WHEREAS, archival materials or historical documents constitute the collective memory of the Filipino people;

WHEREAS, many of such materials affect and concern the security, dignity and welfare of the Filipino nation;

WHEREAS, appropriate measures of conservation and protection are essential in order to prevent suppression, alteration and distortion of said documents, or their use in any manner contrary to the national interests; and

WHEREAS, to achieve this end an all-Filipino group composed of distinguished representatives of the historical sciences would be best fitted to coordinate and supervise the collation, collection, identification, classification, reproduction and release of historical documents and archival materials.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby create a Historical Documents Committee composed of the following:

Secretary of Education

Chairman

Director of the Bureau of Records Management

Member

Chairman of the National Historical Commission

Member

President of the Philippine Historical Association

Member

President of the Philippine Historical Society

Member

President of the International Association of Historian in Asia

Member

Director of the National Library

Member

Director of the Asian Center , University of the Philippines

Member

Chairman of the Department of History, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines

Member

Father Horacio de la Costa, in representation of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines

Member

Dr. Sotero P. Laurel, in representation of the Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities

Member

Dr. Arturo Guerrero, in representation of the Association of Christian Schools and Colleges

Member

This Committee shall undertake the following functions:

1. Supervise and coordinate all efforts of Government agencies in the collation, collection, identification, reproduction and release of all historical documents;
   
   
2. Undertake collation, identification, and classification of documents relating to or affecting the security, dignity and welfare of the Filipino nation and such other materials as are likely to affect the national interest and to regulate access to, inspection, reproduction, and release of such documents.

The Committee shall have the power to call upon any Department, Bureau, Office or government instrumentality or agency for necessary assistance in terms of personnel, equipment, and resources in the attainment of its objectives. Administrative requirements shall be borne by the agencies called upon by the Committee to render assistance.

The Chairman and members of the Committee shall receive an allowance of Two Hundred Pesos a month, payable from the discretionary fund of the Office of the President, as reimbursement for travel expenses in connection with the work of the Committee.

Done in the City of Manila, this 17th day of January, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and sixty-nine.


By the President:
(SGD.) RAFAEL M. SALAS
Executive Secretary