WHEREAS, the Philippines is committed to the policy of strengthening and promoting ASEAN as a strong and viable regional organization that shall bring about the transformation of the region into an area of peace, stability, and progress;

WHEREAS, there is a need to evolve smoother and greater coordination in the formulation and implementation of Philippine policy towards ASEAN;

WHEREAS, this need has become more imperative in view of the fact that the Philippines will host the Meeting of ASEAN Heads of Government or the ASEAN Summit in December 1987; and

WHEREAS, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs assumes primacy in the conduct of foreign relations and should, therefore, be the focal point for the formulation, coordination and integration of Philippine proposals and positions, particularly insofar as political decisions are concerned on matters relating to ASEAN and specifically to the ASEAN Summit.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, CORAZON C. AQUINO, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order:

SECTION 1. The Minister of Foreign Affairs shall be the Chairman of a Cabinet-level Philippine Council on ASEAN Cooperation. The Council shall have two Technical Boards, namely: the PCAC Technical Board for ASEAN Economic Cooperation and the PCAC Technical Board for ASEAN Functional Cooperation. The Committee and its two Technical boards shall be constituted in accordance with the appended organizational chart. The present CAEC Technical Board shall retain its functions as the newly-constituted PCAC Technical Board for ASEAN Economic Cooperation with the NEDA Deputy Director General as Chairman and the Assistant Minister for ASEAN Affairs as Vice Chairman. The existing Sub-Committee of CAEC shall retain their functions, except the sub-committee on Science and Technology which shall be absorbed by the PCAC Technical Board on ASEAN Functional Cooperation.

SECTION 2. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall be the Chairman of the PCAC Technical Board for ASEAN Functional Cooperation and shall determined its composition in accordance with the functional committees or activities of ASEAN.

SECTION 3. Letter of Instructions No. 470, dated 04 October 1986, directing the organization of a Cabinet-level Committee on Economic Matters pertaining to ASEAN, is hereby superseded by this Administrative Order and the Committee on ASEAN Economic Cooperation, which was organized as a result of LOI No. 470, is hereby replaced by the Philippine Council on ASEAN Cooperation (PCAC).

SECTION 4. The Chairman of the Council shall establish a system of honoraria or allowances for the meetings of the Council in accordance with existing accounting and auditing regulations.

SECTION 5. The Office of the Budget and Management is hereby directed to appropriate and release the initial amount of ONE MILLION PESOS (P1,000,000.00) for the financial and operational requirements of the Council until December 1987 and to subsequently appropriate and release such amount as deemed necessary for the annual operation of the Council, chargeable to the funds of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and subject to accounting and auditing requirements.

SECTION 6. This Administrative Order shall take effect immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 24th day of November, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and eighty-six.


By the President:
(Sgd.) FULGENCIO S. FACTORAN, JR.
Deputy Executive Secretary