DOJ Opinion No. 126, s. 1988

DOJ OPINION NO. 126 , s. 1988 June 28, 1988 The Commissioner Commission on Immigration and Deportation Manila M a d a m : This refers to your request for authority to assign on behalf of the Commission on Immigration and Deportation (CID) the proposed agreement between Raymond Chabot International, Inc. (RCI), a management and consultancy firm based in Canada, and the CID relative to a feasibility study to be conducted by the former on a computerized management and operational information system at the immigration area of our international airport. You state that the proposal has been approved by the Canada International Development Agency (CIDA); that the project will be founded through a grant obtained by RIC from the Canada Preparatory Project Fund (CPPF); and that under the proposed agreement, the CID has" no obligation except to provide data, studies and information." You further state that the Department of Foreign Affairs "has no objection" to your signing the agreement and that you "learned that it is not necessary to secure the approval of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)". As stated in paragraph 2.1 of the proposed agreement, the purpose of the agreement is "to provide the CID with an information plan to upgrade its management information and operational system regarding the arrivals, the departures and status of aliens in the country", and such information plan "should provide a system that will ensure reliable and timely information to the CID". I am in full accord with this purpose and for this reason alone I would not interpose any objection to your signing the agreement on behalf of the CID. However, a perusal of the whole agreement shows that it is not really an entirely "no-cost" agreement as far as the CID is concerned. The following undertakings of the CID under the agreement will necessarily entail a financial outlay on the part of CID: 1. The CID will reimburse the cost of services of additional experts hired by RCI with CID's consent (par. 3, 5, 1); 2. The CID will reimburse expenses for taxes, royalties, duties, insurance, etc. which RCI and its personnel might be required to pay (par. 3, 5, 2 [iii], subpar. 3); 3. The CID shall provide RCI without cost the required equipment, supplies, studies and documents ( ibid ., subpar. 4); and secretarial services, offices, furniture, office supplies, communications equipment and vehicles for land transportation as well as other means required to meet its obligations ( ibid ., subpar. 7); 4. The CID shall assign or hire, at its own expense, a coordinator who shall be assigned for the entire duration of the first step of the project ( ibid ., subpar. 8); and 5. The CID shall select and provide personnel as required, who shall be trained by RCI and will work under its sole responsibility ( ibid ., subpar. 6). The foregoing obligations of the CID under the proposed agreement have budgetary implications and should be cleared with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). Furthermore, there is a provision in the proposed agreement which should be re-examined for its national security implications, and that is paragraph 4.2 which provides that all documents prepared by RCI in connection with the project shall be the exclusive property of the CID within Philippine territory unless the documentation is already protected by copyrights, and that outside the Philippines, the information is the exclusive properly of RCI. This provision should be amplified so as to make the exclusivity provision in favor of RCI applicable only to non-confidential or unclassified information. Subject, therefore, to prior clearance from the DBM and the revision of paragraph 4.2 above-mentioned, the Commissioner of Immigration and Deportation is hereby authorized to sign the proposed agreement with RCI on behalf of the CID. Incidentally, we are informed the NEDA approval is not necessary in this case because the project covered by the agreement is not within the Official Development Assistance (ODA) under bilateral and multilateral programs but will be financed by the Canada Preparatory Project Fund which is a special program. This confirms your information that "it is not necessary to secure the approval of NEDA" on the matter. llcd Very truly yours, (SGD.) SEDFREY A. ORDOEZ Secretary of Justice