EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 412 May 7, 1973
CREATING THE BICOL RIVER BASIN COUNCIL
WHEREAS, it is government policy to promote integrated area development as a means towards a systematic regional development in the country;
WHEREAS, in the Bicol Region, the Bicol River Basin is an area of high growth potential where new investments in agriculture and infrastructure will yield maximum benefits in terms of production and agrarian reform;
WHEREAS, there is a need for a coordinating body that will oversee, unify and integrate the administration and implementation of this pilot river basin development program of the government;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby create the Bicol River Basin Council, hereinafter referred to as the "Council", under the National Economic and Development Authority.
Sec. 1. Powers and jurisdiction. The Council shall have the following powers:
(a) To review and pass upon the programming and allocation of funds of agencies represented in its Board of Directors for all projects within its geographical jurisdiction.
Unless otherwise decreed, the jurisdiction of the Council shall encompass that portion of the Bicol River Watershed within the province of Camarines Sur, covering the municipalities of Del Gallego, Ragay, Lupi, Sipocot, Calabanga, Cabusao, Libmanan, Pasacao, Pamplona, Bombon, Magarao, Caramoan, Camaligan, Naga City, Milaor, Gainza, Minalabac, San Fernando, Bula, Balatan, Pili, Tinambac, Goa, Tigaon, Sangay, Buhi, Iriga City, Nabua, Ba-ao, Ocampo, and Bato.
(b) To integrate and coordinate with implementing agencies of the government all plans and programs affecting the Bicol River Basin.
The decision of the Council in this regard shall be final.
(c) To call on any department, bureaus, office, agency and other instrumentalities of the government for assistance in the form of personnel, facilities, and other resources as the need arises in the discharge of its functions.
(d) To do all such other things and to transact all such business as is directly or indirectly necessary, incidental to the attainment of the objectives of the Bicol River Basin Development Program.
Sec. 2. Board of Directors. The powers of the Council shall be vested and exercised by a Board of Directors, hereinafter referred to as the Board, which shall be composed of the following:
As Chairman The Secretary of Public Works, Transportation and Communication
As Members The Secretary of Agriculture and Natural Resources, or his undersecretary
The Secretary of Agrarian Reform, or his undersecretary
The Secretary of Local Government and Community Development, or his undersecretary
The Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority, or his Deputy
The Provincial Governor of Camarines Sur, and
The Executive Director of the Council, ex-officio
The Board shall meet at least twice a year or more frequently as may be necessary to discharge its functions. For actual attendance at each meeting, each member of the Board shall have a per diem of one hundred pesos (P100), but the total amount of per diem a member may receive shall in no case exceed two-hundred pesos (P200) a month.
Four members of the Board shall constitute a quorum during meetings of the Council.
Sec. 3. Program Office. The Council shall maintain a Program Office which shall be headed by the Executive Director and four Deputy Directors for Plans and Programs, Social Infrastructure, Physical Infrastructure, and Budget and Administration.
This Program Office shall have its principal location in Camarines Sur.
Sec. 4. Duties of the Board. The Board shall have the following duties:
(a) To prescribe, amend, repeal rules and regulations governing the manner in which the general affairs of the Council shall be conducted.
(b) To appoint, suspend, or otherwise remove from office for cause the Executive Director or his Deputies.
(c) To approve the annual and/or supplemental budgets of the Council which shall be submitted regularly. lawphi1.net
Sec. 5. The Executive Director, Qualifications. The Executive Director shall be a natural-born citizen of the Philippines with demonstrated executive competence in the field of public administration, public infrastructure, or the management of agriculture, industrial, or commercial enterprises.
The Executive Director shall serve for a fixed term of four (4) years, unless earlier removed from office by a two-thirds vote of the Board.
The Executive Director shall receive an annual compensation which shall be charged against the appropriation of the Council for operating expenses. Provided, however, that in no case shall the compensation of the Executive Director be more than thirty-thousand pesos (P30,000) per annum.
Sec. 6. Duties of the Executive Director. The Executive Director shall perform the following duties:
(a) To prepare the agenda for all meetings of the Board and to submit for consideration thereof the policies and measures which are necessary to carry out the affairs of the Council.
(b) To execute and administer the policies and measures approved by the Board.
(c) To manage the Program Office in consonance with the policies.
(d) To submit for the approval of the Board the annual and/or supplemental budget of the Bicol River Basin Council.
(e) To sit in all meetings of the Board and participate in its deliberation with a right to vote.
(f) To submit within sixty (60) days after the close of each fiscal year, an annual report, through the Board, to the National Economic and Development Authority. lawphi1.net
(g) To perform such other duties as may be assigned to him by the Board from time to time.
Sec. 7. Operating Expenses. There is hereby appropriated from the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated the amount of one-million, five-hundred thousand pesos (P1,500,000) to cover the operating expenses of the Council for the first year of operations. Subsequent appropriations and releases shall be based on the budget approved by the Board.
Sec. 8. Auditing Procedures. The Auditor-General shall appoint a representative who shall be the Auditor of the Council, and the necessary personnel to assist said representative in the performance of his duties.
The financial transactions of the Council shall be audited in accordance with law, administrative regulations, and the principles and procedures applicable to corporate transactions.
Sec. 9. Effectivity. This executive order shall take effect immediately. lawphi1.net
Done in the City of Manila, this 7th day of May, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen-hundred and seventy-three.
