Grant of Corporate Legal Personality to Orient Airlines Association

November 28, 1977

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 1253

GRANTING THE ORIENT AIRLINES ASSOCIATION CORPORATE LEGAL PERSONALITY AS A NON-STOCK, NON-PROFIT CORPORATION WITH TAX AND OTHER PRIVILEGES

WHEREAS, the airlines of the Orient, flag carriers of nations of the Far East, Southeast Asia, and Australasia recognizing the vital need to cooperate in the development of air commerce in this region in the interests of the safety and convenience of the travelling public, have established the Orient Airlines Association (CAA);

WHEREAS, the Orient Airlines Association serves as a forum for discussing matters and problems of common interest and concern, fostering closer cooperation, development of the travel and tourism industry in the region, and the individual and collective growth of its member airlines as instruments of international cooperation in the economic, social, and cultural fields;

WHEREAS, developments in the worldwide air transport industry continue at a dynamic pace, are inherently and increasingly the concern of governments as well as the aviation community, and are inevitably calling upon the active participation and cooperation of all entities and institutions involved in its orderly operation and regulation;

WHEREAS, the Orient Airlines Association, a non-stock, non-profit, and non-corporate organization, has played a major role in industry affairs in the region and needs to enhance its ability to fully discharge its responsibilities not only to its members but to the global industry and the public at large;

WHEREAS, the grant to the Orient Airlines Association of legal personality as a body corporate and politic will formalize the existence of the organization, enable it to undertake external representation of its members, serve to promote travel and tourism in the country and in the region as a whole as a direct benefit arising from its objectives, and is consistent with the policy of the government of the Philippines to encourage international agencies to set up their regional offices or headquarters in the Philippines;

WHEREAS, the Orient Airlines Association has held its principal office in Makati, Metro Manila, Philippines, since its establishment in 1966, and desires to acquire a legal personality according to the laws of the Philippines;

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:

SECTION 1. The Orient Airlines Association, composed of Philippine Airlines, Inc., Cathay Pacific Airways, Ltd., China Airlines, Korean Airlines, Ltd., Japan Airlines, Garuda Indonesian Airways, Malaysian Airlines System, Qantas Airways, Ltd., Singapore Airlines, Ltd., Thai Airways International, Royal Brunei Airlines, Air Niugini, and such other Orient-based airlines as it may admit as members, is hereby granted a corporate legal personality as a non-profit and non-stock corporation to be hereinafter known as the Orient Airlines Association, Inc.

SECTION 2. The Orient Airlines Association, Inc. shall be governed by its present Articles of Association, a By-laws to be adopted within thirty (30) days from the promulgation of this Decree, and the provisions of the Corporation Law insofar as they are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Decree or with the purposes for which the corporation is formed in the Articles of Association, and shall have the general powers mentioned in such law and such other powers as may be necessary to enable it to accomplish its purposes. The By-Laws may provide for the holding of the annual meeting of the members outside the Philippines and shall be exempt from the requirements of Section 24 of Act No. 1459, as amended, in accordance with the established agreement between and among the member airlines.

The Securities and Exchange Commission shall issue the necessary Certificate of Incorporation and filing of By-Laws.

SECTION 3. The Orient Airlines Association, Inc. shall be exempt from income tax under the provisions of Section 27(f) of the National Internal Revenue Code, as amended, as a business league not organized for profit, and its operations and transactions shall be exempt from any and all taxes, duties, fees, charges, imposts, licenses and assessments of whatever nature and description, direct or indirect, imposed by the Republic of the Philippines or any of its political subdivisions or taxing authorities except only the tax on any real property owned and held by the organization in the Philippines. casia

SECTION 4. Foreign personnel of the organization, their spouses, and unmarried children under twenty-one years of age, whether accompanying them or joining them after their parents admission into the Philippines as non-immigrant, shall be issued a multiple entry special visa to enter the Philippines valid for a period of one year: Provided, That a responsible officer of the organization submits a certificate under oath that the person who seeks entry to the Philippines is an executive or employee of the organization and will work exclusively for the organization at its principal office in the Philippines.

The multiple entry special visa may be extended annually upon submission to the Commission on Immigration and Deportation of a sworn certification by a responsible officer of the organization that the stay of that executive or employee in the Philippines is required by the operations of the organization.

Non-immigrants who have been admitted under the multiple entry special visa, as well as their spouses and dependents, shall be exempt from the payment of all fees due under the immigration clearance certificates, and all types of clearances required by any department or agency of the government, and upon final departure from the Philippines the organization shall so advise in writing the Commission on Immigration and Deportation at least five (5) working days prior to the non-immigrant's departure.

SECTION 5. The alien executives of the organization shall enjoy the privileges extended to foreigners coming to the Philippines as provided for in Section 105 (g) of the Tariff and Customs Code, as amended. cdt

SECTION 6. The provisions of existing laws, executive orders, administrative orders, rules and regulations, or parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Decree shall be inapplicable.

SECTION 7. The provisions of this Decree are hereby declared to be separable and if any portion of this Decree should; for any reason, be held invalid or unconstitutional, such invalidity or unconstitutionality shall not affect the other provisions of this Decree which shall be given force and effect.

SECTION 8. This Decree shall take effect upon its approval and shall be implemented immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 28th day of November, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Seventy-Seven.