MALACAÑANG

MANILA

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES

ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 244

CREATING THE NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE FOR THE PHILIPPINE HOSTING OF THE APEC MINISTERIAL MEETING ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND THE APEC EXPERTS’ MEETING ON INNOVATIVE APPROACHES TOWARDS ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN JULY 1996

WHEREAS, the Philippines, following its commitments made during the 1993 APEC submit in Seattle is hosting an APEC Meeting on Creative Financing (including Debt-for-Nature Swap) for Sustainable Development in July 1996;

WHEREAS, the holding of a Ministerial Meeting and Experts’ Meeting on sustainable development will boost the Philippine hosting of the July 1996 APEC Summit with the theme “Reinforcing Economic Cooperation Through Deepening and Broadening the Spirit of the APEC Community”;

WHEREAS, offering these initiatives as our country’s commitment to sustainable development will fully enhance economic and technical cooperation and facilitate trade and investment within the region;

WHEREAS, recognizing that the countries in the Asia-Pacific regions, particularly the APEC member-economies, currently enjoy the highest economic growth rates in the world and that such level of economic prosperity could be secured for the country over the long-term if this were based on sound environmental and sustainable development practices;

WHEREAS, the continued dynamic growth and increasing technical and economic cooperation among APEC member-economies, and the Asia-Pacific region in general, could be adversely affected by environmental degradation caused by unrestrained and environmentally destructive economic practices;

WHEREAS, the APEC Ministerial Meeting on Sustainable Development and APEC Experts’ Meeting on Innovative Approaches Towards Environmentally Sustainable Development are important events in terms of soliciting the official commitment of APEC environment and sustainable development concerns into policy-making and economic decision-making processes, thereby creating opportunities for enhanced dialogue and greater cooperation in the future;

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

Section 1. National Executive Committee. A National Executive Committee (NEC) for the July 1996 hosting of the APEC Ministerial Meeting on Sustainable Development (AMMSD) and the APEC Experts’ Meeting on Innovative Approaches Towards Environmentally Sustainable Development (AEM-IAESD) is hereby created, to be composed as follows:

a.
Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources
–
Co-Chairman

b.
Secretary of Foreign Affairs
–
Co-Chairman

c.
Secretary of Socio-Economic Planning
–
Co-Chairman

d.
Secretary of Interior and Local Government
–
Member

e.
Secretary of Science and Technology
–
Member

f.
Secretary of Trade and Industry
–
Member

g.
Secretary of Agriculture
–
Member

h.
Secretary of Budget and Management
–
Member

I.
Secretary of Finance
–
Member

j.
Director-General of the Executive Committee of the APEC-National Organizing Commission (APEC-NOC)
–
Member

k.
President of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry
–
Member

 l.
Three (3) NGO/PO Representatives in Philippine Council for Sustainable Development-Executive Committee
–
Members

The Committee shall have the authority to solicit the participation of all public and private institutions in its work as it may deem necessary and useful in the accomplishment of its objectives.

Sec. 2. Functions. The Committee shall oversee all necessary preparations for, and the actual hosting of, the AMMSD and AEM-IAEASD.

Sec. 3. Secretariat. The Committee shall establish a Secretariat to service its technical and administrative requirements which shall be headed by and located at the DENR.

Sec. 4. Budget. A budget in the amount of FIVE MILLION PESOS (P5,000,000.00) to be sourced from the APEC central fund and released by DBM to DENR, the designated Chair of NEC, is hereby allocated for this purpose.

Sec. 5. This Administrative Order shall take effect immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 23rd day of January, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Six.

(Sgd.) FIDEL V. RAMOS
President of the Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.) RUBEN D. TORRES

Executive Secretary

Source: Malacañang Records Office

Office of the President of the Philippines. (1996). [Administrative Order Nos. : 201 – 300]. Manila : Malacañang Records Office.