Relative to Part VII on Regional Planning and Development and Other Pertinent Provisions of the Integrated Reorganization Plan

December 31, 1972

LETTER OF IMPLEMENTATION NO. 22

RELATIVE TO PART VII ON REGIONAL PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT AND OTHER PERTINENT PROVISIONS OF THE INTEGRATED REORGANIZATION PLAN

 

Pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 1 dated September 24, 1972, Reorganizing the Executive Branch of the National Government, you are hereby directed to implement Part VII on Regional Planning and Development and other pertinent provisions of the Integrated Reorganization Plan, hereinafter referred to as the "Plan," prepared by the Commission on Reorganization, as follows:

ORGANIZATION OF THE REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL

SECTION 1. The organization and functions of each Regional Development Council, hereinafter referred to as the "Council," shall be in accordance with the provisions of Part VII and other pertinent provisions of the Plan and the details contained in this Letter of Implementation.

SECTION 2. The organization of the Council, as graphically-depicted in the following organization chart, shall consist of the Council Proper, the Executive Committee, and the Technical Staff.

SECTION 3. The Council which shall be established in each of the eleven regional areas provided under Article I, Chapter III, Part II of the Plan shall be an extension of the National Economic Development Authority.

FUNCTIONAL STATEMENTS OF THE REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL

SECTION 4. The functions, powers, duties and responsibilities of the Council and its various units shall be as follows:

FUNCTIONS OF THE REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL

SECTION 5. The Council shall maintain close coordination with the sectoral departments of the national governments and local governments within the region and shall have the following functions: among others:

[Organization Chart: Regional Development Councils]

a. Conduct a comprehensive and detailed survey of the resources and potentialities of the region and, on the basis thereof, prepare long-range and annual plans for the region within the guidelines set by the National Economic Development Authority;

b. Translate the national economic goals into more specific regional objectives which shall be reflected in the plans and programs of action prepared for the region;

c. Develop a research program involving continuing studies on the social, economic and cultural development of the region;

d. Consider and adopt an annual regional economic report for transmittal to the National Economic Development Authority;

e. Extend planning and other related forms of technical assistance to the local governments, local planning boards, and sectoral developments of the national government existing in the region, and private entities;

f. Coordinate all planning activities of sectoral departments of the national government existing in the region in relation to those of the local governments and local planning boards;

g. Make the necessary changes, amendments and revisions in the regional plans to improve and update them; and

h. Perform such other functions as may be provided by law.

FUNCTIONS OF THE COUNCIL PROPER

SECTION 6. The Council proper shall be composed of the governors of the provinces and mayors of chartered cities comprising the region; the regional directors of the Bureau of Agricultural Extension and Bureau of Plant Industry of the Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources; the regional directors of the Bureau of Public Highways and Bureau of Public Works of the Department of Public Works, Transportation and Communications; the regional directors of the Departments of Labor, Education and Culture, Health, Social Welfare, and Local Government and Community Development; the general managers of the regional or sub-regional development authorities existing in the region, if any; and a representative of the National Economic Development Authority.

The Chairman of the Council shall be elected from among the elective members thereof while the representative of the National Economic Development Council shall serve as the Vice-Chairman.

The Council proper shall have the following functions, among others:

a. Meet in regular sessions at least once a year and in as many special sessions as may be called by the Executive Committee to consider regional plans, programs, policies and guidelines formulated and submitted by the Committee;

b. Consider and adopt an annual regional economic report on the status and progress of development in the region for transmittal to the National Economic Development Authority;

c. Adopt broad policies and guidelines to carry out the goals and objectives of the Council; and

d. Perform such other functions as may be provided by law.

FUNCTIONS OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

SECTION 7. The Executive Committee shall be composed of the regional directors of the Bureau of Public Highways, the Bureau of Public Works, the Bureau of Agricultural Extension, the Bureau of Plant Industry, and the Department of Local Government and Community Development; two representatives of the elective members of the Council; the general managers of the regional or sub-regional development authorities existing in the region, if any; and the representative of the National Economic Development Authority who shall be the Chairman of the Committee.

The Committee shall have the following functions, among others:

a. Review and recommend for adoption by the Council regional plans, programs, policies and guidelines;

b. Review annual regional economic reports prepared by the technical staff for the consideration of the Council;

c. Provide guidelines for the operations and activities of the Technical Staff;

d. Act and decide on matters referred by the Technical Staff for its consideration; and

e. Perform such other functions as may be provided by law.

FUNCTIONS OF THE TECHNICAL STAFF

SECTION 8. The Technical Staff shall be responsible for serving as the research and implementing arm of the Council, and providing day-to-day technical assistance to the Executive Committee.

The Chairman of the Executive Committee shall be the executive officer of the Technical Staff.

The Technical Staff shall have a Plan Formulation Division and a Program Coordination Division with corresponding duties and responsibilities, as follows:

Functions of the Plan Formulation Division

SECTION 8.1. The Plan Formulation Division shall have the following functions, among others:

a. Formulate regional plans, programs, policies and guidelines for the consideration of the Council;

b. Make the necessary changes, amendments and revisions in the regional plans, programs, policies and guidelines, as may be desired by the Council, in order to improve and up-date them;

c. Assist the Council in the translation of national economic goals and policies into more specific regional objectives which shall be reflected in the regional plans prepared for the region;

d. Conduct a comprehensive and detailed survey of the resources and potentialities of the region;

e. Conduct research on the social, economic and cultural development of the region;

f. Prepare and up-date local economic maps and atlases; and

g. Perform such other functions as may be provided by law.

Functions of the Program Coordination Division

SECTION 8.2. The Program Coordination Division shall have the following functions, among others:

a. Prepare and submit annual regional economic reports for transmittal to the National Economic Development Authority through the Council;

b. Coordinate for the Council all planning and programming activities of local governments, local planning boards, and sectoral departments of the national government existing in the region;

c. Extend planning and other related forms of technical assistance to the local governments, local planning boards, and sectoral departments of the national government existing in the region, and private entities;

d. Provide day-to-day technical assistance to the Executive Committee; and

e. Perform such other functions as may be provided by law.

TRANSITORY MEASURES

SECTION 9. You are directed to activate as soon as feasible and depending on the availability of funds the regional development council in each region as provided for in Article II, Chapter I, Part VII and Paragraph 2, Article XIV, Chapter I, Part X of the Plan.

SECTION 10. In the meantime, that funds are not available, you are hereby further directed to consider the possibility of activating such councils, particularly their technical staffs, initially through detail of personnel pursuant to Paragraph 8, Article II, Chapter I, Part VII of the Plan.

REALLOCATION OF APPROPRIATIONS

SECTION 11. You are likewise directed to cause the preparation, in collaboration with the Budget Commission, of the details of the Reallocation of Appropriations necessary to put into effect the implementation as prescribed by this Letter of Implementation in accordance with Paragraph 4, Article I, Chapter I, Part XXIII of the Plan.

TIMING OF ADMINISTRATIVE ACTIONS

SECTION 12. You are hereby directed to effect the orderly scheduling of transfers, changes and other transitional actions required by the Plan and this Letter of Implementation: Provided, That all such actions shall be completed within the period prescribed in Paragraph 14, Article I, Chapter I, Part XXIII of the Plan reckoned from the date of issuance of Presidential Decree No. 1. In the interim, each entity affected shall continue to perform its functions until such time as you shall order change or cessation and each officer and employee shall continue to perform his duties and to exercise his authority until such time as you order otherwise but not beyond the termination of the transition period prescribed above.

You are hereby finally directed to note and call the attention of the President to such provisions of Part VII of the Plan or portions thereof which are inoperable under present conditions in view of the Proclamation Order No. 1081 dated September 21, 1972 and which should be suspended until such time as their activation shall be possible.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 31st day of December, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Seventy-Two.