ORGANIZING THE NATIONAL COMMITTEE ON ILLEGAL ENTRANTS, REPEALING E.O. 656, SERIES OF 1981, TO ENSURE EFFECTIVE COORDINATION AMONG MEMBER AGENCIES IN THE INVESTIGATION AND DISPOS…

WHEREAS, it is a declared national policy of the
Philippines to safeguard its territorial integrity and its sovereign right to
explore and exploit, develop and manage its marine resources in accordance with
existing laws;

WHEREAS, it is the objective of the National
Government to effectively enforce its laws, rules and regulations on the entry
of foreign nationals and vessels into Philippine territorial waters through the
effective coordination of the investigative functions of the concerned law
enforcement agencies in relation to the conduct of foreign nationals and
vessels;

WHEREAS, there is a need for a forum to discuss
issues for the purpose of formulating and submitting policy recommendations to
the President on the investigation and disposition of cases involving the
illegal entry of foreign nationals and vessels;

WHEREAS, cases of illegal entry of foreign
nationals and vessels into Philippine waters have increased;

WHEREAS, there is an imperative and urgent need to
create a coordinative committee on the investigation and disposition of cases
involving the illegal entry of foreign nationals and vessels, and to facilitate
and expedite government processes in the resolution of such cases;

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

Section 1. ORGANIZING THE NATIONAL COMMITTEE ON
ILLEGAL ENTRANTS

The NATIONAL COMMITTEE ON ILLEGAL ENTRANTS,
hereinafter referred to as the Committee, is hereby organized to be composed of
the following agencies:

Section 2. FUNCTIONS AND POWERS OF THE COMMITTEE. –
The Committee shall exercise the following powers and functions:

a. Perform and serve as a forum for the effective
coordination of the investigation, prosecution and final disposition of all
case of illegal entry, smuggling, and illegal fishing committed by foreign
nationals and vessels;

b. Perform and serve as a forum for the exchange of
information on cases of illegal entry, smuggling, and illegal fishing committed
by foreign nationals and vessels;

c. Submit policy recommendations to the President
on the enforcement of laws, rules and regulations on the entry of foreign
nationals and vessels into Philippine territorial waters;

d. Submit recommendations to the President
regarding cases of illegal entry, smuggling and illegal fishing involving
foreign nationals and vessels, when necessary;

e. Create regional and provincial committees on
illegal entrants, where necessary, to assist the Committee in the performance
of its tasks at the local level;

f. Act on all recommendations and reports of the
regional and provincial committees on all cases of illegal entry, smuggling,
and illegal fishing involving foreign nationals and vessels;

g. Adopt its operational guidelines, rules of
procedure, and regulations in order to effectively carry out its mandate
including its supervision over the regional and provincial committees on
illegal entrants;

h. Call on any department, bureau, office or agency
of the government to assist the Committee in the discharge of its functions;
and

i. Perform such other powers and functions as may
be necessary to attain its objectives.

Section 3. COMMITTEE SECRETARIAT

The Committee shall have a Secretariat which shall
be under the direct supervision of the Chairman. The Secretariat shall assist
in coordinating the activities of the Committee as well as provide
administrative support.

Section 4. REPORT TO THE PRESIDENT. – The Committee
shall submit to the President a quarterly report of its activities.

Section 5. FUNDING. – Subject to the availability
of funds, the amount of FIVE MILLION PESOS (P5,000.00) is hereby
authorized to be set aside from the Contingency Fund of the President to cover
the costs of the Committee’s activities in 1995. Appropriations for the
succeeding years shall be incorporated in the budget proposal of agencies
concerned with the apprehension and custody of detained illegal entrants and of
seized vessels and cargo. Administrative expenses of the Committee and travel
costs of Committee members shall be incorporated in the DFA budget proposals
for this Committee subject to the existing accounting and auditing laws and
regulations.

Section 6. REPEALING CLAUSE. – This Executive Order
656, Series of 1981, is hereby repealed. All other Executive Orders,
administrative orders, rules and regulations inconsistent herewith are hereby
repealed or modified accordingly.

Section 7. EFFECTIVITY. – This Executive Order
shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official
Gazette or in a newspaper or general circulation.

Done in the City of Manila, this 22nd day of April
in the year of our Lord, nineteen hundred and ninety-five.

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

By the
President:

(Sgd.) TEOFISTO
T. GUINGONA
Executive Secretary

Normal
0

false
false
false

EN-US
X-NONE
X-NONE

MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:””;
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:”Times New Roman”;
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}