EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 175 April 30, 1994

CREATING A NORTHWESTERN LUZON GROWTH QUADRANGLE COMMISSION

WHEREAS, The Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan for 1993-1998 has identified the development of the Northwestern Luzon Growth Quadrangle (NWLGQ), comprising the Laoag-San Fernando-Dagupan-Baguio area, as a component strategy towards agri-industrial development;

WHEREAS, the development of the NWLGQ, into major industrial area is supportive of the government's industrial dispersal policy and concern for accelerated socio-economic growth and development of the Northwestern Luzon Area;

WHEREAS, the coordinative and management mechanism for the planning, implementation and monitoring of the NWLGQ was already approved by the Regional Development Council (RDC) I and the Cordillera Executive Board (CEB) and is found to be within the framework of the government's decentralization and regionalization policy as provided under Executive Order Nos. 363 and 505;

WHEREAS, notwithstanding the RDC and CEB approval of the management structure which led to the organization and operation of the existing structure for managing, planning and implementation activities in the NWLGQ, there is a need to strengthen the mechanism for the overall direction, coordination and supervision of the NWLGQ development efforts;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FIDEL V. RAMOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order:

Sec. 1. NWLGQ Commission. There is hereby created under the Office of the President a Presidential Commission to be called the Northwestern Luzon Growth Quadrangle (NWLGQ) Commission, hereinafter referred to as the Commission. The Commission shall be responsible for the overall policy direction, coordination and supervision of the entire NWLGQ Development efforts. It shall be composed of the following members:

Secretary of Trade and Industry

CORDs for Region I and CAR

Secretary of Tourism

Secretary of Agriculture

Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources

Secretary of Transportation and Communication

Secretary of Public Works and Highways

Secretary of Energy

NEDA Director General

The Presidential Assistant for Regional Development

The Chairman of Regional Development Council I

The Chairman of the Cordillera Executive Board

The Provincial Governor of Ilocos Norte

The Provincial Governor of Ilocos Sur

The Provincial Governor of La Union

The Provincial Governor of Pangasinan

The Provincial Governor of Benguet

The City Mayor of Dagupan City

The City Mayor of Baguio city

The PCCI Chairman of Region I

The PCCI Chairman of CAR

The B Chairman

NGO Regional Federation Representative each for

Regions I and CAR to be appointed by the President

The Commission shall be chaired by the Secretary of Trade and Industry and co-chaired by the CORDs for Regions I and CAR.

The Commission shall have the following functions:

a) Review and submit to the President, for approval, the NWLGQ Master Plan and Development Program;

b) Provide overall direction, coordination and supervision in the planning, implementation and monitoring of all program/project components and development activities of the NWLGQ Development Program in consultation and coordination with the Joint RDC-CEB Interregional Consultative Council;

c) Cause the update, refinement and endorsement of the NWLGQ plans, investment programs and projects within the context of the NWLGQ Master Plan and the Regional Development and Physical Framework Plans and Investment Programs of Region I and CAR.

d) Cause the preparation of feasibility studies for and financing of the various projects identified for the NWLGQ;

e) Encourage the support and assistance from government and non-government institutions in planning and implementing the various projects under the NWLGQ Development Program;

f) Organize the Program Management Office (PMO), define its organizational setup, and establish its staffing pattern as well as internal operating systems and procedures;

g) Review and confirm contracts entered into by the Executive Director of the Program Management Office (PMO);

h) Review and endorse to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) the annual budget of the NWLGQ Development Program, including the Work and Financial Plan for the operation of the PMO;

i) Submit to the President progress reports on the NWLGQ Development Program and such other reports as may be required.

Sec. 2. Program Management Office. The Program Management Office (PMO) shall serve as the implementing arm as well as the technical and administrative secretariat of the Commission, and as such, shall undertake the day-to-day activities of the NWLGQ Development Program. It shall be headed by an Executive Director to be appointed by the President. The DTI Regional Office shall provide office space and technical and secretariat support to the Commission on an interim basis until such time that a staffing pattern for the PMO shall have been determined and approved by the Commission. Fiscal austerity will be observed strictly.

The Program Management Office shall perform the following functions:

a) Coordinate with implementing bodies, including local government units, line agencies, financing institutions, non-government organizations and other concerned entities in the updating, refinement, endorsement and implementation of the NWLGQ Master Plan and investment programs and projects;

b) Coordinate with the Local Development Councils (Ls) in the implementation of policy decisions promulgated by the Commission;

c) Coordinate the preparation of feasibility studies of the project components of the NWLGQ Development Program and the evaluation and financing of feasible projects;

d) Coordinate the preparation of the annual budgetary requirements of the NWLGQ Development Program and submit the same to the Commission;

e) Undertake periodic review and evaluation on the NWLGQ Development Program and shall, for the purpose, design and operate a program implementation, monitoring and evaluation system consistent with the Regional Project Monitoring and Evaluation System (RPMES) and enhanced with Planning Program Budgeting Monitoring and Evaluation (PPBME) and impact evaluation and;

f) Perform such other functions and responsibilities as the Commission may direct.

Sec. 3. Role of National Line Agencies/Local Government Units, NGOs/PS, and GOCCs. National line agencies/government-owned and controlled corporations/local government units/non-government organizations/private sector shall, as appropriate, serve as implementing entities of the Commission. In cases where national line agencies are designated as the lead implementing entity, implementation shall be undertaken in close coordination with concerned local government units.

Sec. 4. Joint Inter-regional Consultative Council. There is hereby created a Joint Inter-regional Consultative Council, which shall be composed of three (3) representatives from the Regional Development Council (RDC) I and a counterpart group from the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) to be composed of three (3) representatives of the Cordillera Executive Board (CEB) and three (3) representatives of regional line agencies (RLAs) whose head offices are members of the NEDA Board, all of whom shall be chosen from among themselves. The Joint Inter-regional Consultative Council shall serve as the Commission's inter-regional advisory group.

Sec. 5. Role of Local Development Councils. The Local Development Councils of the program area shall perform the following functions:

a) Approve the respective local components of the multi-year and annual plans and investment programs under the NWLGQ Development Program;

b) Monitor and conduct periodic review of the local project component with respect to achievement of goals, objectives and targets of the NWLGQ Development Program;

c) Coordinate and facilitate the preparation of site-specific development plans, programs and projects;

d) Coordinate the passage of municipal and/or provincial resolutions declaring the areas for industrial and tourism use, if not yet declared or classified as such;

e) Coordinate with the Provincial/Regional Land Use Committees and Sanggunians concerned on the review and approval of the land use and zonation plans of NWLGQ component sites;

f) Spearhead the coordination of area inter-agency activities within the area/province of jurisdiction in the implementation of the NWLGQ Development Program; and

g) Perform such other functions as the PMO may request.

Sec. 6. Operational Requirements. The amount of Five Million Pesos (P5,000,000.00), to be drawn from the DTI funds for Locally-Funded Projects, shall be released for the initial operational requirement of the Commission for the year 1994. Appropriations for the succeeding years for the operations of the PMO shall be incorporated in the budget proposals under the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

Sec. 7. The Term of the Commission and the Program Management Office. The Commission and Program Management Office shall have a term corresponding to the implementation period of the NWLGQ Development Program. The NEDA Board is hereby directed to conduct a regular review and evaluation of this management and coordinating structure and recommend revisions as may be deemed necessary.

Sec. 8. Effectivity. This Executive Order shall take effect immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila this 30th day of April in the year of our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Ninety Four.