Republic Act No. 708 | Senate of the Philippines Legislative Reference Bureau

WHEREAS, Republic Act No. 708, otherwise known as the Foreign Service Act of the Philippines," has among its objectives the reorganization and strengthening of the Foreign Service of the Philippines so as to insure that the officers and employees of the Foreign Service are broadly representative of the Filipino people and are aware of and fully informed of current trends in Philippine life; to provide improvements in the selection and training of personnel to insure that only competent persons of good moral character are recruited into the service; and to provide flexible and comprehensive framework for the direction of foreign Service in accordance with modern practice in public administration;

WHEREAS, it is desirable that the Department of Foreign Affairs to be enabled, in the preparation, initiation and implementation of a career foreign service development program, as well as in the formulation and promulgation of rules, standards, and procedures on the selection, training and development of the officers and personnel of the Department of Foreign Affairs and the organization and operation of the institutional framework for such programs and activities, to avail itself of the assistance and/or services of competent and suitable agencies or offices;

NOW, THEREFORE, I FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, and in recognition of the foregoing premises, do hereby order and decree;

ARTICLE I. —TITLE

SECTION 1. This Decree shall be known as the "Foreign Service Institute Decree of the Philippines."

ARTICLE II. —FOREIGN SERVICE INSTITUTE

SEC. 1. A Foreign Service Institute, hereinafter referred to as the Institute, is hereby created within the Department of Foreign Affairs.

SEC. 2. The Institute shall have the following main objectives and responsibilities:

(a) To program, implement, and manage the Career Foreign Service Development Program (CFSDP) in all of its main components for the purpose of upgrading the professional Career Foreign Service Corps.

(b) To program, implement and manage complementary organizational development programs for the Department as well as other training and educational programs for both its career and non-career personnel and other personnel of other government agencies assigned to foreign missions.

(c) To program, implement and manage the necessary supportive plans and operating systems for the Career Foreign Service Development Program and complementary programs.

(d) To develop its own policies and rules, program of activities core staffs and consultants, administrative structure, operating systems and resources, to enable it to accomplish competently the above activities.

SEC. 3. The Institute shall be headed by a full-time Director to be appointed by the President upon the recommendation of the Board of the Institute. The Director of the Institute shall be seconded from the Senior Chiefs of Missions in the career foreign service of the Department and shall not, by reason of such appointment lose his seniority or promotional opportunities in the service.

The Director shall receive such compensation and other emoluments as may be determined by the Board.

The Director shall serve for a period of four (4) years. He shall be assisted by an Assistant Director to be chosen from the academic community and to be appointed by the President upon the recommendation of the Board. The Assistant Director shall provide the technical assistance and expertise to the Institute and its programs.

The term of office: and compensation of the Assistant Director shall be fixed by the Board as may be required by the program.

The director of the Institute shall organize the administrative and technical staffs, and such consultants as maybe necessary, subject to the approval of the Board of the Institute.

SEC. 4. The institutionalization of the Institute and the Career Foreign Service Development Program shall be in accordance with a rational and sufficient plan, the preparation of which shall be initiated by the Department of Foreign Affairs with the assistance and/or services, whenever necessary, of other, agencies or offices.

ARTICLE III. —CAREER FOREIGN SERVICE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM

SECTION 1. There is hereby established in the Department of Foreign Affairs a continuing Career Foreign Service Development Program consisting of training and/or examinations, performance and evaluation systems. Successful participation in the appropriate training program(s) shall be a requirement for eligibility and shall likewise be considered in the advancement of Career Foreign Service Officers and personnel, subject to pertinent rules and regulations that the Department may prescribe for this purpose.

SEC. 2. The design, implementation, and management of the said Career Foreign Service Development Program may initially be assigned to a suitable cooperating agency or office, until such time as the Institute is completely organized and administered by the Department of Foreign Affairs through its own personnel, provided that such assignment shall not exceed a transitional period of three years. This assumption and management of the Career Foreign Service Development Program by the Department of Foreign Affairs shall be done on a gradual and systematic manner and on the basis of a prepared and adequate plan, provided: that the Director of the Institute shall be involved at the outset of the program.

SEC. 3. As part of the Career Foreign Service Development Program, the Department of Foreign Affairs, with the assistance and/or services of other agencies or offices of the Government, shall also design, undertake and manage other complementary programs such as organizational development programs, technical skills training, policy planning exercises, seminars, and such other educational plans and projects as are supportive of the said goals of the program which may cover both career and non-career personnel of the Department of Foreign Affairs, as well as those of other agencies assigned to Philippine foreign missions or services.

ARTICLE IV. —BOARD OF THE FOREIGN SERVICE INSTITUTE

SECTION 1. The Institute shall be governed and its activities shall be directed, controlled, and managed by a Board which shall be composed of the following:

1. The Secretary of Foreign Affairs

2. The Chairman of the Civil Service Commission

3. The President of the University of the Philippines

4. The President of the Development Academy of the Philippines

5. The Director of the Foreign Service Institute

The Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs shall serve as the permanent Chairman of the Board.

SEC. 2. The Board of the Foreign Service Institute shall serve as the governing body for the said Institute and shall formulate such rules and regulations, policies, systems, and procedures for the management and operations of the Institute as well as the policies and rules governing the qualifications for the participants in the training programs and the appropriate eligibility of graduates of said training programs.

ARTICLE V. —FUNDS OF THE INSTITUTE

SECTION 1. The sum of four million, eight hundred eighty four thousand, two hundred and ninety one pesos (P4,884,291.00) is hereby appropriated out of any funds in the National Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the operations and maintenance of the Foreign Service Institute and the Career Foreign Service Development Program for the first year of the program. Thereafter, the necessary funds for the yearly operations of the Foreign Service Institute shall be incorporated in the General Appropriation Decree.

ARTICLE VI. —SEPARABILITY CLAUSE

SECTION 1. In the event any provision of this Decree or the application of such provision to any person or circumstances is declared invalid, the remainder of this Decree of the application of said provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected by such declaration.

ARTICLE VII. —EFFECTIVITY CLAUSE

SECTION 1. This Decree shall take effect upon its approval.

Done in the City of Manila, this 9th day of December, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-six.

(Sgd.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS President of the Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.) JUAN C. TUVERA Presidential Assistant

Source: Supreme Court E-Library