EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 1061
EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 1061 -
ESTABLISHING THE PHILIPPINE RICE RESEARCH INSTITUTE (PRRI)
WHEREAS, rice is the most important
crop in the country, being the staple food of eighty (80%) percent of
the population, and rice farming is a major source of employment in the
rural sector;
WHEREAS, substantial progress in improving irrigated-lowland rice
production through the use of high-yielding cultivars, fertilizers,
pesticides and judicious water management, has been achieved in the
country;
WHEREAS, however, rice productivity in certain areas, such as upland,
saline, drought and flood-prone, rain fed and cool areas, has remained
low;
WHEREAS, the continuous emergence of new problems of biological and
socio-economic nature, is inevitable in a dynamic agricultural system;
WHEREAS, the problems in rice productivity are further aggravated by
the rising costs of farm inputs and by the continuous reduction of per
capita cultivated land;
WHEREAS, there is a need to unify the efforts of various agencies and
institutions working on rice research and development to generate an
in-depth approach to the present and future problems specific to the
Philippines;
WHEREAS, the improvement of rice productivity requires the services of
highly competent and multi-disciplined teams of agricultural and social
scientists, amply supported with facilities, funds, support staff and
working conditions conducive to the implementation of rice research and
development programs in the different agro-ecological regions of the
Philippines;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Republic of
the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the
Constitution and by law, particularly Presidential Decree No. 1416, as
amended, do hereby order:
Section 1. Establishment. — There is hereby
established a body corporate to be known as the Philippine Rice
Research Institute, hereinafter referred to as the Institute, under the
Ministry of Agriculture and Food. The Institute shall have its
principal office at Los Baños, Laguna, but may establish other
branches, offices, or subsidiaries elsewhere in the Philippines as may
be necessary or proper for the accomplishment of its purposes and
objectives.
Sec. 2. Purposes and Objectives. — The Institute
shall develop, in coordination with the University of the Philippines
at Los Baños (UPLB), a national rice research program so as to
sustain and further improve the gains already made in rice production,
improve the income and economic condition of small rice farmers, expand
employment opportunities in the rural areas, and ultimately promote the
general welfare of the people through self-sufficiency in rice
production.
Sec. 3. Powers and Functions. — In furtherance of
its purposes and objectives, the Institute shall have the following
powers and functions:
(a)
To adopt and use a corporate seal;
(b) To sue and
be sued in its corporate name;
(c) To succeed
by its corporate name;
(d) To adopt
its by-laws and promulgate such rules and regulations as may be
necessary or proper to implement this Executive Order, and to amend or
repeal the same from time to time;
(e) To enter
into, make and execute contracts and agreements of any kind or nature;
(f) To borrow
money and obtain loans from all sources, whether local or foreign and
whether government or private, to help finance its research programs
and its capital and operating expenditures;
(g) To invest
in, purchase or otherwise acquire, own, hold, use, lease, mortgage,
pledge, encumber, sell, assign, convey, exchange, or otherwise deal in
real and/or personal properties of whatever kind and nature, or any
interest therein, including shares of stock, bonds, notes, securities
and other evidences of indebtedness of natural or juridical persons,
whether domestic or foreign and whether government or private;
(h) To serve
as the coordinating center of a national network of rice research
stations located in the different agro-ecological regions of the
country;
(i) To plan
and carry out research and development activities, specifically in the
areas of varietal improvement, planting and fertilizer management,
integrated pest management, farm mechanization and post-harvest
engineering, farming systems, training and technology transfer, and
social science and policy research;
(j) To verify,
package and transfer economically viable technologies, giving emphasis
on the social engineering aspects necessary for group endeavor;
(k) To provide
the data base or policy formulation that will stimulate and sustain
rice production, marketing and consumption;
(l) To
organize and develop strong training programs for rice scientists,
research managers and extension workers;
(m) To publish
and disseminate research findings and recommendations;
(n) To acquire
or obtain from any governmental authority, whether national or local,
foreign or domestic, or from any person, corporation, partnership,
association or other entity, such charters, franchises, licenses,
rights, privileges, assistance, financial or otherwise, and concessions
as are conducive to and necessary or proper for the attainment of its
purposes and objectives;
(o) To receive
and acquire from any person and/or government and private entities,
whether foreign or domestic, grants, donations and contributions
consisting of such properties, real or personal, including funds and
valuable effects or things, as may be useful, necessary or proper to
carry out its purposes and objectives and administer the same in
accordance with the terms of such grants, donations and contributions,
consistent with its purposes and objectives;
(p) To
exercise all the powers of a corporation under the general corporation
law, insofar as such powers are not inconsistent with the provisions of
this Executive Order; and
(q) To
exercise such other powers and functions and perform such other acts as
may be necessary, proper or incidental to the attainment of its purpose
and objectives.
Sec. 4. Board of Trustees. — The corporate powers
of the Institute shall be exercised, and all its business, activities
and properties shall be controlled, by a Board of Trustees, hereinafter
referred to as the Board, composed of the Minister of Agriculture and
Food as ex officio Chairman and eight (8) other members to be appointed
by the President of the Philippines upon recommendation of the Minister
of Agriculture and Food. The appointive members of the Board shall
serve at the pleasure of the President of the Philippines.
The Board shall meet regularly at least twice a month or as often as
the exigencies of the service demand. The presence of at least five (5)
members shall constitute a quorum, and the majority vote of the members
present, there being a quorum, shall be necessary for the adoption of
any resolution, rule, regulation, decision or any other act of the
Board.
The members of the Board, including the Chairman, shall receive per
diem, as the Board may determine, for each Board meeting actually
attended; Provided, That such per diem shall not exceed Two Thousand
Pesos (P2,000.00) during any one month for each member. The said
members shall also be entitled to reimbursable transportation and
representation allowances in going to and coming from board meetings
and transacting official business for the Institute.
Sec. 5. Powers and Functions of the Board. — The
Board shall exercise the following powers and functions:
(a)
To define and approve the programs, plans, policies, procedures and
guidelines for the Institute in accordance with its purposes and
objectives, and to control the management, operation and administration
of the Institute;
(b) To approve
the Institute’s organizational structure, staffing pattern, operating
and capital expenditure, and financial budgets, prepared in accordance
with the corporate plan of the Institute;
(c) To approve
salary ranges, benefits, privileges, bonuses, and other terms and
conditions of service for all officers and employees of the Institute,
upon recommendation of the Director;
(d) To
appoint, transfer, promote, suspend, remove or otherwise discipline any
subordinate officer or employee of the Institute, upon recommendation
of the Director;
(e) To create
such committee or committees and appoint the members thereof, as may be
necessary or proper for the management of the Institute or for the
attainment of its purposes and objectives;
(f) To
determine the research priorities of the Institute consistent with the
framework of its purposes and objectives and in coordination with the
research planning and monitoring mechanics of the Philippine Council
for Agriculture and Resources Research and Development pursuant to the
provisions of Presidential Decree No. 48; and
(g) To
exercise such other powers and functions and perform such other acts as
may be necessary or proper for the attainment of the purposes and
objectives of the Institute, or as may be delegated by the Minister of
Agriculture and Food.
Sec. 6. Director and Other Officers. — The
Institute shall be headed by a Director who shall be appointed by the
President of the Philippines upon recommendation of the Minister of
Agriculture and Food. He shall serve at the pleasure of the President
of the Philippines.
The Director shall be assisted by such Deputy Directors and Program
Leaders as the Board may determine to carry out the purposes and
objectives of the Institute.
Sec. 7. Powers, Functions and Duties of the
Director. — The Director shall be directly responsible to the Board,
and shall have the following powers, functions and duties:
(a)
To exercise over-all supervision and direction over the implementation
of all research and development programs of the Institute, and in
general to supervise and direct the management, operation and
administration of the Institute;
(b) Within the
limits of the authority delegated to him by the Board, to execute
contracts, incur obligations, acquire and dispose of assets and deliver
documents on behalf of the Institute;
(c) To
implement and enforce policies, decisions, orders, rules and
regulations adopted by the Board; and
(d) To
exercise such other powers and functions and perform such other duties
as may be authorized or assigned by the Board.
Sec. 8. Advisory Council. — The Director and such
Deputy Directors and Program Leaders as may be appointed by the Board
shall be assisted by an Advisory Council in pursuing inter-agency
activities. The Advisory Council shall be composed of the
following:
(a)
Director, Office of the Director
of
Research, University of the
Philippines at Los Baños
Chairman
(b) Executive
Director, National
Foods and Agriculture Council Member
(c) Director,
Agricultural Research
Office, Ministry of Agriculture
and Food
Member
(d) Director,
Bureau of Plant Industry Member
(e) Director,
Bureau of Soils Member
(f) Director,
Bureau of Agricultural
Extension
Member
(g) Director,
Crops Research
Division,
PCARRD
Member
(h)
Representative, ACAP Member
(i)
Representative, National
Irrigation Administration
Member
(j)
Representative, International
Rice
Research Institute Member
Sec. 9. Services of Government Personnel. — The
Institute may, for the purpose of its research and development
activities, obtain and secure the services of scholars, scientists and
technical personnel of any unit of the University of the Philippines
System and other agencies of the Philippine Government. Such personnel
may be paid such honoraria as may be fixed and authorized by the Board.
Sec. 10. Buildings, Facilities and Equipment. —
The Institute is hereby authorized to own, hold, plan and construct
buildings and other facilities as may be necessary or proper to attain
its purposes and objectives; Provided, however, That it may also
utilize facilities of any unit of the University of the Philippines
System and of any other agency of the Philippine Government engaged,
directly or indirectly, in activities that relate to agriculture and/or
production or development of rice.
The Institute is further authorized to purchase equipment, materials
and articles, either locally or abroad, as may be necessary or proper
to carry out its powers and functions and attain its purposes and
objectives, and shall be exempt from the payment of any and all forms
of taxes, duties, fees and charges imposed by any governmental
authority, whether national or local, on any and all such importation
of equipment, materials, articles and services; Provided, however, That
the same are not available locally on favorable terms.
Sec. 11. Appropriation. — The Minister of
Agriculture and Food and the Minister of the Budget are hereby
authorized and directed to set aside out of the existing funds of the
Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the amount of Fifteen Million Pesos
(P15,000,000.00) as the initial funds of the Institute for CY 1985 to
be used for its start-up and operating expenses. This initial amount
shall be drawn from the RP-Japan Fertilizer Grant and/or any other
existing source of bilateral funding in the Ministry of Agriculture and
Food. Thereafter, the government contribution to the Institute shall be
provided for in the annual General Appropriations Act. The
appropriations herein provided shall be subject to the fiscal control
and management procedures provided for in Executive Order No. 714 dated
August 1, 1981.
All funds, savings and income of the Institute shall constitute a
revolving fund which shall be considered part of the funds
automatically released to the latter, subject to the fiscal control and
management procedures provided for in Executive Order No. 714 dated
August 1, 1981. Such funds, savings and income shall be used to achieve
the purposes and objectives for which the Institute is
established.
Sec. 12. Applicability of Civil Service Laws. —
The Institute and its officers and employees shall be subject to the
Civil Service Law, rules and regulations; Provided, That technical
personnel shall be selected on the basis of merit and fitness to be
determined in accordance with such policies and guidelines as may be
approved by the Board.
Sec. 13. Auditor. — The Chairman of the Commission
on Audit shall be the ex officio Auditor of the Institute. For this
purposes, he may appoint a representative who shall be the auditor of
the Institute, together with the necessary personnel to assist said
representative in the performance of his duties. The number and
salaries of the auditor and said personnel shall be determined by the
Chairman of the Commission on Audit, subject to the rules and
regulations of the Commission on Audit. Said salaries and all other
expenses of maintaining the auditor’s office shall be paid by the
Institute.
The Auditor shall, as soon as practicable, but not later than three (3)
months after the accounts have been submitted to audit, send an annual
report to the Board. The Auditor shall also submit such periodic or
special reports as the Board may deem necessary or proper.
Sec. 14. Legal Counsel. — The government Corporate
Counsel shall be the Legal Counsel of the Institute: Provided, That the
Institute may establish its own legal department subject to the
supervision and control of the Government Corporate Counsel to handle
the day-to-day legal matters affecting the affairs of the Institute.
For the performance of his duties and the services of Legal Staff of
the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel, the Board shall
appropriate, and the Director shall remit, such amount as shall be
determined by the Government Corporate Counsel.
Sec. 15. Annual Report. — The board shall submit
to the President of the Philippines through the Minister of Agriculture
and Food, together with the audit report on the relevant accounts, an
annual report generally dealing with the activities and operations of
the Institute.
Sec. 16. Separability Clause. — The provisions of
this Executive Order are hereby declared separable. If any portion
hereof shall be held invalid or unconstitutional, such invalidity or
unconstitutionality shall not affect the other provisions which shall
remain in full force and effect; Provided, That the latter provisions
can stand alone and be enforced in their entirety.
Sec. 17. Effectivity. — This Executive Order shall
take effect immediately.
DONE in the City of Manila,
Philippines, this 5th day of November in the Year of Our Lord, Nineteen
Hundred and Eighty-Five.