New Guidelines for the Rural Service Program

October 12, 1979

LETTER OF INSTRUCTIONS NO. 941

WHEREAS, the rural service program has been in operation for more than two (2) years, having been initiated by Letter of Instructions No. 559 issued on June 23, 1977; cd i

WHEREAS, the "Paglilingkod: Bagong Lipunan" program has successfully attained many of its objectives and is now ready to shift to new directions;

WHEREAS, the cost of the rural service program has to be reviewed in the light of new priorities occasioned by the international energy crisis and the need to support the housing program of government;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines do hereby order and instruct:

1. Participation in the "Paglilingkod: Bagong Lipunan" program shall be selective. Preference shall be given to senior officers and technical personnel who can be depended upon in terms of perspective, maturity, and special skills. Accordingly, the participation of national government employees in the rural service program shall be limited to bureau Directors, Assistant Directors, Chiefs of Division, or their equivalent. Other employees of government shall participate in the program as provided in this Letter.

2. The rural service program shall be mission-oriented. To ensure the implementation of specific projects that are decided upon by barangays as being of utmost priority, barangays may request the Paglilingkod: Bagong Lipunan National Sub-Cabinet Committee and the Secretariat (referred hereafter as "Secretariat") to organize a rural service team consisting of personnel from agencies with specified skills and talents. The Secretariat shall arrange with the Heads of Office concerned for the constitution of the appropriate team which shall then be authorized to go on rural service for the identified mission. Similarly, staff members of a particular office or group of offices, with specialized technical competence, may propose a rural service project which they can undertake as a group in a specific barangay or group of barangays. They shall submit the proposal, with the recommendation of their respective Heads of Office, to the Secretariat for review and approval.

3. The payment of commutation of vacation leaves for participation in the rural service program, shall be discontinued. This restriction shall apply to the Paglilingkod: Bagong Lipunan Program and similar programs in other agencies. Savings thus realized by national government agencies, government corporations and local government units shall be available to support all or part of the employer's share for employees in the office, agency or corporation participating in the Ministry of Human Settlements PAG-I.B.I.G. program (Home Development Mutual Fund) implemented by the National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation, supplementing the funding sources identified in Letter of Instructions No. 937, directing the participation of the national government in the PAG-I.B.I.G. program.

4. The participation of employees of government-owned or controlled corporations in the rural service program shall be limited to personnel who comprise the third, fourth and fifth levels of said organizations, subject to such rules and regulations as may be issued by the Secretariat.

5. The participation of local government units in the rural service program shall be selective. Rural service shall be required only of officials who comprise the third, fourth and fifth levels of the organization in the cities and municipalities within Metropolitan Manila, Cebu City and Davao City.

6. The concept and implementation and further refinements of the rural service program shall be reviewed by the Presidential Executive Assistant, the Minister of Local Government and Community Development, assisted by the Sub-Cabinet Committee and the Secretariat.

The TANGLAW program in the Ministry of National Defense and other equivalent programs in government shall be likewise reassessed by the Ministers concerned both in terms of the participating personnel and procedure of implementation. Recommendations shall be submitted through the Presidential Executive Assistant within sixty (60) days hereof.

7. Effective immediately. aisa dc

DONE in the City of Manila, this 12th day of October, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Seventy-Nine.