WHEREAS, under the New Republic, national economic development shall be pursued with renewed dedication and greater determination through a more efficient, effective, and economical government;

WHEREAS, it is the policy of the state to carry out a concerted attack on the problem of mass poverty, unemployment, underemployment, and social justice;

WHEREAS, to provide the proper perspective to such problems, there is a need for greater emphasis on the integrated area development of the countryside;

WHEREAS, integrated area development must be undertaken to marshall cooperative activity towards the creation of a just and humane society;

WHEREAS, integrated area development must seek its roots in a people working in communion with each other;

WHEREAS, there is an urgent and compelling need to develop among government planners and decision makers a common policy orientation that can serve as a guide for the formulation of programs and projects geared towards integrated area development;

WHEREAS, the task of development calls for a shift from the traditional broad and piecemeal approach to a systematic and coordinated implementation of projects aimed at the countryside;

WHEREAS, it now becomes essential that these activities and projects in the countryside be properly integrated, priorities be established, and a central planning and implementing body charged with the development of an integrated plan of action for integrated rural development be created; and

WHEREAS, under Presidential Decree No. 1416 as amended, the President is empowered to undertake such organizational and related improvement as may be appropriate in the light of changing circumstances and new developments;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, and the authority vested in me by Presidential Decree No. 1416 as amended, do hereby order as follows:

SECTION 1. Declaration of Policy. It is the declared policy of the state to promote and support the improvement, growth and development of the countryside through integrated area development consistent with the principle of self-help and self-reliance.

SECTION 2. Creation of the National Council on Integrated Area Development. There is hereby created a National Council on Integrated Area Development, as a sub-committee of the Cabinet, under the Office of the Prime Minister hereinafter referred to as the Council which shall be composed of the Prime Minister as Chairman, with the following as members: the Minister of Agrarian Reform, the Minister of Agriculture, the Minister of Finance, the Minister of Human Settlements, the Minister of Local Government, the Minister of National Defense, the Minister of Natural Resources, the Director General of the National Economic and Development Authority, the Director General of the Office of Budget and Management, the Minister of Public Works and Highways, the Minister of Trade and Industry, and the Executive Director of the Council. The Prime Minister may designate other Ministers as well as other heads of Offices who are members of the Cabinet to be members of the Council.

The Prime Minister shall designate a Vice-Chairman from among the members of the Council who shall perform the functions of the Chairman in his absence.

The Council may establish an Executive Committee composed of three members to be designated by the Chairman from among the members of the Council which shall act for and in behalf of the Council when the latter is not in session.

A Program Coordinating Committee shall be formed, composed of the designated senior level representatives of the members of the Council, as well as of the Presidential Management Staff, and the National Irrigation Administration, which shall be chaired by the Executive Director. The Committee shall assist the Council in expediting inter-agency commitments to on-going and pipeline projects. The Committee may have such additional members composed of designated senior level representatives of other agencies as may be determined by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister may established such sub-committees as may be necessary for coordination purposes.

The Council may, at its discretion, assume supervision and control of other integrated area development projects not under its present jurisdiction, which are multi-sectoral in nature and which are primarily sub-regional and preferably multi-provincial in geographical coverage.

The members of the Council shall receive a reasonable amount of per diem as the Council may provide for every meeting actually attended by them.

SECTION 3. Powers and Functions of the Council. The Council shall have the following powers and functions:

(a) Institutionalize the implementing mechanism for integrated area development through formal planning, monitoring and budgetary controls;

(b) Formulate an integrated framework plan to guide the development of priority areas, including depressed areas as determined by the Council;

(c) Rationalize the participation of the rural people through their local governments in development planning and implementation;

(d) Initiate small-scale, high-impact integrated projects utilizing existing indigenous resources;

(e) Mobilize efficiently multi-sectoral resources and properly channel these into integrated rural development projects, and

(f) Generate private sector participation in integrated area development projects and establish the appropriate mechanism for it.

SECTION 4. Powers and Functions of the Chairman. The Chairman as Chief Executive Officer shall have the following powers and functions:

(a) To formulate policy guidelines and approve an integrated plan of action;

(b) To call and preside over the meetings of the Council;

(c) To appoint the Project Directors of the various integrated area development projects;

(d) To enter into contracts to enable it to carry out its purposes and functions under this Executive Order;

(e) To establish a system of priorities for integrated area development and provided the basic criteria for selecting project areas;

(f) To arrange and/or negotiate for funding from local and foreign financial institutions;

(g) To approve requests of the implementing departments and agencies for budget releases for projects in accordance with the integrated plan of action, budgets and work programs approved by the Council; Provided, that such approval shall be subject to the availability of funds in accordance with the existing budgetary policies, laws, rules and regulations which shall be approved by the Council;

(h) To call on any department, bureau, office, agency, or state university or college and other instrumentalities of the government for assistance in the form of personnel, facilities and other resources as the needs arise in the discharge of its functions.

SECTION 5. Qualifications and Compensation of the Executive Director as Chief Operating Officer. There shall be an Executive Director of the Council to be appointed by the President upon consultation with the members of the Council. The Executive Director shall act as the Chief Operating Officer and shall possess the following qualifications:

(a) a citizen of the Philippines;

(b) at least thirty (30) years of age; and

(c) a proven record of executive competence in the field of public administration and/or rural development projects or in the management of agricultural, industrial or commercial enterprises.

The annual compensation and allowances of the Executive Director shall be fixed by the Council.

SECTION 6. Powers and Functions of the Chief Operating Officer. - The Executive Director as Chief Operating Officer of the Council shall exercise the following powers and functions:

(a) To recommend policy guidelines and submit to the Chairman programs of work activities in consonance with the policies and plans promulgated by the Council;

(b) To implement the coordinated plan of action for integrated area development as formulated and approved by the Chairman;

(c) To undertake comprehensive studies concerning critical components needed for the development of identified depressed areas;

(d) To implement on-going and proposed plans, programs and projects within the specified areas for integrated area development;

(e) To rationalize and systematize existing on-going and proposed community projects in identified areas for development vis-a-vis the overall integrated area development plan for the specified area;

(f) To coordinate and monitor project implementation;

(g) To promote fuller local participation in planning, management and program execution through closer coordination with local government officials;

(h) To establish the appropriate organizational set-up to implement the integrated plan of action to be approved by the Chairman;

(i) To formulate, adopt and implement guidelines and standards for an efficient system of reporting and evaluation;

(j) To avail of the expertise of any particular employee, technician or group of persons in any bureau, office or department of the government whose services are deemed necessary for the attainment of the goals of the Council;

(k) To prepare and submit to the Chairman administrative rules and regulations for the effective management of the Council ™s activities;

(l) To hire the personnel necessary for the operation of the Council and fix their compensation in accordance with the plantilla and pay plan approved by the Chairman;

(m) To remove, suspend or otherwise discipline for cause any subordinate employee of the Council;

(n) To conduct seminars, public hearings and/or conferences on significant issues pertaining to integrated area development;

(o) To submit periodic financial and work accomplishment reports to the Council;

(p) To perform such other duties as may be assigned by the Council and/or the Chairman.

In order to assist the Council in the performance of its functions, the Executive Director or his duty designated representative shall be an ex-officio member of the policy or coordinating committees of the different projects supports staffs under the Council.

SECTION 7. Support Staffs for NACIAD Projects. The Council is hereby authorized to establish such ad hoc support staffs as may be necessary for particular integrated area development projects which shall exist only for the duration of said projects. As a general rule and whenever appropriate, the project support staff shall be provided by the lead agency as may be identified and designated by the Council for any particular integrated area development project, to be supplemented as necessary by personnel from the other cooperating agencies. Each project support staff shall be headed by a Project Director who shall, as much as possible, come from the lead agency. The Council is further authorized to reorganize or abolish project support staffs under the supervision and control of the Council. The operation of the project support staffs shall be in accordance with such guidelines as may be determined and issued by the Council.

SECTION 8. Appointment of Other Cabinet Coordinators. - The Chairman may appoint a Cabinet Coordinator for each new integrated area development project. Said coordinator shall be assisted by the Executive Director, who shall closely coordinate with the Provincial Governors in integrated area development project areas. However, the designated Cabinet Coordinators of the Bicol, Cagayan, Mindoro, Samar, Zamboanga Projects, the Agusan-Bukidnon-Capiz/Land Settlement Project, and the Philippine Rural Infrastructure Project shall continue to assume responsibility over their respective projects unless otherwise determined by the Chairman.

SECTION 9. Budgetary System. To ensure the rational allocation and timely releases of funds for specific components of integrated area development projects, the Office of Budget and Management, in consultation with the Council, shall issue the appropriate guidelines and procedures for budget preparation and execution.

SECTION 10. Staff Appointment. Any provision of existing laws to the contrary notwithstanding, the appointments of personnel of the Council may either be on full-time basis or part-time basis and shall be exempt from the requirements and restrictions of the Civil Service Law, rules and regulations, and Section Two Hundred Fifty Nine of the Revised Administrative Code. The compensation of said employees shall be determined by the Council upon consultation with the Office of Compensation and Position Classification of the Office of Budget and Management; Provided, that any government retiree employed in the said office shall not be required to reimburse or refund any gratuity received from the Government nor shall any pension or annuity to which he is entitled to be suspended or reduced on account of his employment with the Council; Provided, further that the personnel of the Council shall be permanent and career in status without prejudice to transfer, detail assignment, promotion, discipline and dismissal in accordance with the Personnel Management Programs of the Council and shall be entitled to benefit and privileges normally accorded to government agencies on detail with the Council including adequate and reasonable honoraria or allowances.

SECTION 11. Delineation of the Functions and Responsibilities of the Council and Implementing Ministries and Agencies. The Council, including its staff, shall be essentially policy-setting and coordinative in nature and shall by itself not engage in direct implementation activities. The actual implementation of operations, activities and programs within declared integrated area development projects shall be undertaken through designated cooperating line agencies. All designated implementing ministries and agencies shall be responsible for the execution of the projects under their respective jurisdiction and shall submit to the Council, their respective annual project plans, budgets and corresponding work programs for approval within three (3) months before the start of the ensuing calendar year. They shall also submit release and periodic accomplishment reports to the Council.

SECTION 12. Observance of Terms and Conditions of the Loan Agreements. It shall be the responsibility of the Council to ensure that all ministries, government agencies and local governments concerned observe strictly all terms and conditions embodied in Loan Agreement executed between the foreign funding agencies and the Philippine Government for integrated area development projects.

SECTION 13. Expenditures and Disbursements. Expenditures and disbursements made by the Council for its on-going projects shall not be subject to the procurement requirements and restrictions imposed by existing laws and regulations upon government agencies, instrumentalities and government-owned or controlled corporations.

SECTION 14. Separability Clause. If any provision of this Executive Order shall be declared invalid, the remainder shall continue to be operative.

SECTION 15. Repealing Clause. All laws, decrees, executive orders, administrative orders, rules and regulations, or parts thereof, which are inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SECTION 16. Effectivity. This Executive Order shall take effect immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 14th day of Oct., in the Year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Two.


By the President:

(SGD.) JUAN C. TUVERA
Presidential Executive Assistant