---

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 656 February 26, 1981

AMENDING EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 81, SERIES OF 1976, CREATING A COMMITTEE TO COORDINATE THE INVESTIGATION, HANDLING AND DISPOSITION OF APPREHENDED ILLEGAL ENTRANTS AND FOREIGN VESSELS VIOLATING PHILIPPINE LAWS

WHEREAS, the Philippine Government maintains and promotes harmonious relations and cooperation with neighboring countries;

WHEREAS, the Philippine Government adopted the archipelagic doctrine as a national policy to safeguard its territorial integrity and of its sovereign right to explore and exploit, convert and manage its marine resources;

WHEREAS, there is an observed increase of cases of illegal entrants and incursions of foreign vessels into Philippine waters;

WHEREAS, there is a felt need to reconstitute and strengthen the Committee aforestated in order to ensure speedy disposition of cases pertaining to illegal entrants and incursions of foreign vessels into Philippine Waters;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby reconstitute the membership of said Committee hereinafter referred to as the Committee on Illegal Entrants (CIE) to be composed of representatives from the following agencies of the government:

Ministry of Foreign Affairs	Chairman
National Intelligence and Security Authority	Member
Commission on Immigration and Deportation	Member
Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources	Member
Finance Ministry Intelligence Bureau	Member
Bureau of Customs	Member
Philippine Constabulary	Member
Philippine Coast Guard	Member
Philippine Navy	Member
Office of the Chief State Prosecutor	Member

The Committee shall investigate or cause to be investigated cases pertaining to illegal entrants and incursions of foreign vessels into Philippine waters.

The disposition of these cases by the Committee shall be final unless otherwise directed by higher authorities or provided for by law.

The Committee shall have the authority to formulate policies, promulgate and implement its rules and regulations and call upon any agency of the government for necessary assistance in the attainment of its objectives.

Administrative and logistical requirements shall be borne equally by each of the member-agencies.

Done in the City of Manila, this 26th day of February, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and eighty-one.

The Lawphil Project - Arellano Law Foundation

---