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MALACAÑAN PALACE
MANILA

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES

[ Memorandum Order No. 234, September 20, 1994 ]

ESTABLISHING A PRESIDENTIAL TASK FORCE TO PLAN, IMPLEMENT

AND OVERSEE THE PRESIDENT’S BRIDGE PROGRAM

WHEREAS, several natural calamities such as typhoons, floods, lahar flows and other catastrophes have caused significant damage to infrastructure especially bridges;

WHEREAS, it is of utmost importance that the damaged bridges be repaired and new ones constructed since these are vital links for the facilitation of trade, commerce, communications, and for catalyzing investments in the countryside and the urban areas;

WHEREAS, the Philippine Medium Term Development Plan programs the construction of about 40,000 lineal meters annually and only about 8,000 lineal meters can be funded from local and foreign sources;

WHEREAS, an annual average of 10,000 lineal meters of existing bridges are destroyed or weakened annually.

WHEREAS, the British Government has indicated that it is willing to provide $50 million concessionary financing to the Philippines for a President’s Bridge Program which can adequately address the abovementioned need;

WHEREAS, to facilitate the implementation of said program it is urgently necessary that inputs of the various participating government agencies be taken into account and their duties and functions as far as the President’s Bridge Program is concerned be identified and coordinated;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FIDEL V. RAMOS, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order the establishment of the Presidential Task Force for the President’s Bridge Program, hereinafter referred to as the Task Force.

Section 1. The Task Force shall be composed of the Executive Secretary as Chairman, with ex-officio members composed of the Secretaries of the Departments of Finance, Foreign Affairs, Socio-Economic Planning, Public Works and Highways, and Interior and Local Government.

Section 2. The Executive Secretary shall establish the Secretariat which shall serve as the Technical Working Group.1aшphi1 The Secretariat/Technical Working Group shall be headed by the duly designated representative of the Task Force Chairman with the following members: representatives of the Task Force members and two (2) technical consultants designated by the Executive Secretary.

The Technical Working Group shall consist mainly of organic personnel from the various departments involved in the planning and implementation process.

Section 3. The Task Force is mandated to undertake by itself or delegate/assign to the Technical Working Group the following:

1. overseeing and monitoring the over-all implementation of the whole program on an inter-agency basis;

2. planning, conduct of discussions, and threshing out of the details and administrative arrangements necessary for the implementation of the Bridge Program;

3. implementation and/or coordination of various components of the Bridge Program, including financing, physical implementation, and supervision of the program;

4. conduct of meetings, coordination and request for support and assistance from other concerned agencies including Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, government-owned or controlled corporations, and local government units; and

5. submission for approval of the President a priority bridge allocation list among different provinces in the country according to allocation criteria guidelines to be established by the Task Force.

Section 4. The Task Force shall cease existence 30 days upon the commissioning of the final bridge unless it is necessary that it be continued.

Section 5. This Memorandum Order shall take effect immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 20th day of September in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Four.

(Sgd.) FIDEL V. RAMOS

By the President:

(Sgd.)  TEOFISTO T. GUINGONA, JR.
Executive Secretary

The Lawphil Project - Arellano Law Foundation

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