[ EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 889, March 23, 1983 ]

ESTABLISHING A SYSTEM OF NATIONAL CENTERS OF EXCELLENCE IN THE BASIC SCIENCES



WHEREAS, the Constitution mandates that the advancement of science and technology has priority in national development;

WHEREAS, the efforts to apply science and technology in the service of our people require complementary initiatives in the generation of technology, in technology transfer and diffusion, and in technology utilization and commercialization;

WHEREAS, all these efforts presuppose the availability of highly trained manpower to lead and direct scientific and technological activities in private industry, in government and in academe;

WHEREAS, the new, emerging technologies which loom larger and larger in the horizon require expertise with increasing breath and depth in the basic sciences;

WHEREAS, there is, therefore, a need to further strengthen and broaden the national capability to train scientific leaders and conduct research in the basic sciences;

WHEREAS, the University of the Philippines, by virtue of its role and demonstrated competence and availability of core scientific staff, is in the best position to organize these national centers of excellence in various fields of basic science;

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 and direct:

Section 1. There is hereby established a system of national centers of excellence in the basic sciences to be initially composed of the following:

At the University of the Philippines, Diliman campus:

a. National Institute of Physics

b. National Institute of Geological Sciences

c. Natural Sciences Research Institute

At the University of the Philippines at Los Ba os:

a. Institute of Mathematical Sciences

b. Institute of Chemistry

c. Institute of Biological Sciences

The Board of Regents of the University of the Philippines is hereby authorized to organize the abovementioned institutes, and such other additional institutes and laboratories in the future it may deem proper to create, from out of the existing staff, physical facilities and programs of the University and its constituent units.

Section 2. Each of the abovenamed institutes shall receive for Calendar Year 1983 an initial support of at least Three Million Pesos (P3,000,000) from the lumpsum appropriation of the National Science and Technology Authority for the implementation of Executive Order No. 784 (KBI 1.4.3, page 41 of Batas Pambansa Bilang 230), for their current operating expenses, except the Natural Sciences Research Institute which on account of its initial size and coverage shall receive Five Million Pesos (P5,000,000) from the same source.

Section 3. The Ministers of Budget and Management and Public Works and Highways are hereby directed to provide for the capital outlay requirements of these institutes phased over a five-year period starting Calendar Year 1984.

Section 4. The Directors-General of the National Science and Technology Authority and the National Economic and Development Authority are similarly hereby directed to explore possibilities for external support to organize these national centers of excellence in the shortest time possible.

Section 5. These national centers of excellence and such other institutes, centers and laboratories which may be established later, are hereby authorized to call upon qualified scientists and experts from other government entities and from the private sector, and to pay these scientists and experts, including their own, the appropriate allowances, honoraria, and other incentives subject to guidelines covering such matters issued by the Director-General of the National Science and Technology Authority.

Section 6. These national centers of excellence are likewise hereby exempted from government limitations in the purchase of scientific and research-related equipment and attendance abroad of appropriate personnel to scientific and technological meetings and conferences upon certification by the Director-general of the National Science and Technology Authority.

Done in the City of Manila, this 23rd day of March, in the year of our Lord, nineteen hundred and eighty-three.

(SGD.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS
President of the Philippines

By the President:

(SGD.) JUAN C. TUVERA
Presidential Executive Assistant