of Tourism	Chairperson
b.	Secretary of Trade and Industry	Member
	Secretary of Interior and Local Government	Member
d.	Secretary of Budget and Management	Member
e.	Press Secretary	Member
f.	One (1) representative from the Private Sector designated by the President as	Member
	Member of the Commission, and chosen By the Commission
g.	Director General of the Commission	Member

The Committee is hereby directed to submit its program and plans of action for the turn-of-the-century celebration, as approved by the Commission within thirty (30) days from the effectivity of this order.

SEC. 4. Report to the President . Relative to the performance of its mandated functions, the Commission shall submit its report to the President within sixty (60) days from the effectivity of this order.

SEC. 5. Cessation of the Commission. The Commission shall cease to exist on 31 December 2000.

SEC. 6. Director General. The President shall designate a Director General for the Commission. The Director General shall act as the Chief Operations Officer of the Commission, perform and manage all aspects of the Commission ™s operations and other functions and duties as may be assigned to him by the Commission.

SEC. 7. Secretariat. A Secretariat for the Commission shall be organized under the direct supervision of the Director General.

The Secretariat shall have such number of personnel as may be necessary for the efficient and effective performance of its functions. All agencies of the government represented in the commission shall assign or detail an employee each to form the Secretariat. The Commission shall provide the Director General and the members of the commission with such honoraria or allowances as may be allowed by law and at rates consistent with those prescribed pursuant to existing laws, rules and regulations.

SEC. 8. Funding. An amount of Fifteen Million Pesos (P15,000,000.00) to be sourced from the President ™s Contingent Fund to fund the maintenance and other operating expenses, and other related activities of the Commission. For activities related to the turn of the century nationwide, the Commission shall submit to the President within sixty (60) days from the effectivity of this order its recommendations on possible sources of funds and on how to tap the private sector as well.

SEC. 9. Repealing Clause. All orders, issuances or part thereof which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Executive Order are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 10. Effectivity. This Executive Order shall take effect immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 23rd day of July 1999 in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Ninety Nine.

(SGD.) JOSEPH EJERCITO ESTRADA
President of the Philippines

By the President:

(SGD.) RONALDO B. ZAMORA
Executive Secretary