EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 39, April 28, 2011

DESIGNATING THE ANTI-TERRORISM COUNCIL AS THE PHILIPPINE NATIONAL AUTHORITY ON THE CHEMICAL WEAPONS CONVENTION AND OTHER DISARMAMENT ISSUES

WHEREAS, the Philippines took part in the negotiations that led to the adoption of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), on 03 September 1992;

WHEREAS, the Philippines signed the Convention on 13 January 1993 and ratified the same on 21 February 1995, with the Philippine Senate Concurring through its Resolution No. 49 dated 19 August 1996;

WHEREAS, there is a need to, fully comply with our obligations under the CWC and implement the provisions thereof in the Philippines;

WHEREAS, paragraph 4 Article VII of the CWC provides that each State Party shall establish a National Authority; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Foreign Affairs has temporarily functioned as the interim National Authority.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BENIGNO S. AQUINO III, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order the following:

SECTION 1. National Authority. The Anti-Terrorism Council (ATC) is hereby designated as the Philippine National Authority on Chemical Weapons Convention, hereinafter referred to as PNA-CWC, to be headed by the Executive Secretary as Chairperson of the ATC. The PNA-CWC shall serve as the national coordinating body for effective liaison with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and other States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention, and shall be the lead agency in the implementation of the provisions of the Convention.

SECTION 2. Secretariat of the PNA-CWC. The ATC-Program Management Center (ATC-PMC) shall act as the Secretariat of the PNA-CWC. The PNA-CWC may request personnel from other government agencies to assist the Secretariat.

SECTION 3. Sub-Committees. To facilitate its work, the PNA-CWC may establish Sub-Committees, as it may deem necessary, to assist in the implementation of its functions and as a pool of experts.

SECTION 4. Duty to Extend Assistance to the PNA-CWC. All departments, bureaus, offices, agencies or instrumentalities of the Government, including government-owned and/or controlled corporations and government financial institutions are hereby directed to extend such assistance and support to the PNA-CWC, as may be necessary, for the successful implementation of its functions.

SECTION 5. Funding for the PNA-CWC. The initial funding requirement for the first year of operation of the PNA-CWC, in the amount of FIVE MILLION PESOS (P5,000,000.00), shall be chargeable against the Contingent Fund of the Office of the President. Thereafter, the amount needed for the operation of the PNA-CWC and its Secretariat shall be included in the budget of the ATC.

SECTION 7. Separability. If any provision of this Executive Order is declared invalid or unconstitutional, the other provisions unaffected shall remain valid and subsisting.

SECTION 6. Repeal. All issuances, orders, rules and regulations, or parts thereof which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Order, are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SECTION 7. Effectivity. This Executive Order shall take effect immediately upon publication in a newspaper of general circulation.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 28th day of April, in the year of our Lord, Two Thousand and Eleven.

(Sgd.) BENIGNO S. AQUINO III

By the President:

(Sgd.) PAQUITO N. OCHOA, JR.

Executive Secretary