CREATING THE "DESIGN CENTER PHILIPPINES" TO DEVELOP, PROMOTE AND ENHANCE THE PRODUCT DESIGN OF ALL PHILIPPINE PRODUCTS AND HANDICRAFT.

• Number: Presidential Decree No. 279
• Sections: 9

Preamble

WHEREAS, it is the avowed policy of the Government to

promote and increase export trade, particularly of products which are made out

of indigenous raw materials and are of high labor content, in order to increase

the foreign exchange earnings of the country and broaden the base of

entrepreneurship and employment;

WHEREAS, Philippine-manufactured products, including

cottage, small-scale, and medium-size industries products from indigenous raw

materials, are mostly labor intensive,

WHEREAS, exports of Philippine products have manifested a

high market potential, particularly cottage industry products, as shown in 1971

when cottage industry exports gained the sixth position among the Philippines'

ten top exports, from its tenth position in 1967, and small scale and medium

size industries now have high priority in the development of industries with

high export potentials;

WHEREAS, in the export of Philippine-manufactured products,

including cottage, small scale and medium size industries products, the area of

product design poses a problem, among others, due to its limited adaptability or

lack of it, to meet the practical and aesthetic taste of the foreign market,

even as it should be expressive of Philippine culture; and

WHEREAS, the development, promotion and enchancement of the

product design of Philippine manufactured products, including cottage, small

scale and medium size industries products, could be best achieved through a

directed, specific and organized effort for the purpose, under circumstances

most conducive to art and creativity;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the

Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me as Commander-in-Chief of all

the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and pursuant to Proclamation No. 1081,

dated September 21, 1972, and General Order No. 1, dated September 22, 1972, in

order to effect the desired reforms in the social, economic and political

structure of the country, do hereby order and decree:

Section 1

SECTION 1. To promote the policy enunciated in this Decree,

there is hereby created under the Department of Trade a government entity to he

known as "Design Center Philippines" hereinafter referred to as the "Center,"

with offices in the City of Manila.

Section 2

SEC. 2. The Center shall have the following functions:

To create, develop, promote and enhance the product design of all

Philippine-manufactured products, including cottage, small-scale and medium-size

industries products;

To develop, promote and enhance product adaptability of all

Philippine-manufactured products, particularly cottage, small-scale and

medium-size industries products;

To develop and maintain a creative research and development program on

product design and product adaptability of Philippine-manufactured products,

including cottage, small-scale and medium-size industries products;

To develop and promote the minor and applied arts, the traditional and

contemporary crafts, the appreciation for beauty and skill and the training of

artisans and craftsmen to bring about cooperative efforts among artists,

craftsmen and producers in cottage, small-scale and medium size industries;

To coordinate all functions related to product design and product

adaptability that are undertaken by all other agencies both Government and

private;

To specify, approve or otherwise regulate the product design of all

Philippine-manufactured products, particularly cottage, small-scale and

medium-size industries products, intended for export; and

To promulgate such rules and regulations as are necessary to carry out the

provisions of this Decree.

Section 3

SEC. 3. The powers and functions of the Center shall be

vested in a Board which shall be composed of nine members, as follows: the

Secretary of Trade, as Chairman; the Chairman of the Board of Investments, as

Vice-Chairman; the Secretary of Tourism, the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs,

the Administrator of the National Cottage Industries Development Authority, the

Director-General of the National Manpower and Youth Council, the Executive

Director of the Center, as ex officio members thereof; and two members from the

private sector who shall be citizens of the Philippines, of good moral character

and of recognized competence in any of the fields of economics, trade, or the

arts, to be appointed by the President of the Philippines, upon recommendation

of the Chairman of the Board.

The presence of five members shall constitute a quorum and all decisions of

the Board shall require the concurrence of the majority of such quorum. The

representatives of the private sector shall receive a per diem of fifty pesos

for every meeting attended, but the total thereof shall not exceed one thousand

pesos a month. The ex officio members shall receive commutable representation

and travelling allowances not to exceed one thousand pesos a month.

Section 4

SEC. 4. The Center shall have an Executive Director, who

shall be appointed by the President. He shall execute, administer and implement

the policies, plans and measures approved by the Board and perform such

functions as may be necessary to carry out specific responsibilities in

connection with said plans and measures.

A quarterly report of the accomplishments of the Center shall be submitted by

the Executive Director to the Board. The Board shall submit an annual report to

the President of the Philippines on the fiscal year basis, not later than one

month after the end of each fiscal year.

Section 5

SEC. 5. To carry out the provision of this Decree, the

Center shall be initially funded, for the Fiscal Year ending June 30, 1974, with

the sum of one million two hundred fifty thousand pesos, contributed as follows:

the sum of five hundred thousand pesos from the unprogrammed appropriation of

the Department of Trade; lour hundred thousand pesos from the unprogrammed

appropriation of the National Cottage Industries Development Authority (NACIDA);

two hundred fifty thousand pesos from the unprogrammed appropriation of the

National Manpower and Youth Council; one hundred thousand pesos from the

unprogrammed appropriation of the Department of Tourism; and such sums as may be

thereafter appropriated out of the funds of the National Treasury not otherwise

appropriated.

Section 6

SEC. 6. The Center shall be staffed by administrative

personnel to be appointed by the Executive Director subject to the approval of

the Board and in accordance with the Civil Service Law, and the Rules and

Regulations of the Wage and Position Classification Office. The services of

technical personnel, including consultants, shall be contracted for by the

Executive Director subject to the approval of the Board, on the basis of

competence, integrity and honesty.

The Center may call upon any official, agent, employee, agency or

instrumentality of the Government for staff or any other assistance that may be

deemed necessary to carry out the purposes of this Decree and said agency or

instrumentality of the Government shall, with the approval of the Office of the

President, assign the official, agent or employee to the Center or provide the

assistance requested by it.

Section 7

SEC. 7. Any person violating any provision of this Decree or

of the rules and regulations promulgated hereunder shall, upon conviction by a

court of competent jurisdiction, suffer the penalty of imprisonment of not less

than six months nor more than five years or a fine of not less than two thousand

pesos nor more than twenty thousand pesos, or both, at the dicretion of the

court: Provided, Thai if the offender is a corporation, firm,

partnership or association, the penalty shall be imposed upon the guilty officer

or officers, as the case may be of the corporation, firm, or association and if

such guilty officer or officers are aliens, in addition to the penalties herein

prescribed, he or they shall be deported without further proceedings on the part

of the Commission on Immigration and Deportation.

Section 8

SEC. 8. This Decree shall take effect immediately after

publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation in

the country.

Done in the City of Manila, this 24th day of August, in the year of Our Lord,

nineteen hundred and seventy-three.

(Sgd.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS

President

Republic of the Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.) ROBERTO V. REYES

Assistant Executive Secretary