Section 8
SEC. 8. The VIP Board- There is hereby created a VIP Board that shall be the policymaking body of the scientific and technological activities of the VIP. The VIP Board shall be chaired by the Secretary of the DOST and co-chaired by the Secretary of the Department of Health (DOH) and the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture (DA). The members shall be composed of the following: (a) Undersecretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR); (b) Undersecretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA); (c) Chairperson of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED); (d) Director General of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); (e) Director of the RITM; (f) Director of the VIP; (g) Executive Director of the University of the Philippines-National Instituted of Health (UP-NIH); (h) President of the National Academy of Science and Technology; (i) Executive Director of the National Research Council of the Philippines; and (j) Two (2) representatives from the private sector appointed by the President of the Philippines, as nominated by the VIP Board. They must be Filipino citizens with recognized competence in the fields of medical virology, genomics, plant virology, animal virology, epidemiology, genetic engineering, or other related disciplines. The chairperson, co-chairpersons , and members shall each designate a permanent representative to the Board, who must possess sufficient and relevant experience. The permanent representative shall be duly authorized to act on behalf of his-her principal, in the principal's absence. The Chairperson of the VIP Board shall have voting rights in case of a tie.