Pursuant to the authority vested in me by Commonwealth Act Numbered 683, I, SERGIO OSME A, President of the Philippines, hereby issue the following rules which shall govern the details of the organization and the functions of the Office of Foreign Relations:

Section 1. The duties and functions of the Office of Foreign Relations shall be:

(1)	To recommend to the President policies affecting the economic, political, and cultural relations of the Philippines with foreign countries; and to call on any official and agency of the government to assist in the drawing up of programs or measures necessary to carry out declared policies.
(2)	To have charge of the participation of the Philippines in international conferences and to direct the formation and sending, of missions abroad and the proper preparation for such conferences, in conjunction with the government departments concerned.
(3)	To explore possibilities of establishing economic, social, or cultural relations with the United States and foreign countries; to study ways and means of securing services or assistance from abroad which may be beneficial to the nation, and to recommend to the President measures for their realization.
(4)	To take charge of the establishment of trade or cultural offices in the United States and foreign countries and to supervise and direct the work of all officers therein, including those sent on special assignments and those sent for training in educational institutions.
(5)	To look after the rights and obligations of the Philippines as a member of the United Nations Organization and of other international bodies and to bring to the attention of the President the action or measure necessary for their enforcement or compliance.
(6)	To take charge of the treaties or agreements between the government of the Philippines and other governments.
(7)	To prescribe rules on admission of persons into the service and regulations on vacation and leave privileges of officers and employees of the Office, to direct the examinations of applicants for admission and promotion in the service, and to supervise the training of persons accepted for admission into the service.
(8)	To make the necessary arrangements for the proper reception of foreign diplomatic and consular officials and other important functionaries of foreign governments visiting the Philippines.

Section 2. The Office of Foreign Relations shall have a political division, an economic division, a cultural division, a legal division, a division of controls, and an administrative division, and such other officers and employees as may be needed by the requirements of the service.

Section 3. There shall be a policy committee composed of the Commissioner of Foreign Relations, as chairman, and the chiefs of divisions as members, which shall advice and assist the President in the consideration of major questions of policy and shall assist the Commissioner of Foreign Relations in coordinating the functions of the different divisions.

Section 4. The Commissioner of Foreign Relations shall assign to the different divisions of the Office of Foreign Relations the specific duties and functions which shall be performed by each of them in accordance with the nature of the organization.

Section 5. Each division shall have responsibility for initiating and coordinating policy and action in all matters under its jurisdiction as defined by the Commissioner of Foreign Relations.

Section 6. The compensation of the Commissioner of Foreign Relations is hereby fixed at ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00) per annum. This amount and the salaries and wages of the other officers and employees, as well as the amounts needed for sundry expenses and for the purchase of furniture and equipment, for the Office of Foreign Relations shall be provided for in a special budget pursuant to the provisions of Section 7-I (4) of Commonwealth Act No. 246, as amended.

Section 7. These rules shall go into effect as of the first day of December, nineteen hundred and forty-five, save as to the provisions hereof which may not be made immediately effective under the terms of the laws of the United States until the date of the declaration of Philippine independence on July 4, 1946.

Done in the City of Manila, this 3rd day of December, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and forty-five, and of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, the eleventh.


By the President:
(Sgd.) JOSE S. REYES
Secretary to the President