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ESTABLISHING THE NATIONAL COMPUTER CENTER

WHEREAS, there is an urgent need for more national allocation and faster development of the country’s resources to meet the growing demands of the people; calling for more effective and efficient approaches, strategies, measures; with comprehensive and continuing planning that integrates the economic, social, and physical aspects of development programs;

WHEREAS, these require a high degree of coordination, horizontally among planners and vertically between planners and implementors, as well as more responsive and viable administrative and operational machineries, even as the Government has already moved towards the unification of national planning agencies with the end in view of harmonizing development programs;

WHEREAS, underlying all successful decision-making, planning, budgeting, programming, and implementation processes are continuous flows of data and information on requirements, resources, and accomplishments, which are collated, processed, analyzed, reviewed, and interpreted for key decision-makers so as to better enhance the directions, magnitudes, and priorities embodied in development programs;  

WHEREAS, national progress is necessarily anchored on basic, scientific, and engineering research and documentation;

WHEREAS, the most rational employment of computers in the Government would be based on cooperative undertaking, time and cost-sharing, and the eventual setting up of computer installations that are program or project-oriented, rather than agency oriented;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law do hereby establish, within the Office of the President, the NATIONAL COMPUTER CENTER (NCC), as a joint project of the Presidential Economic Staff (PES), the Department of National Defense (DND), and the National Science Development Board (NSDB), with functions and responsibilities, organized and staffed as follows:

1. The Center shall have the following functions and responsibilities:

a. It shall provide the information bases for integrated planning and implementation of development programs and operational activities at the national level by developing and operating decision-making, policy-formulation and management systems for the Office of the President, national planning bodies, and key agencies in the Executive Branch of the Government. The total system thus conceived shall include an inquiry system for the President and his principal assistants.

b. It shall provide computer service or support to national agencies performing basic, scientific, and engineering research and documentation.

c. It shall integrate EDP operations in the Government by requiring off-line or on-line tie-up of existing EDP installations.

d. It shall provide its primary agencies, PES, DND and NSDB, and other government agencies, offices, and instrumentalities without EDP facilities with the necessary systems development, programming, and other technical expertise, including machine time to computerize their operations, PES, DND, NSDB and other agencies having direct capital investment in NCC in terms of equipment, physical plant and real estate shall shoulder the direct cost of supplies and materials consumed in their own, sponsored or supported projects. Other government agencies shall reimburse NCC the cost of supplies and materials and such other costs as may be determined by the NCC Directorate.  

e. It shall establish and operate an EDP Educational Center aimed to provide training facilities on electronic data processing to government agencies, and bring about the development and implementation of an integrated EDP training program in the Government.

f. It shall, in conjunction with government agencies concerned, develop EDP personnel qualification standards for all government entities.

g. It shall act as the primary agency in planning the integrated development of EDP capability in the National Government. It shall monitor the operation of existing EDP installations and recommend the consolidation or deactivation of installations as the situations warrants, to achieve economy and efficiency. In addition, it shall monitor requests of agencies for the acquisition (purchase/lease) of computers and other EDP equipment, endorsing only those whose job requirements cannot be absorbed by the NCC and other existing government EDP installations and which such agencies can justify the efficient utilization thereof.  

h. It shall develop and establish a National EDP Coding Standard, in coordination with other government agencies.

2. The policy-making, long-range planning and review functions of the Center shall be vested in a Directorate, which shall include a representative each of PES, DND, NSDB and the Budget Commission, and three additional members as may be agreed upon by PES, DND and NSDB, subject to approval by the Executive Office.

3. The Center shall be headed by an EDP Director who shall be designated by, and be responsible to, the Directorate for the direct administration and operational management of NCC.

4. The Center shall have such regular personnel as may be necessary for the performance of its basic functions, and such other personnel as may be assigned or detailed from other agencies of the Government; provided that such assigned or detailed personnel, except consultants, shall be under the operational control and supervision of the Center. All regular positions in the Center are hereby declared highly technical and/or confidential in nature.

5. The Office of the President shall include and provide from its budgetary appropriations the funds necessary for the operation and maintenance of the NCC. To augment these funds, the Center may receive such grants or donations in money or whatever form and from whatever source which funds shall constitute a special trust fund under its administration. Further, the Center is also authorized to receive reimbursement of expenses incurred in providing computer services to government agencies. The above funds shall be administered, obligated and discharged in accordance with the procedures prescribed in the Revised Budget Act, Republic Act No. 922 and other pertinent rules and regulations, to carry out the purposes and objectives of the NCC.  

6. The duly authorized officials of the Center are hereby authorized to secure data and information directly from all government agencies and entities, and to consult with the officials and personnel thereof on matters related to the functions of the Center. Such officials and personnel are hereby enjoined to render full support and cooperation to the Center in the discharge of its functions.

7. The National Computer Center shall be located in Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo, Quezon City, in a site to be provided by the Department of National Defense, where it can avail itself of the communication facilities of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.