Amending P.D. No. 15 As Amended Re: Creation of the Cultural Center of the Philippines

June 10, 1978

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1444

FURTHER AMENDING PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 15 AS AMENDED BY PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 179, ENTITLED "CREATING THE CULTURAL CENTER OF THE PHILIPPINES, DEFINING ITS OBJECTIVES, POWERS AND FUNCTIONS AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES"

WHEREAS, to enable the Cultural Center of the Philippines to carry out the objectives for which it was created by Presidential Decree No. 15 dated October 5, 1972, as amended by Presidential Decree No. 179 dated April 26, 1973, it has been vested with appropriate powers and prerogatives; and cd

WHEREAS, for a more effective exercise of such powers and prerogatives, it is imperative that such be expanded and clearly defined;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby order and decree:

 Paragraph (a), Section 2 of Presidential Decree No. 15, as amended by Presidential Decree No. 179, is hereby amended to read as follows:

"(a) To construct, establish and maintain a national theater, a national music hall, an art gallery and such other buildings and facilities as are necessary or desirable for the holding of conference, seminars, concerts and the like;"

and a new paragraph is hereby added to said Section 2 of the same Decree, to be known as paragraph (f), which shall read as follows:

"(f) To bring into the country foreign artists whenever in the opinion of the Center, performance by such artists would enhance the country's cultural development."

 Section 3 of the same Decree is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 3. Nature. — The corporation hereby created shall be a non-municipal public corporation. Its property, real and personal, shall belong to and be managed exclusively by the corporation for the benefit of the Filipino people. Any income that may be derived from its projects and operations and any contributions it may receive shall be invested in a Cultural Development Fund set up to attain the objectives of this Act, or utilized for such purposes as its governing board may decide upon, consistent with the purposes herein provided. It shall enjoy autonomy of policy and operation but may seek the assistance and operation of various government offices in the pursuit of its objectives including the detail to the Center of officials and employees of other offices on full-time or part-time basis. Said officials and employees may receive honoraria, allowances and other emoluments which the Center may grant, provided that they are in accordance with the provisions of Presidential Decree No. 985 and other laws, rules and regulations applicable to honoraria and allowances to government employees." acd

 A new paragraph is hereby added to Section 4 of the same Decree as last paragraph thereof, which shall read as follows:

"SEC. 4. General Corporate Powers. —

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"Furtherance, the Center may construct, establish, operate and maintain a trade center, hotel and such other buildings and facilities; Provided, That whatever income that may be derived therefrom shall be invested in the Cultural Development Fund, or utilized for such purposes as its governing board may decide upon, consistent with the purposes and objectives of the Center as provided in Section 2 of this Decree."

 A new paragraph is hereby added to Section 7 of the same Decree, to be designated as paragraph (e) thereof, which shall read as follows:

"(e) Books of Account. — The books of accounts and financial transactions of the Cultural Center shall be subject only to post audit by the Chairman of the Commission on Audit or his duly authorized representative."

 A new sentence is hereby added to Section 11 of the same Decree, as last sentence thereof, which shall read as follows: acd

"SEC. 11. Finances. — . . . Government revenues accruing to the Cultural Center of the Philippines shall be subject to the approval of Special Budgets as provided by P.D. No. 1177."

 Section 13 of the same Decree is hereby amended to read as follows:

"SEC. 13. Tax-Exemption. — The provisions of Section 1205 of the Tariff and Customs Code, as amended by Presidential Decree No. 34 dated October 28, 1972, Section 190 of the Tax Code, as amended by Presidential Decree No. 69 dated November 24, 1972, and other existing laws notwithstanding, the Center shall be exempt from all forms of taxation whatever including withholding taxes on fees paid to foreign artists passed on to the Center by contract, and from duties and all other imposts on any equipment, articles, goods, or services that it may import from abroad, which may be reasonably necessary for use in or part of its operations. This exemptions shall not include income tax exemption for operating profit-making business ventures such as the hotel."

SECTION 7. If any clause, paragraph, or part of this Decree shall be adjudged to be invalid, the same shall not affect, impair or invalidate the other provisions thereof.

SECTION 8. All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SECTION 9. This Decree shall take effect immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 10th day of June, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Seventy-Eight.

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 74 No. 41, 8094-78 Supp., on October 9, 1978.

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 74 No. 44, 8651-1 Supp., on October 30, 1978.