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WHEREAS, it is the common practice of parties aggrieved by or dissatisfied with the decisions the different departments of the Executive Branch of the Government to appeal therefrom to the Office of the President and for this Office to entertain such appeals, notwithstanding the considerable length of time that has elapsed from the date of receipt of the disputed decisions;

WHEREAS, not infrequently this Office has received petitions for reconsideration of decisions rendered by it long before, and because of the absence of specific rules or regulations fixing the period of finality of said decisions and the period for filing requests for reconsideration and limiting the number thereof, this Office is often left without recourse but to entertain the petitions, thereby taking much of its time in the process which otherwise could be devoted to more important and pressing matters;

WHEREAS, it has been observed that, with rare exceptions, these appeals and petitions for reconsideration are without merit and have been filed obviously to delay as much as possible the execution of the decisions of the different departments; and

WHEREAS, with a view to minimizing, if not totally eliminating, the consequent evils or mischiefs arising from such practice which indeed is not conducive to smooth, speedy and efficient public administration, it is considered necessary in the public interest to adopt a definite, formal procedure to be observed in the taking of appeals and filing of petitions for reconsideration, so that there will be stability and finality of administrative decisions and frivolous appeals may be discouraged.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby promulgate the following rules and regulations for the purpose:

1. Unless otherwise provided or governed by special laws or where time is clearly of the essence, an appeal to the Office of the President, which is not a matter of right in the absence of statutory provisions to that effect, shall be taken within thirty (30) days, reckoned from receipt of the decisions or action appealed from.
   
   
2. Failure to appeal within the prescribed period shall render the decision of action subject thereof final and executory.
   
   
3. The appeal should be filed directly with the Office of the President. It shall be in writing and shall specifically set forth the particular action to which exception is taken, with the reasons, authorities and precedents relied upon for the reversal of the disputed decision or action, with notice thereof to the adverse party and the office which rendered the decision involved.
   
   
4. Decisions of the Office of the President in the cases covered by this Order as enumerated in Clause 8 hereof shall, unless otherwise expressly provided in the decisions on special cases of an urgent nature, become final after the lapse of fifteen (15) days from receipt of a copy thereof by the parties involved, unless a petition or request for reconsideration is reasonably filed by the aggrieved party to stop the running of the period, based on any of the following grounds: (a) the decision is not in conformity with the applicable law or evidence presented; (b) newly discovered evidence which could not, with reasonable diligence, have been discovered and be produced when the decisions was still under advisement and which, if presented, would probably alter the result thereof; or (c) fraud, accident, mistake or excusable negligence which ordinary prudence could not have guarded against and by reason of which the aggrieved party has probably been impaired in his rights.
   
   
5. Petitions for reconsideration filed after the aforesaid period shall not be entertained unless the Office of the President, for exceptionally meritorious causes, decides to act thereon, provided that only one petition for reconsideration by any party shall be allowed.
   
   
6. A fee of twenty pesos (P20.00) shall be charged for every appeal or petition for review filed with this Office, the fees collected to accrue to and constitute a part of the general fund of the National Government.
   
   
7. The Rules of Court shall apply in a supletory character whenever practicable and convenient.
   
   
8. The foregoing rules shall apply to and be observed in appeals to this Office taken by private parties adversely affected by decisions of the departments, offices and entities specified below, as well as other appeals of similar nature not governed by special laws.

(1) Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources

(a) Public land applications (b) Forestry concessions (c) Fishpond applications (d) Revocation of license of fishing boats

(2) Department of Finance:

(a) Anti-dumping cases (b) Interpretation of expert permits (c) Tax exemptions under the Tariff and Customs Code (d) Smuggling cases

(3) Department of Public Works and Communications:

(a) Obstruction to navigation and communal fishing grounds (b) Awards of contracts for public works

(4) Department of General Services:

(a) Sales and/or leases of residential, commercial and industrial government lots and buildings (b) Awards of contracts for materials, supplies, equipment, services, etc.

(5) Government-owned or controlled corporations:

(a) Awards of contracts

(6) Land Authority (formerly Land Tenure Administration)

(7) Games and Amusements Board:

(a) Decisions, orders or rulings of the Board affecting racing clubs, jai-alai corporation and other persons or entities.

This order shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

Done in the City of Manila, this 2nd day of April, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and sixty-six.


By the President:
(SGD.) RAFAEL M. SALAS
Executive Secretary