MALACAÑAN PALACE
MANILA
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES
[ ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 160, March 30, 1990 ]
PROVIDING GUIDELINES FOR GOVERNMENTAL OPERATIONS IN THE CORDILLERA ADMINISTRATIVE REGION PENDING THE ORGANIZATION OF THE REGIONAL AUTONOMOUS GOVERNMENT FOR THE CORDILLERA AUTONOMOUS REGION
WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 220, Series of 1987, created a Cordillera Administrative Region consisting of the Provinces of Abra, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga-Apayao and Mt. Province and the chartered City of Baguio;
WHEREAS, pursuant to Executive Order No. 220, Series of 1987, the Cordillera Executive Board and the Cordillera Regional Assembly were likewise established for the Cordillera Administrative Region which, together with the aforesaid bodies, shall “exist until such time as the autonomous regional government shall have been established and organized under an organic act passed by Congress in accordance with Section 18, Article X of the Constitution” (Section 17);
WHEREAS, Administrative Order No. 36, Series of 1987, authorized the various departments and other agencies of the National Government to maintain regional offices in the Cordillera Administrative Region;
WHEREAS, the Commission on Elections, in its Resolution No. 2259 declared that the Organic Act for the Cordillera Autonomous Region has been approved and/or ratified in the sole Province of Ifugao in a plebiscite held on January 30, 1990 in the provinces and the city comprising the Cordillera Administrative Region;
WHEREAS, Article XXI, Section 3 of Republic Act. No. 6766 provides that:
“The Cordillera Executive Board, the Cordillera Regional Assembly, as well as all offices and agencies created under Executive Order No. 220 shall cease to exist immediately upon the ratification of this Organic Act.
All funds, properties and assets of the Cordillera Executive Board and the Cordillera Regional Assembly shall automatically be transferred to the Cordillera Autonomous Government”.
WHEREAS, Republic Act No. 6861, dated March 8, 1990, postponed the holding of the first regular elections for Governor, Deputy Governor and Members of the Regional Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Cordillera to the first Monday of March 1991;
WHEREAS, while the Cordillera Executive Board, the Cordillera Regional Assembly as well as all offices and agencies created under Executive Order No. 220, S. of 1987, are deemed abolished immediately upon the ratification of the Organic Act, the Cordillera Administrative Region remains subsisting until the organization of the Cordillera Autonomous Regional Government and the full implementation of Section 13 (A), Article XXI of Republic Act No. 6766;
WHEREAS, there is an imperative need to provide guidelines for the governmental operations in the Cordillera Administrative Region pending the organization of the Regional Autonomous Government for the Cordillera Autonomous Region;
WHEREAS, Article X, Section 14 of the Constitution provides that:
“The President shall provide for regional development councils or other similar bodies composed of local government officials, regional heads of departments and other government offices, and representatives from non-governmental organizations within the regions for purposes of administrative decentralization to strengthen the autonomy of the units therein and to accelerate the economic and social growth and development of the units in the region”;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, CORAZON C. AQUINO, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order:
Section 1. For purposes of Governmental operations, the integrity of the Cordillera Administrative Region as composed of the Provinces of Abra, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga Apayao and Mt. Province and the chartered City of Baguio shall be maintained until the organization of the Regional Autonomous Government for the Cordillera Autonomous Region.ℒαwρhi৷
Section 2. All regional offices and agencies of the National Government established in the Cordillera Administrative Region pursuant to Administrative Order No. 36, Series of 1987, are hereby directed to continue serving the Provinces and the City comprising the said administrative region.
Section 3. The Cabinet Officer for Regional Development, in coordination with the Presidential Management Staff and National Economic and Development Authority Secretariat, is hereby directed to organize the Regional Development Council and Regional Development Assembly for the Cordillera Administrative Region in accordance with Executive Order No. 308, Series of 1987, as amended, within thirty (30) days from date hereof.
Section 4. These guidelines shall take effect immediately and shall remain in force and effect until the organization of the Regional Autonomous Government for the Cordillera Autonomous Region.
DONE in the City of Manila, this 30th day of March, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and ninety.
(Sgd.) CORAZON C. AQUINO
President of the Philippines
By the President:
(Sgd.) CATALINO MACARAIG, JR.
Executive Secretary
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