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WHEREAS, the Mindanao Rail System (MRS) is a “flagship project” and is therefore a priority project under this Administration;

WHEREAS, on 7 October 1998, the Philippine National Railways, the Public Estates Authority and the Southern Philippines Development Authority have been directed, under the overall supervision of the Presidential Committee on Flagship Programs and Projects to undertake the necessary preparatory studies leading to the eventual implementation of the MRS Project; and

WHEREAS, pursuant to the above directive and the terms of reference for the preparation of feasibility studies having been finished, there is a need to strengthen the institutional coordination between and among government agencies involved in the MRS project through the constitution of a Task Force;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH EJERCITO ESTRADA, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law and the Constitution, do hereby order:

SECTION 1. CONSTITUTION OF THE MRS TASK FORCE. There is hereby constituted a Mindanao Rail System Task Force chaired by the Chairman, Presidential Committee on Flagship Programs and Projects (Flagship Committee), and the representatives of the following agencies as members: the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), the Public Estates Authority (PEA), the Philippine National Railways (PNR), the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA), and the Southern Philippines Development Authority (SPDA).

SEC. 2. FUNCTIONS. The MRS Task Force shall act as the clearing house for policy and operational issues affecting the implementation of the MRS Project. The MRS Task Force shall have the following functions:

1. To review all available plans relating to the establishment of a rail system in Mindanao;
2. To cause the conduct of a feasibility study on the MRS or portions thereof in order to determine the viability of such project;
3. To liaise with Congress, local government units, business enterprises, as well as other sectors, who may be affected by the MRS project;
4. To recommend to the President the mode of implementation of the MRS project, including the process for the selection of the proponent/s who will undertake the project;
5. To engage, subject to existing rules and regulations, the services of consultants in order to avail of their expertise in the formulation of policies in the implementation of the MRS project;
6. To call on any government agency for such assistance as may be necessary to facilitate the implementation of the MRS; and
7. To perform such other functions as may be directed by the President.

SEC. 3. ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT/BUDGET. The member agencies of the MRS Task Force shall contribute personnel to constitute the administrative and technical support group of the MRS Task Force. The MRS Task Force shall have an initial operating budget of Ten Million Pesos (P10,000,000) to be taken from the Office of the President. Thereafter, its operating budget shall be included in the budget of the Office of the President.

SEC. 4. REPEALING CLAUSE. All administrative orders, rules, regulations, and other similar issuance, or parts thereof, which are inconsistent herewith are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 5. EFFECTIVITY. This Administrative Order shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 28^th day of JUNE, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and ninety nine.

(Sgd.) JOSEPH EJERCITO ESTRADA
President of the Philippines

By the President:
(Sgd.) RONALDO B. ZAMORA
Executive Secretary