EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 459
EXECUTIVE
ORDER NO. 459 - PROVIDING FOR THE GUIDELINES IN THE NEGOTIATION OF
INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS AND ITS RATIFICATION
WHEREAS,
the negotiations of international agreements are made in pursuance of
the foreign policy of the country;
WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 292, otherwise known as the Administrative
Code of 1987, provides that the Department of Foreign Affairs shall be
the lead agency that shall advise and assist the President in planning,
organizing, directing, coordinating and evaluating the total national
effort in the field of foreign relations;
WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 292 further provides that the Department
of Foreign Affairs shall negotiate treaties and other agreements
pursuant to the instructions of the President, and in coordination with
other government agencies;
WHEREAS, there is a need to establish guidelines to govern the
negotiation and ratification of international agreements by the
different agencies of the government;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FIDEL V. RAMOS, President of the Philippines, by
virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby order:
Section 1. Declaration of Policy. — It is hereby
declared the policy of the State that the negotiations of all treaties
and executive agreements, or any amendment thereto, shall be
coordinated with, and made only with the participation of, the
Department of Foreign Affairs in accordance with Executive Order No.
292. It is also declared the policy of the State that the composition
of any Philippine negotiation panel and the designation of the chairman
thereof shall be made in coordination with the Department of Foreign
Affairs.
Sec. 2. Definition of Terms. —
a.
International agreement — shall refer to a contract or understanding,
regardless of nomenclature, entered into between the Philippines and
another government in written form and governed by international law,
whether embodied in a single instrument or in two or more related
instruments.
b. Treaties —
international agreements entered into by the Philippines which require
legislative concurrence after executive ratification. This term may
include compacts like conventions, declarations, covenants and acts.
c. Executive
Agreements — similar to treaties except that they do not require
legislative concurrence.
d. Full Powers
— authority granted by a Head of State or Government to a delegation
head enabling the latter to bind his country to the commitments made in
the negotiations to be pursued.
e. National
Interest — advantage or enhanced prestige or benefit to the country as
defined by its political and/or administrative leadership.
f. Provisional
Effect — recognition by one or both sides of the negotiation process
that an agreement be considered in force pending compliance with
domestic requirements for the effectivity of the agreement.
Sec. 3. Authority to Negotiate. — Prior to any
international meeting or negotiation of a treaty or executive
agreement, authorization must be secured by the lead agency from the
President through the Secretary of Foreign Affairs. The request for
authorization shall be in writing, proposing the composition of the
Philippine delegation and recommending the range of positions to be
taken by that delegation. In case of negotiations of agreements,
changes of national policy or those involving international
arrangements of a permanent character entered into in the name of the
Government of the Republic of the Philippines, the authorization shall
be in the form of Full Powers and formal instructions. In cases of
other agreements, a written authorization from the President shall be
sufficient.
Sec. 4. Full Powers. — The issuance of Full Powers
shall be made by the President of the Philippines who may delegate this
function to the Secretary of Foreign Affairs.
The following persons, however, shall not require Full Powers prior to
negotiating or signing a treaty or an executive agreement, or any
amendment thereto, by virtue of the nature of their functions:
a.
Secretary of Foreign Affairs;
b. Heads of
Philippine diplomatic missions, for the purpose of adopting the text of
a treaty or an agreement between the Philippines and the State to which
they are accredited;
c.
Representatives accredited by the Philippines to an international
conference or to an international organization or one of its organs,
for the purpose of adopting the text of a treaty in that conference,
organization or organ.
Sec. 5. Negotiations. —
a.
In cases involving negotiations of agreements, the composition of the
Philippine panel or delegation shall be determined by the President
upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Foreign Affairs and the
lead agency if it is not the Department of Foreign Affairs.
b. The lead
agency in the negotiation of a treaty or an executive agreement, or any
amendment thereto, shall convene a meeting of the panel members prior
to the commencement of any negotiations for the purpose of establishing
the parameters of the negotiating position of the panel. No deviation
from the agreed parameters shall be made without prior consultations
with the members of the negotiating panel.
Sec. 6. Entry into Force and Provisional
Application of Treaties and Executive Agreements. —
a.
A treaty or an executive agreement enters into force upon compliance
with the domestic requirements stated in this Order.
b. No treaty
or executive agreement shall be given provisional effect unless it is
shown that a pressing national interest will be upheld thereby. The
Department of Foreign Affairs, in consultation with the concerned
agencies, shall determine whether a treaty or an executive agreement,
or any amendment thereto, shall be given provisional effect.
Sec. 7. Domestic Requirements for the Entry into
Force of a Treaty or an Executive Agreement. — The domestic
requirements for the entry into force of a treaty or an executive
agreement, or any amendment thereto, shall be as follows:
A.
Executive Agreements.
i.
All executive agreements shall be transmitted to the Department of
Foreign Affairs after their signing for the preparation of the
ratification papers. The transmittal shall include the highlights of
the agreements and the benefits which will accrue to the Philippines
arising from them.
ii. The
Department of Foreign Affairs, pursuant to the endorsement by the
concerned agency, shall transmit the agreements to the President of the
Philippines for his ratification. The original signed instrument of
ratification shall then be returned to the Department of Foreign
Affairs for appropriate action.
B. Treaties.
i.
All treaties, regardless of their designation, shall comply with the
requirements provided in sub-paragraph 1 and 2, item A (Executive
Agreements) of this Section . In addition, the Department of Foreign
Affairs shall submit the treaties to the Senate of the Philippines for
concurrence in the ratification by the President. A certified true copy
of the treaties, in such numbers as may be required by the Senate,
together with a certified true copy of the ratification instrument,
shall accompany the submission of the treaties to the Senate.
ii. Upon
receipt of the concurrence by the Senate, the Department of Foreign
Affairs shall comply with the provision of the treaties in effecting
their entry into force.
Sec. 8. Notice to Concerned Agencies. — The
Department of Foreign Affairs shall inform the concerned agencies of
the entry into force of the agreement.
Sec. 9. Determination of the Nature of the
Agreement. — The Department of Foreign Affairs shall determine whether
an agreement is an executive agreement or a treaty.
Sec. 10. Separability Clause. — If, for any
reason, any part or provision of this Order shall be held
unconstitutional or invalid, other parts or provisions hereof which are
not affected thereby shall continue to be in full force and effect.
Sec. 11. Repealing Clause. — All executive orders,
proclamations, memorandum orders or memorandum circulars inconsistent
herewith are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
Sec. 12. Effectivity. — This Executive Order shall
take effect immediately upon its approval.
DONE in the City of Manila,
this 25th day of November in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and
Ninety-Seven.
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