EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 439 December 2, 1974
CREATING A NATIONAL PREPARATORY COMMITTEE AND DESIGNATING A COORDINATING SECRETARIAT FOR THE PHILIPPINE PARTICIPATION IN HABITAT: THE UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON HUMAN SETTLEMENTS IN VANCOUVER, CANADA, IN 1976
WHEREAS, the United Nations is sponsoring HABITAT: The United Nations Conference on Human Settlements in Vancouver, Canada, 1976, to highlight the growing need for life-enhancing human settlements and consider solutions to the many problems that degrade the quality of life in human settlements;
WHEREAS, the Philippines is one of the leaders in the world today in human settlements development, a distinction recognized by no less than the Secretary-General of HABITAT;
WHEREAS, in order to highlight the country's achievements in human settlements planning and development and contribute to the collective human settlements technology of the world as well as the success of HABITAT, it is desirable that the Philippines have as effective and thorough a participation in HABITAT as possible including the preparatory regional and other meetings, conferences, seminars, workshops and the like:
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, and in order to attain the objective of insuring the most effective Philippine participation in HABITAT: The United Nations Conference on Human Settlements, do hereby order:
Sec. 1. There is hereby created a Philippine National Preparatory Committee for HABITAT: The United Nations Conference on Human Settlements whose members shall be drawn from agencies and bodies engaged in human settlements development. To this end, the First Lady, Mrs. Imelda R. Marcos, is hereby designated Chairman of said National Preparatory Committee, with the Director- General of the National Economic and Development Authority, the Assistant Secretary of Foreign Affairs for United Nations and International Conferences, the Chairman of the Task Force on Human Settlements, the Director of the Environmental Center of the Philippines, the Chairman- General Manager of the People's Homesite and Housing Corporation and the Officer-in-Charge of the Presidential Assistant on Housing and Resettlements Agency as members.
Sec. 2. The Committee shall have the following powers and functions:
a. To prepare and submit to the President for approval the plans and proposals for Philippine participation in HABITAT, including proposed country and position papers, exhibits, delegation members, and other participation matters.
b. To call upon any department, bureau, office, agency or instrumentality of the government for such assistance as it may need in the performance of its duties and functions.
Sec. 3. To provide the technical and staff support to the National Preparatory Committee, the staff of the Task Force on Human Settlements is hereby designated as Coordinating Secretariat of the Committee with the Project Director of the Task force as Committee Executive Officer.
Sec. 4. This Executive Order shall take effect immediately.
Done in the City of Manila, this 2nd day of December, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Seventy-Four.
