WHEREAS, the government gives priority to the empowerment of the people in order to improve the socio-economic condition of the Filipino people;

WHEREAS, this can be accomplished only if tangible and sustainable developments are made in the Philippine countryside where majority of the Filipino people reside;

WHEREAS, this can be achieved with greater efficiency if a mechanism acting as integrator for programs to be implemented by government agencies and non-government organizations for the countryside can be created;

WHEREAS, under the Administrative Code of 1987, the President has continuing powers to recognize the Office of the President and to transfer functions from one agency to another;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FIDEL V. RAMOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order:

Section 1. Structural Organization. - There is hereby created under the Office of the President a Presidential Council for Countryside Development, hereinafter referred to as Council, composed of the Presidential Adviser for Rural Development as Chairman and the following members: the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Agrarian Reform, the Secretary of Trade and Industry, the Secretary of Interior and Local Government, the Secretary of Public Works and Highways, the Secretary of Science and Technology, the Director-General of the National Economic Development Authority, the Head of the Presidential Management Staff, the President of the Land Bank of the Philippines, the Chairman of the Development Bank of the Philippines, and the President of the Philippine National Bank. The Chairman and members of the Council shall serve without compensation.

Section 2. Functions of the Council. - The Council shall be an advisory body to the President. It shall have the following functions:

(a) Identify and recommend target provinces for the implementation of an accelerated comprehensive countryside development program;

(b) Initiate discussions with local government executives and private sector representatives, through the appropriate departments and agencies, for the purposes of drafting a Master Plan for countryside development in its target areas;

(c) Recommend the conceptualization and implementation of pilot projects in priority areas in coordination with the local government units (LGUs) and non-government organizations (NGOs)

(d) Coordinate the government agencies and the private sector organizations whose participation may be needed for the efficient delivery of countryside development programs in target areas;

(e) Recommend to the President proposed legislation and presidential issuances pertaining to countryside development;

(f) Recommend projects, including private sector initiatives for countryside development, for linking up with donors such as foreign governments, international aid organizations and other institutions; and

(g) Monitor and review, through the appropriate departments and agencies, the planning and implementation of critical programs on countryside development of national government agencies and recommend appropriate changes in programs/projects plan and implementation.

Section 3. Functions of the Council Chairman. - The Council Chairman shall preside over the meetings of the Council and perform such other functions as the President may assign from time to time.

Section 4. Programs. - The Council with the assistance of the appropriate departments and agencies, shall formulate the following programs, among others, in coordination with the affected LGUs:

(a) Access Program. It shall devise an identification procedure to inventory the existing and needed resources of target areas, and to design a program that will provide these areas a fast track delivery of basic services and other resources necessary so that the less developed provinces can catch up with the more developed ones.

(b) Productive and Creative Agro-Technology Program (Pro-create Program). It shall identify the maximum potential for agriculture and aquaculture in the target provinces, and promote the shift from traditional crops to high-value crops.

(c) National Economic Enterprises Development (NEED) Program. It shall identify raw material and skills potentials for enterprise in target provinces and initiate an integrated Research and Development program, skills training, enterprise development and marketing network to maximize use for these resources.

Section 5. Technical and Administrative Support. - The Presidential Management Staff (PMS) shall provide technical and administrative support to the Council. Among others, the PMS shall:

(a) Undertake discussions and consultations with LGUs and locally based non-government organizations;

(b) Monitor and review the implementation of programs in the target areas and evaluate their performance;

(c) Record and document the implementation and results of the programs implemented; and

(d) Perform such other tasks that may be requested by the Council. The Council may call upon any government agency, government corporations and LGU ™s for such assistance as may be needed.

Section 6. Budget. - The Council shall be provided an initial budget to be determined and approved by the President. Subsequent appropriations shall be included in the budgetary request of the Office of the President.

Section 7. Effectivity. - This Executive Order shall take effect immediately upon its approval.

DONE in the City of Manila, Philippines, this 14th day of July, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Two.


By the President:
(Sgd.) PETER D. GARRUCHO, JR.
Acting Executive Secretary