PROVIDING FOR THE GUIDELINES IN THE NEGOTIATION OF INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS AND ITS RATIFICATION

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WHEREAS, the negotiations of international agreements are made in pursuance
of the foreign policy of the country;

WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 292, otherwise known as the Administrative
Code of 1987, provides that the Department of Foreign Affairs shall be the lead
agency that shall advise and assist the President in planning, organizing,
directing, coordinating and evaluating the total national effort in the field
of foreign relations;

WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 292 further provides that the Department of
Foreign Affairs shall negotiate treaties and other agreements pursuant to the instructions
of the President, and in coordination with other government agencies;

WHEREAS, there is a need to establish guidelines to govern the negotiation
and ratification of international agreements by the different agencies of the
government;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FIDEL
V. RAMOS, President of the Philippines, by
virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby order:

SECTION 1. Declaration of Policy. – It is
hereby declared the policy of the State that the negotiations of all treaties
and executive agreements, or any amendment thereto, shall be coordinated with,
and made only with the participation of, the Department of Foreign Affairs in
accordance with Executive Order No. 292. It is also declared the policy of the
State that the composition of any Philippine negotiation panel and the
designation of the chairman thereof shall be made in coordination with the
Department of Foreign Affairs.

SEC. 2. Definition of Terms.

a. International
agreement shall refer to a contract or understanding, regardless of
nomenclature, entered into between the Philippines and another government in
written form and governed by international law, whether embodied in a single
instrument or in two or more related instruments.

b. Treaties –
international agreements entered into by the Philippines which require
legislative concurrence after executive ratification. This term may include
compacts like conventions, declarations, covenants and acts.

c. Executive Agreements
– similar to treaties except that they do not require legislative concurrence.

d. Full Powers –
authority granted by a Head of State or Government to a delegation head
enabling the latter to bind his country to the commitments made in the
negotiations to be pursued.

e. National Interest
– advantage or enhanced prestige or benefit to the country as defined by its
political and/or administrative leadership.

f. Provisional Effect
– recognition by one or both sides of the negotiation process that an agreement
be considered in force pending compliance with domestic requirements for the
effectivity of the agreement.

SEC. 3. Authority to Negotiate. – Prior to
any international meeting or negotiation of a treaty or executive agreement,
authorization must be secured by the lead agency from the President through the
Secretary of Foreign Affairs. The request for authorization shall be in
writing, proposing the composition of the Philippine delegation and
recommending the range of positions to be taken by that delegation. In case of
negotiations of agreements, changes of national policy or those involving
international arrangements of a permanent character entered into in the name of
the Government of the Republic of the Philippines, the authorization shall be
in the form of Full Powers and formal instructions. In cases of other
agreements, a written authorization from the President shall be sufficient.

SEC. 4. Full Powers. – The issuance of
Full Powers shall be made by the President of the Philippines who may delegate
this function to the Secretary of Foreign Affairs.

The following persons, however,
shall not require Full Powers prior to negotiating or signing a treaty or an
executive agreement, or any amendment thereto, by virtue of the nature of their
functions:

a. Secretary of Foreign Affairs;

b. Heads of Philippine diplomatic
missions, for the purpose of adopting the text of a treaty or an agreement
between the Philippines and the State to which they are accredited;

c. Representatives accredited by
the Philippines to an international conference or to an international organization
or one of its organs, for the purpose of adopting the text of a treaty in that
conference, organization or organ.

SEC. 5. Negotiations. –

a. In cases involving
negotiations of agreements, the composition of the Philippine panel or
delegation shall be determined by the President upon the recommendation of the
Secretary of Foreign Affairs and the lead agency if it is not the Department of
Foreign Affairs.

b. The lead agency in the
negotiation of a treaty or an executive agreement, or any amendment thereto,
shall convene a meeting of the panel members prior to the commencement of any
negotiations for the purpose of establishing the parameters of the negotiating
position of the panel. No deviation from the agreed parameters shall be made
without prior consultations with the members of the negotiating panel.

SEC. 6. Entry into Force and Provisional Application of Treaties and
Executive Agreements. –

a. A treaty or an executive
agreement enters into force upon compliance with the domestic requirements stated
in this Order.

b. No treaty or executive
agreement shall be given provisional effect unless it is shown that a pressing
national interest will be upheld thereby. The Department of Foreign Affairs, in
consultation with the concerned agencies, shall determine whether a treaty or
an executive agreement, or any amendment thereto, shall be given provisional
effect.

SEC. 7. Domestic Requirements for the Entry into Force of a Treaty or an
Executive Agreement. – The domestic
requirements for the entry into force of a treaty or an executive agreement, or
any amendment thereto, shall be as follows:

A. Executive Agreements.

i. All executive agreements
shall be transmitted to the Department of Foreign Affairs after their signing
for the preparation of the ratification papers. The transmittal shall include
the highlights of the agreements and the benefits which will accrue to the
Philippines arising from them.

ii. The Department of Foreign
Affairs, pursuant to the endorsement by the concerned agency, shall transmit the
agreements to the President of the Philippines for his ratification. The
original signed instrument of ratification shall then be returned to the
Department of Foreign Affairs for appropriate action.

B. Treaties.

i. All treaties, regardless of
their designation, shall comply with the requirements provided in sub-paragraph
1 and 2, item A (Executive Agreements) of this Section. In addition, the
Department of Foreign Affairs shall submit the treaties to the Senate of the
Philippines for concurrence in the ratification by the President. A certified
true copy of the treaties, in such numbers as may be required by the Senate,
together with a certified true copy of the ratification instrument, shall
accompany the submission of the treaties to the Senate.

ii. Upon receipt of the
concurrence by the Senate, the Department of Foreign Affairs shall comply with
the provision of the treaties in effecting their entry into force.

SEC. 8. Notice to Concerned Agencies. – The Department of
Foreign Affairs shall inform the concerned agencies of the entry into force of
the agreement.

SEC. 9. Determination of the Nature of the Agreement. – The Department of Foreign Affairs shall determine whether an
agreement is an executive agreement or a treaty.

SEC. 10. Separability Clause. –
If, for any reason, any part or provision of this Order shall be held
unconstitutional or invalid, other parts or provisions hereof which are not
affected thereby shall continue to be in full force and effect.

SEC. 11. Repealing Clause. – All executive orders,
proclamations, memorandum orders or memorandum circulars inconsistent herewith
are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 12. Effectivity. – This Executive
Order shall take effect immediately upon its approval.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 25th day of November in the year of Our
Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Seven.

(Sgd.) FIDEL
V. RAMOS
President of the Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.) RUBEN D. TORRES
Executive Secretary

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