ESTABLISHING THE TARLAC COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF CAMILING, PROVINCE OF TARLAC.

• Number: Presidential Decree No. 609
• Sections: 21

Preamble

WHEREAS, the Constitution of the Philippines prescribes

that all educational institutions shall aim to develop scientific

technological and vocational efficiency;

WHEREAS, Presidential Decree No. 6-A (Educational Decree of

1972) declared it a policy that educational objectives shall be attained

through the undertaking of educational development projects by

expansion of agricultural and higher education programs and agricultural

extension activities to meet the demands and needs of the New Society;

WHEREAS, it is imperative that agricultural institutions,

particularly agricultural schools, cooperate to the maximum in the

massive land reform programs of the government to uplift the

tenant-farmer from lethargy and ignorance and to release him from the

bondage of tenancy;

WHEREAS, the Tarlac College of Agriculture can carry out

with greater strength its goals, agricultural programs and its vital

role in national economic development effectively and efficiently if

granted complete autonomy.

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

Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution as

Commander-in-Chief of 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, as amended, do hereby decree and order

the following:

Section 1

SECTION 1. The Tarlac College of Agriculture of the Tarlac

College of Technology, located in the Municipality of Camiling, Province

of Tarlac, is hereby separated from the latter college and established

as an independent state college. The Tarlac College of Agriculture shall

offer a four-year secondary agricultural course and special course

leading to the title of Associate in Technical Agriculture; Courses

leading to the degrees of Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, Bachelor

of Science in Agricultural Education, Bachelor of Science in Home

Technology, and Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Engineering, post

graduate course leading to the degrees of Master of Science in

Agriculture, and other degree courses and special courses as the Board

of Trustees of the college may deem necessary.

Section 2

SEC. 2. The aim of the said college shall be to provide

professional, technical and special instruction for special purposes and

to promote research extension services and progressive leadership in

agriculture, agricultural education, home technology and other related

educational fields.

Section 3

SEC. 3. The head of this institution shall be known as the

President of the Tarlac College of Agriculture. He shall be appointed by

the President of the Philippines upon the recommendation of the board

of trustees as hereinafter provided. The powers and duties of the

president of the college, in addition to those especially provided for

in this Decree, shall be those usually pertaining to the office of the

president of the state colleges.

Section 4

SEC. 4. The government of said college is hereby vested in a

board of trustees of the Tarlac College of Agriculture, The board of

trustees shall be composed of the Secretary of Education, who shall be

ex-officio chairman of the board, the Provincial Governor of Tarlac, the

Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Secretary of

Agrarian Reform, the Secretary of Labor, the Director of Vocational

Education, the president of the college and the president of the Tarlac

College of Agriculture Alumni Association.

Members of the board shall serve without compensation, other than

actual and necessary expenses incurred either in attendance upon

meetings of the board or upon other official business authorized by

resolution of the board.

Section 5

SEC. 5. The board of trustees

shall have the following powers of administration:

To create, in addition to the existing College of Agriculture, a

College of Forestry, College of Veterinary Science, College of Inland

Fisheries and other allied colleges as the Board may deem necessary;

To receive and appropriate to the ends specified by law sums of

money as may be provided by law for the support of the college;

To confer the title of Associate of Agricultural Education, the

degrees of Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, Bachelor of Science in

Home Technology, and such other titles and degrees, corresponding to the

courses which the board of trustees may offer: Provided, That it

may confer the usual honorary degrees upon any person in recognition of

learning, statesmanship, leadership or eminence in literature, science,

art, agriculture or public service;

To appoint, upon the recommendation of the president of the

college, instructors, professors, lecturers and other employees of the

college: Such recommending power of the President shall, however, be

subjected to limitations as may be provided by a Code for the College;

to fix their compensation, hours or service and such other duties and

conditions as may be deemed proper; to grant to them in its discretion,

leaves of absence under such regulations as it may promulgate, any

provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, and to remove them for

cause after an investigation and hearing shall have been conducted;

To approve the curricula and rules of discipline drawn up by the

college council as hereinafter provided;

To fix the tuition fees, graduation fees and fees for laboratory

courses and all special fees, and to remit the same in special cases;

To provide fellowships for faculty members and scholarships to

students showing special evidence of merit;

To provide rules for its own government, and to enact, for the

government of the college, such general ordinances and regulations not

contrary to law, as are consistent with the purposes of the college; as

defined in Section two of this Act; and

To receive in trust, legacies, gifts, donations of real and

personal property of all kinds and to administer the same for the

benefit of the college or for aid to any student, in accordance with the

directions and instructions of the donor, and in default thereof, in

such manner as the board of trustees may, in its discretion, determine.

Section 6

SEC. 6. A quorum of the board of trustees shall consist of a

majority of all the members.

Section 7

SEC. 7. On or before the fifteenth of June of each year,

the board of trustees shall file with the President of the Philippines a

detailed report, setting forth the progress, condition and needs of the

college.

Section 8

SEC. 8. There shall be a college council consisting of

the president of the college, as presiding Officer and of all

instructors and professors of the college, as members. The council shall

have the power to prescribe the curricula and rules of discipline of

the college, subject to the approval of the board of trustees. It shall

fix the requirements for admission to the college, as well as for

graduation and the award of a title or a degree. The council shall also

have the power to recommend students or other persons to be awarded

titles or degrees. Through the president, it shall have disciplinary

power over the students within the limits prescribed by the rules and

discipline approved by the board of trustees.

Other powers of the council shall be embodied in the Code for

the College to be hereinafter enacted.

Section 9

SEC. 9. The body of

the instructors and professors of the college shall constitute the

faculty of the college. In the appointment of professors or instructors

of the college, no religious test shall be applied nor shall religious

opinions or affiliations of any of the faculty members be made a matter

of examination or inquiry: Provided, however, That no instructor

or professor in the college shall inculcate sectarian tenets in any of

his teachings, nor shall he attempt either directly or indirectly, under

penalty of dismissal, to influence students for or against any

particular church or religious sect.

Section 10

SEC. 10. No civil service eligibility shall be required

for appointment to the college as a professor or regular instructor.

Section 11

SEC. 11. There shall be a secretary of the college,

appointed by the board of trustees, who shall also act as the secretary

of the board, and shall keep such records of the college as may be

designated by the board.

Section 12

SEC. 12. The Treasurer of the Philippines shall be

ex-officio treasurer of the college. All accounts and expenses therefore

shall be audited by the Commission on Audit and all disbursements shall

be made in accordance with existing auditing rules and regulations.

Section 13

SEC. 13. Heads of bureaus or offices of the National

Government are hereby authorized to loan or transfer, upon request of

the president of the college, such apparatus or supplies as may be

needed by the college and to detail employees for duty therein, when, in

the judgment of the head of the bureau or office, such supplies or

employees can be spared without serious detriment to the public service.

Employees so detailed shall perform such duties as may be required of

them by the head of the institution, and the time they spent under

detail shall be counted as part of their regular official service.

Section 14

SEC. 14. The president of the college, with the approval

of the Director of Public Schools, may use one or more public schools as

training or laboratory schools of the college.

Section 15

SEC. 15. An Officer-in-Charge to be appointed by the

President of the Philippines shall take the place and/or take over the

functions and powers of the president in the Tarlac College of

Agriculture until the need for the latter arises.

Section 16

SEC. 16. In order not to interrupt the smooth functioning

of the Tarlac College of Agriculture, the faculty as well as the other

personnel thereof as are presently employed on full-time basis, shall be

absorbed by the said college. Salaries of the personnel shall be

adjusted in the discretion of the Board of Trustees, and all properties

and assets, such as lands, buildings, equipment and facilities; also the

land grant in Mayantoc, Tarlac, if and when it is released by the

Bureau of Forest Development, as well as all its liabilities, shall be

absorbed by the new college.

Section 17

SEC. 17. For the purpose of giving effect to this decree,

each college shall maintain its budget share up to the end of the

current fiscal year. In addition to this, one-half of all unexpended

balance of the appropriation for the Tarlac College of Technology during

the current fiscal year are hereby made available and shall be remitted

to the Tarlac College of Agriculture. Thereafter, such sums as may be

necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this Decree shall be

included in the Annual General Appropriations Decree.

Section 18

SEC. 18. Provisions consistent with this Decree and which

shall complement, strengthen and make effective the provisions thereof,

shall be embodied in a Code of the College to be hereinafter enacted.

Section 19

SEC. 19. Such provisions of Republic Act Numbered

Forty-three hundred thirty-seven as are inconsistent with the provisions

of this Decree are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Section 20

SEC. 20. This Decree shall take effect upon its approval.

Done in the City of Manila, this 18th day of December, in the

year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-four.

(Sgd.)

FERDINAND E. MARCOS

President of the Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.)

ALEJANDRO MELCHOR

Executive Secretary