ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 60, September 17, 1954

CREATING THE PHILIPPINE INFORMATION AGENCY TO CARRY OUT A PROGRAM OF INTERNATIONAL PUBLICITY AND PUBLIC RELATIONS FOR THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES.

For the purpose of promoting the prestige and national interests of the Republic of the Philippines abroad through the dissemination of accurate information concerning its political, economic, social and cultural conditions and activities, there is hereby created an agency under the Office of the President which shall known as the "Philippine Information Agency." This agency shall be administered by a Director and supervised by an advisory board composed of the following:

Hon. Fred Ruiz Castro, Executive Secretary ...................................................................	Chairman
Hon. Oscar Ledesma, Secretary of Commerce and Industry ..........................................	Member
Hon. Raul S. Manglapus, Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs ...........................................	Member
Hon. Jose M. Crisol, Undersecretary of National Defense ..............................................	Member
Col. Nicanor Jimenez, Armed Forces of the Philippines ...................................................	Member
Mr. Narciso G. Reyes, Foreign Affairs Officer, Executive Secretary of the Board and Director of the Agency .........................................	Member

1. The Philippine Information Agency shall have the following duties and functions:

a. To coordinate the preparation of all government information and production of publications intended for overseas circulation.

b. To provide services and materials needed for carrying out government publicity abroad.

c. To establish and maintain contacts for continuous and effective dissemination of government information abroad.

d. To release official texts of government documents for international consumption.

e. To prepare and release information on the government’s position on international issues.

f. To prepare background materials on important local issues and developments for use of foreign affairs officers and for circulation abroad.

g. To compile and distribute general information on the Philippines of interest abroad.

2. In carrying out the functions above enumerated, the Philippine Information Agency shall use the following channels of distribution:

a. Philippine embassies and consulates.

b. Trade and business organizations, such as the Philippine Association, chambers of commerce with connections abroad, etc.

c. Newspapers abroad.

d. TV and radio stations abroad.

e. Tourist centers.

3. The Philippine Information Agency shall have a central administrative office under the Office of the President. Three regional offices shall be established abroad. The Philippine Embassy in Washington D.C., U.S.A., shall be the regional office of the Agency for North and South America. The Philippine Embassy in London, England, shall be the regional office of the Agency for Europe and Africa. For the time being, the central administrative office of the Agency in Manila shall also be the regional office for Asia, the Southwest Pacific and the Middle East. For the immediate performance of the functions of the Philippine Information Agency in North and South America, the President shall designate an officer in the office of the President to take charge of the regional office in Washington, D.C., U.S.A.

The regional offices shall perform the following functions:

a. To plan an information campaign in the region.

b. To supervise production of materials prepared by the Agency.

c. To arrange for translation of materials when necessary for Asian, European and South American countries.

4. The Philippine Information Agency is authorized to call upon any department, bureau, office, agency or instrumentality of the Government, including the corporations owned and controlled by it, for such assistance as it may need in carrying out its functions.

Done in the City of Manila, this 17th day of September, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and fifty-four, and of the Independence of the Philippines, the ninth.

(Sgd.) RAMON MAGSAYSAY

President of the Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.) FRED RUIZ CASTRO

Executive Secretary