[ EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 295, July 25, 1987 ]

AMENDING EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 122-A ENTITLED, "CREATING THE OFFICE ON MUSLIM AFFAIRS"



WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 122-A created the Office on Muslim Affairs;

WHEREAS, there is need to integrate under one agency all functions related to the administration of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca;

WHEREAS, clear delineation of responsibilities for policy and plan formulation and program implementation is necessary to make them consistent with the decentralization thrust of the government;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, CORAZON C. AQUINO, President of the Philippines, do hereby order:

Section 1. Section 6 of Executive Order No. 122-A is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Section 6. Membership. The Office shall composed of an Executive Director and two (2) Deputy Executive Directors, all of whom shall be appointed by the President. The Executive Director shall have the rank of a Department Undersecretary while the Deputy Executive Directors shall have the rank of an Assistant Secretary."

Section 2. Section 10 of Executive Order No. 122-A is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Section 10. Services. The Services shall consist of the Administrative Service, Finance and Management Service, Planning Service and Legal Service each of which shall be headed by a Staff Director with the same compensation as that of an Assistant Staff Bureau Director."

Section 3. Section 15 of Executive Order No. 122-A is hereby amended to read as follows:

"Section 15. Bureaus. The Bureaus of the Office shall consist of the Bureau of Pilgrimage and Endowment, Bureau of Muslim Cooperatives Development, Bureau of Muslim Cultural Affairs, Bureau of Muslim Settlements and Bureau of External Relations. Each of these Bureaus shall be headed by a Director equivalent to a Staff Bureau Director."

Section 4. Sections 16, 17, 18 and 19 of Executive Order No. 122-A are hereby amended as follows:

"Section 16. Bureau of Pilgrimage and Endowment. The Bureau of Pilgrimage and Endowment. The Bureau of Pilgrimage and Endowment shall be primarily responsible for the administration of the annual Muslim Pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia; the formulation and implementation of programs, projects and activities for the efficient and effective administration and supervision of the conduct of pilgrimage activities, Awgaf (endowment) properties and institutions; and the conduct of researches and studies for the establishment and maintenance of hajj towns, Islamic centers and Awgaf projects.

The Bureau of Pilgrimage and Endowment shall be created out of the Philippine Pilgrimage Authority which is hereby abolished.

All balances of its appropriations, properties, and records shall be transferred to and be made available for use by the Office on Muslim Affairs, and its funding requirements are hereby deemed appropriated and shall be available for expenditure by the Office on Muslim Affairs.

The incumbents of positions of the defunct Philippine Pilgrimage Authority whose positions were not integrated into the new position structure and staffing pattern of the Office on Muslim Affairs and those who are not reappointed shall be deemed separated from the service. Those separated from the service shall receive the appropriate retirement benefits to which they may be entitled under existing laws, rules and regulations. Otherwise, they shall be paid the equivalent of one-month basic salary for every year of service, or the equivalent nearest fraction thereof, computed on the basis of the highest salary received as separation pay, but in no case shall such payment exceed the amount equivalent to twelve months salary."

"Section 17. Bureau of Muslim Cooperatives Development. The Bureau of Muslim Cooperatives Development shall be responsible for staff functions relative to the promotion and development of cooperative endeavors among Muslim Filipinos."

"Section 18. Bureau of Muslim Cultural Affairs. The Bureau of Muslim Settlements shall be responsible for staff functions relative to the promotion and development of Muslim settlement."

"Section 19. Bureau of Muslim Settlements. The Bureau of Muslim Settlements shall be responsible for staff functions relative to the promotion and development of Muslim Settlements."

Section 5. Separability. Any portion or provision of this Executive Order that may be declared unconstitutional shall not have the effect of nullifying other portions or provisions hereof as long as such remaining portions or provisions can still subsist and be given effect in their entirety.

Section 6. Repealing Clause. All laws, orders, issuances, rules and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with this Executive Order are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Section 7. Effectivity. This Executive Order shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila this 25th day of July, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and eighty-seven.

(Sgd.) CORAZON C. AQUINO

By the President:

(Sgd.) JOKER P. ARROYO
Executive Secretary