WHEREAS, the three major oil companies in the country have filed their petition for increase in prices of oil products and the Energy Regulation Board may have to grant these petitions to replenish the Oil Price Stabilization Fund (OPSF) which has been depleted by the rising prices of crude oil in the world market.

WHEREAS, any increase in the prices of oil and oil products offers a host of potentially-damaging but unwarranted political and economic repercussions.

WHEREAS, there is an urgent need for the government to implement a coherent and synchronized public communication strategy to:

a)	Inform and educate the public on the rationale to raise oil prices not for anything else but to reflect international realities beyond government control.
b)	Prevent unscrupulous elements from riding on the backlash of public opinion against the increase.
c)	Ensure the understanding of media on the necessity of increasing the price of oil.
d)	Prevent unwarranted increases in the prices of basic commodities which may trigger economically-destabilizing demands for wage increases.

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

SECTION 1. Creation of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Oil Price Increase. There is hereby created an Inter-Agency Task Force (hereinafter referred to as the Task Force), to prepare and implement a communication plan on the oil price increase.

SEC. 2. Composition. The Task Force shall be chaired by the Executive Secretary with the following as members:

a) National Economic and Development Authority
b) Department of Energy
c) Department of Trade and Industry
d) Department of Transportation and Communications
e) Department of Finance
f) Department of Agriculture
g) Department of Labor and Employment
h) Office of the Press Secretary
i) Philippine Information Agency
j) Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board

SEC. 3. Powers and Functions. The Task Force shall undertake the following, among others:

a)	Prepare, translate to vernacular and distribute nationwide the Primers on Oil Price Increase which shall serve as the main source of information for the public as well as reference material for resource persons for different fora;
b)	Conduct nationwide dialogues/consultations with different sectors, particularly labor, consumer and business groups;
c)	Consult and coordinate with Congress through the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council;
d)	Enlist support of the different sectoral groups in the government-private sector cooperation schemes to safeguard public interest against unscrupulous elements which may take advantage of the situation;
e)	Mobilize all government agencies and local government units in the implementation of the communication plan;
f)	Direct all government agencies and instrumentalities to make their participation in this campaign a priority or an urgent concern, as well as actively take part in information-sharing on this issue.

Other government agencies or personalities not directly involved in this campaign may be requested to extend assistance in various forms, such as the provision of transport facilities and material resources, as well as designation of agency representatives as resource persons on the oil price increase issue.

All agencies and instrumentalities of government are enjoined to give priority to the activities of the Task Force. They are also instructed to provide all pertinent information and statistics to the Task Force.

The Task Force shall report to the President and the Cabinet every Cabinet Meeting.

This Memorandum Order shall take effect immediately.

DONE, in the City of Manila, on this 20^th day of June, in the Year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and ninety-five.

(Sgd.) FIDEL V. RAMOS
President of the Philippines

By the President:
(Sgd.) RUBEN D. TORRES
Executive Secretary