MALACAÑANG

Manila

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES

MEMORANDUM ORDER NO. 431

RE-ESTABLISHING AND RE-ACTIVATING THE OFFICE OF THE

PRESIDENT COORDINATING CENTER (OPCC) FOR THE

PRESIDENT’S VISIT TO HONG KONG

WHEREAS, the OPCC was established as an ad-hoc body in the Office of the President to provide timely information to the President on evolving critical issues and developments during the period of the President’s conduct of foreign visits;

WHEREAS, the OPCC was initially established on 24-hour operation during the state visit to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 26-30 January 1993 and was last reactivated during the President’s visit to Los Angeles, Mexico, and Panama on 06 to 16 May 1997;

WHEREAS, the President will visit Hong Kong on 22 May 1997 as keynote speaker of the Credit Lyonnais Securities (Asia) Investors Forum, and meet with key businessmen and senior officials as well as leaders of the Filipino community in Hong Kong; and

WHEREAS, there is a need to establish a high level monitoring and reporting system that will cover all sectors and issues nationwide during the foreign visit of the President in Hong Kong on 22 May 1997 (11:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.).

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FIDEL V. RAMOS, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, hereby order the reactivation of the OPCC for the duration of my visit to Hong Kong. The OPCC will be under the overall supervision and responsibility of an Executive Committee composed of the Executive Secretary as Chairman, Secretaries of the National Defense, and the Interior and Local Government as OPCC Vice-Chairmen, National Security Adviser, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel, Senior Deputy Executive Secretary, Head, Presidential Management Staff, and the Press Secretary, as members.

The OPCC Chairman shall coordinate with the Vice-President, Senate President, and the Speaker of the House, whenever necessary.

All relevant provisions on functions, operating structure, OPCC supervision, and reporting system embodied in Memorandum Order No. 428 (series of 1997) are hereby adopted.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 21st of May, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Ninety Seven.

(Sgd.) FIDEL V. RAMOS

By the President:

(Sgd.) RUBEN D. TORRES

Executive Secretary

Source: CDAsia