Presidential Decree No. 1618 (Ferdinand Marcos)/Chapter VII

by Ferdinand Marcos

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Chapter VII—Relationships with National and
Local Governments and Other Entities

Sec. 35. Relationship with the National Government.—(a) With respect to legislation, national laws shall be supreme vis-a-vis regional laws enacted by the Sangguniang Pampook.

(b) The President shall have the power of general supervision and control over the Autonomous Regions. In this connection, the President may call upon the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development to assist him in the exercise of his supervision over the Autonomous Regions, particularly in matters relating to the administration of the regions and their relationships with the local government units therein.

(c) The Lupong Tagapagpaganap ng Pook shall report regularly to the President on the status of development programs in the region and the performance of local government officials, and shall make recommendations on any actions that should be taken by the National Government to accelerate development efforts in the region.

Sec. 36. Relationships with Certain Regional Directors and Related Matters.—(a) The Lupong Tagapagpaganap ng Pook shall exercise full supervision and control over the implementation of regional development projects that are funded from income derived from the operations and exercise of taxing and other revenue-raising powers of the Autonomous Region.

(b) The Lupong Tagapagpaganap ng Pook shall oversee the activities and performance of regional directors of the following Ministries: Health; Education and Culture; Public Highways; Agriculture; Social Services and Development; Public Works; as well as the Ministries of Human Settlements; Industry and Youth and Sports Development upon establishment of their regional offices. This authority to oversee shall refer to the identification, planning, programming, prioritization, and implementation of socio-economic regional development projects funded out of national funds, as well as the evaluation thereof from a regional development perspective, for the purpose of ensuring that their implementation is done in accordance with duly approved plans, prescribed schedules and procedures, and specifically allocated resources related thereto.

In the exercise of the above prerogative, the Lupong Tagapagpaganap ng Pook may, on its initiative and responsibility:

(1) Coordinate the implementation of regional development projects of the regional offices concerned for the purpose stated in paragraph (b) above.

(2) Inquire into problems impeding the execution of development projects and identify the causes thereof; and

(3) Institute or recommend as appropriate the necessary corrective measures through the ministries concerned to overcome such obstacles based on the causes so identified and if necessary seek the intervention of the President to expedite the attainment of regional development objectives.

The day-to-day activities as well as the internal operations of the regional offices of the aforementioned ministries within the Autonomous Region, shall remain the responsibility of the Regional directors concerned.

The assignment to positions of regional directors of the aforementioned ministries in the Autonomous Region shall be made upon consultation with the Lupong Tagapagpaganap ng Pook. In addition, the Lupong Tagapagpaganap ng Pook may in appropriate cases recommend to the ministries concerned the transfer outside the region of any of the regional directors aforementioned.

(c) Government-owned or controlled corporations with offices located in the Autonomous Region shall maintain an effective coordinative relationship with the Lupong Tagapagpaganap ng Pook. For this purpose, they shall keep the Lupong Tagapagpaganap ng Pook informed as to the status of the implementation of their programs and projects in the Autonomous Region. Where called for, and where necessary, they shall endeavor to make the necessary adjustments in the implementation of their programs and projects to the requirements and priorities of the Autonomous Region. In addition, regional heads of government-owned or controlled corporations in the Autonomous Region may be made regular members of the Regional Development Council upon appropriate resolution adopted to this effect by the Council.

(d) National Government agencies and government-owned or controlled corporations which now or may in the future have regional presence in Southern Philippines shall make such adjustments in their administrative boundaries to conform with the geographical coverages, and whenever appropriate, with the regional centers of Regions IX and XII.

Sec. 37. Relationship with the Regional Development Councils; Delineation of Responsibilities for Regional Development Plan Formation and Implementation.—The Lupon Chairman shall be ex-officio Chairman of the Regional Development Council in the Autonomous Region. The membership of the Regional Development Council shall be expanded to include the members of the Lupong Tagapagpaganap ng Pook.

The delineation of responsibilities for regional development plan formulation and implementation shall be as follows.

(1) The Sangguniang Pampook shall determine the development goals and objectives for the Autonomous Region within the framework of national development plans, policies and goals.

(2) The Regional Development Council shall be primarily responsible for formulation of the Regional Development Plan on the basis of the goals and objectives set by the Sangguniang Pampook for the Autonomous Region. The National Economic and Development Authority shall provide technical assistance to the Regional Development Council in the preparation of said Plan.

(3) To ensure consistency in regional plan preparation and submission, the National Economic and Development Authority shall prescribe regional planning standards and guidelines which shall include the minimum requirements as to content and format of the Regional Development Plan as well as the time frame for the coverage and submission of the Plan.

(4) The Regional Development Plan formulated by the Regional Development Council shall be coursed through the Lupong Tagapagpaganap ng Pook for submission to, and adoption by, the Sangguniang Pampook.

(5) The Lupong Tagapagpaganap ng Pook shall submit the Regional Development Plan as adopted by the Sangguniang Pampook to the President, through the National Economic and Development Authority for assessment of its inter-regional implications, conformance with regional planning standards and guidelines prescribed by the Authority, and integration into the National Development Plan.

(6) Bending the formulation of a National Development Plan for the succeeding plan period, the Lupong Tagapagpaganap ng Pook may, through the Regional Development Council, prepare interim regional development plans for the Autonomous Region within the framework of regional goals and objectives set by the Sangguniang Pampook. The procedure for the adoption of the interim regional development plans shall be in the same manner prescribed under paragraph 4 and 5 of this section.

(7) The Lupong Tagapagpaganap ng Pook review the annual work programs to see to it that they are consistent with the Regional Development Plan. For this purpose, the Lupong Tagapagpaganap ng Pook may call on any of the regional offices of national line agencies in the region for technical assistance.

(8) The Lupong Tagapagpaganap ng Pook shall determine priorities relative to nationally-funded programs and projects to be undertaken in the Autonomous Region and ensure that such programs and projects are properly synchronized with, and supportive of, development efforts therein.

(9) The Lupong Tagapagpaganap ng Pook shall administer the share of the Autonomous Region from the Regional Development Fund as provided under the general appropriations act and such other funds as may be established to carry out the objectives of the Autonomous Region.

Sec. 38. Relationship with the Service-Wide Agencies.—The Ministry of the Budget, the Commission on Audit, the Civil Service Commission, the Ministry of Finance and other service-wide agencies shall make the necessary amendments and adjustments in their respective regulations and procedures in order to make them more consistent with the concept of regional autonomy and more responsive to the developmental needs of the Autonomous Region.

Sec. 39. Relationship with the Local Governments.—(a) The following regulatory and supervisory powers of the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development with respect to local governments are hereby delegated to the Lupong Tagapagpaganap ng Pook.

(1) The conduct of periodic audits on the performance of local government officials in their respective regions;

(2) The investigation of administrative complaints against local officials without prior clearance from the President pursuant to Letter of Instructions No. 231. The respondent local official may be placed under preventive suspension during the pendency of the formal investigation for a period of not exceeding sixty days if the charge is serious and the evidence of guilt is strong, or it there are reasonable grounds to believe that the respondent has or will perform acts inimical to the orderly conduct of the investigation. The appropriate penalty may be imposed upon the respondent without prior clearance from the President, except when the respondent is a provincial or city official or, in any case, when the penalty sought to be imposed is removal or suspension from office for more than six months;

(3) The approval of development plans of all local units within the region, the funding of which comes from the twenty percent (20%) development fund under Presidential Decree No. 144;

(4) The approval of travel of local government officials and employees beyond thirty days but not exceeding ninety days upon the recommendation of the local chief executive for the payment of per diems under Presidential Decree No. 344;

(5) The authority to recommend clearance from the President for foreign travel of local officials;

(6) The approval of the commutation of terminal leaves of Governors and Municipal Mayors;

(7) The approval of claims for death benefits under Section 699 of the Revised Administrative Code, as amended by Republic Act No. 1232;

(8) The authority to recommend exemptions from Letter of Instructions No. 29 relative to purchases of transportation equipment by local governments;

(9) The approval of the grant of automobile allowance to local chief executives and heads of provincial and city offices, provided that prior authorization is obtained from the provincial or city sangguniang pursuant to Executive Order No. 31;

(10) The authority to recommend to the President exemptions from public bidding of local government projects under Executive Order No. 298;

(11) The authority to recommend to the President the grant of representation allowances to local officials not expressly enumerated in Memorandum Circular No. 437, s. 1971;

(12) The approval of the grant of free quarters, light and water to Governors and City Mayors as provided for in Section 2086 of the Revised Administrative Code and the City Charters, provided that prior authorization is obtained from the provincial or city sangguniang; and

(13) The approval of free telephone service at the residence of heads of provincial and city offices when duly authorized by the provincial or city sangguniang in an ordinance enacted for such purpose.

(b) The following regulatory and supervisory powers of the Office of the Regional Commissioner under Letter of Instructions No. 290 shall be assumed by the Lupong Tagapagpaganap ng Pook;

(1) The sole authority to disburse funds allocated to the Autonomous Regions pursuant to Section 7 of Presidential Decree No. 144, as financial aid to local governments or to projects;

(2) The sole authority within the region to grant exemptions to local governments, as well as agencies of the national government and government-owned or controlled corporations, from restrictions on award of contracts, purchase of capital equipment, payment of overtime compensations, filling of vacant positions, effecting the detail of personnel from one government office to another for a period exceeding thirty days, requiring clearance for the hiring of personnel who have reached 57 years of age, retention/extension of the services of retirable government personnel, reinstatement of personnel who have been previously retired from the government service, and such other restrictions as may be defined in pertinent executive orders, administrative orders, and Presidential memoranda.