WHEREAS, there exists a necessity for the active participation of the Secretaries of the Department of Local Government and Community Development and Department of Labor to represent the local government and labor sector respectively, in the formulation and implementation of policies of the national family planning, health and welfare program;
WHEREAS, further amendments to P.D. 79 are likewise necessary to strengthen the powers of the Commission on Population in order to implement more effectively the plans and policies enunciated in carrying out the purposes and objectives of the national family planning, health and welfare program;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution do hereby decree;
SECTION 1. Section 5 of Presidential Decree No. 79, as amended, is hereby amended to read as follows:
"SEC. 5.—Duties and Functions of the POPCOM.—The POPCOM shall have the following duties and powers:
(a) To employ or authorize the employment by participating agencies in the national family planning, health and welfare program of physicians, nurses, and midwives and other persons to provide, dispense and administer all acceptable methods of contraception to all citizens of the Philippines desirous of spacing, limiting, or preventing pregnancies: Provided, That the above mentioned persons except physicians, for the purpose of contraception, have been trained and duly certified by the POPCOM."
SEC. 2. Section 6 of Presidential Decree No. 79, as amended is hereby amended to read as follows:
"SEC. 6. Board of Commissioners. All functions and powers of the POPCOM shall be vested in and exercised by a Board of Commissioners, hereinafter referred to as the Board, composed of the Secret try of Social Service and Development, Secretary of Education and Culture, Secretary of Health, Secretary of Economic Planning, Secretary of Local Government and Community Development, Secretary of Labor, Dean of the University of the Philippines Population Institute, Executive Director of the Population Center Foundation, Inc., and two (2) other members from the private sector who possess the necessary expertise in the field of population and who are not recipients of Population Commission program funds, each to be appointed by the President of the Philippines for a term of three years."
SEC. 3. Section 8 of Presidential Decree No. 79, as amended is hereby amended to read as follows:
"SEC. 8. Chairman of the Board, Powers and Duties, The Board shall elect a Chairman from among its members. The Chairman shall have the following powers and duties:
SEC. 4. Section 9 of Presidential Decree No. 79, as amended is hereby amended to read as follows:
"SEC. 9. Meeting. The Board shall meet at least once every four months or oftener at the call of the Chairman. Six (6) members of the Board shall constitute a quorum and no action shall DC considered as a decision of the Board unless it carries the affirmative vote of at least six (6) member present and voting. Members of the Board who are government officials shall serve without additional compensation. However, they shall be allowed commutable traveling, representation and other necessary allowances."
SEC. 5. Section 10 of Presidential Decree No. 79, as amended is hereby amended to read as follows:
"SEC. 10. Executive Director, Powers and Duties. The management of the POPCOM shall be vested in an Executive Director, to be appointed by the Chairman, subject to the approval of the Board. The Executive Director shall have the following powers, duties and responsibilities;
SEC. 6. All laws or decrees inconsistent with Decree are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
SEC. 7. This Decree shall take effect immediately.
DONE in the City of Manila, this 29th day of September, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-seven.