Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City
18" CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILLNO. #1

Introduced by REP. EVELINA G. ESCUDERO,

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Manning and Baruth (2009, p.24) defines culture as “people's values, languages, religions

ideals, artistic expressions, patterns of social and interpersonal relationships and ways of perceiving.
behaving and thinking.”

Cultural identity has been identified as an important contributor to people's wellbeing. Ii
szives people access to social networks which share the same values and aspirations. This provides
people support and give them a sense of security. Thus, it helps break down barriers and builds

trust among people - a phenomenon also referred to as social capital ?

The importance of building the country’s social capital finds resonance in Section 17
Article II of the Constitution which provides that, the State shall, among others, give priority to

arts and culture "to foster patriotism and nationalism, accelerate social progress, and promote total
human liberation and development."

* As quoted in “The Importance of Positive Cultural Identity Essay.”

sil le ince-of-Posit nt Pi
® Durie (1997), National Health Committee (1998a) p33, as quoted in “Cultural Identity,”
http://www. socialreport. msd govt.n2/2003/cultural-identity/cultural identity shtm!


It is along this fundamental policy that this bill is being proposed, seeking to establish and
create a Department of Culture which will be mandated to develop, manage and implement the

policy and strategic directions of our country’s culture.

It is humbly submitted that with the creation of a Department, the various cultural offices
and agencies of government will converge and unify to achieve and promote effectiveness and
rationalization of organizational structures and functions. Ultimately, the State will be better
afforded with a stronger resolve and equipped with better resources to promote and advance

cultural education as a right and advance in the process cultural literacy among Filipinos

Moreover, this proposal is also mindful of the need to promote our national language while
recognizing linguistic diversity in all regions, and to improve the lives and welfare of Filipino
artists, and cultural advocates and workers

Consequently, the immediate consideration and passage of this bill is sought

Mi Mer t42
EVELINA G. ESCUDERO


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
Quezon City
18'™ CONG!
First Regular Session

House Bill No.

Introduced by REP. EVELINA G. ESCUDERO.

AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE DEPARTM! OF CULTURE, APPROPRIATING
FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in
Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. This Act shall be known as the "Department of Culture Act
of 2019."

ARTICLE 1
DECLARATION OF POLICY

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. itis hereby declared the policy of the State

a. To recognize that culture is a unifying, humanizing and modernizing agent/instrument
of any society, and the patrimony and right of every citizen of the Philippines;

b. To recognize the vital role of culture in nation-building;

¢. To incorporate considerations of culture in the formulation of appropriate and significant
political and economic policy that will better serve Filipinos and ensure that all Filipinos
enjoy full cultural rights, take full advantage of a dynamic cultural experience, and be
inspired, sustained by, draw from, contribute to and celebrate the country's culture;

d. To create a national body which will develop, manage and be responsible for the
implementation of policy, legislation and strategic direction for the protection, regulation
preservation, development, management, dissemination and promotion of the country’s
culture, relative to the immense national resources, patrimony and wealth engendered and
amassed through countless generations and centuries of distinctive Filipino ways of life
and experiences in specific natural and social environments that this represents, and to


facilitate the convergence of various agencies with cultural mandates and rationalize their
organizations and functions;

¢. To foster, strengthen, and accelerate the convergence of various cultural offices
agencies, and rationalize their organizations and functions;

f. To recognize that cultural education is the right of every citizen and therefore ensure that
cultural literacy is inculcated in the development and education of all Filipinos;

x. To promote the national language of the country while enhancing the linguistic diversity
of the Philippines; and,

h. To secure and improve the welfare of Filipino artists and cultural workers.

‘The Department shall continually review the state and needs of culture and arts in the
context of the country's developmental goals.

SEC. 3. Definition of Terms. For purposes of this Act, the following terms shall be defined
as follow:

a. "Art" shall refer to the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination

b "Conservation shall refer to all process and measures of maintaining the cultural
significance of a cultural property, including but not limited to, preservation, restoration,
reconstruction, protection, adaptive re-use or any combination thereof.

c. “Cultural agencies” shall refer to any of the following national government agencies
with their specific areas of responsibility: National Museum of the Philippines (cultural
property), the National Library of the Philippines (books), National Historical Commission
of the Philippines (Philippine history), the National Archives of the Philippines
(documents) the Cultural Center of the Philippines (culture and arts) and Komisyon sa
Wikang Filipino (language)

d. "Cultural Education” shall refer to the teaching and learning of cultural concepts and
processes.

¢. “Cultural Heritage” shall refer to the totality of cultural property preserved and
developed through time and passed on to posterity

£. "Cultural Property” shall refer to all products of human creativity by which people and
nation reveal their identity, including architecture and sites or human activity (churches
mosques and other places of religious worship, schools) and natural history specimens and
sites, whether public or privately owned, movable or immovable, and tangible or intangible


g. "Culture" shall refer to the broad spectrum of people's beliefs, practices, customs and
traditions, material culture, arts, and other forms of actual and symbolic expressions and
representations which are handed down from one generation to the next in the process of
interaction

h. "History" shall refer to a written record of past events relating to Philippine history

i, "Indigenous Cultural Communities/ Indigenous Peoples” shall refer to a group of
people or homogenous societies identified by self-ascription and ascription by others, who
have continuously lived as organized community on communally bounded and defined
territory, and who have, under claims of ownership since time immemorial, occupied.
possessed and utilized such territories, sharing common bonds of language, customs.
traditions and other distinctive cultural traits, or who have, through resistance to political,
social and cultural inroads of colonization, non-indigenous religions and cultures, became
historically differentiated from the majority of Filipinos. ICCs/IPs shall likewise include
peoples who are regarded as indigenous on account of their descent from the populations
which inhabited the country, at the time of conquest or colonization, or at the time of
inroads of non-indigenous religions and cultures, or the establishment of present state
boundaries, who retain some or all of their own social, economic, cultural and political
institutions, but who may have been displaced from their traditional domains or who may
have resettled outside their ancestral domains;

j, "Intangible Cultural Heritage” shall refer to practices, representations, expressions
knowledge, skills, as well as instrument, objects and artifacts associated therewith, that
communities, groups and individual recognize as part of their cultural heritage, such as: (1)
oral traditions, usages, customs, languages and other expressions; (2) performing arts: (3)
social practices, religious rites, rituals, culinary traditions, and festive events; (4)

knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe, worship and (5) traditional
craftsmanship

ARTICLE I
THE DEPARTMENT OF CULTURE

SEC. 4. Creation of the Department of Culture. There is hereby created the Department
of Culture (Kagawaran ng Kultura), hereinafter referred to as the Department, which shall be the
primary policy-formulating, planning, coordinating, implementing, and administrative entity of
the executive branch of the National Government that will implement the pertinent provisions of
the Constitution regarding culture and arts as well as the aforementioned policy of the State

The Department with its attached agencies shall be responsible for the protection
preservation, regulation, development, management, dissemination and promotion of the cultural
historical and artistic heritage and resources, tangible and intangible, of the Philippines and the
Filipino people, all of which, with their physical and social contexts and environments, are
understood as together constituting and pertaining to Philippine culture for purposes of this Act


The Department shall continually review the state and needs of culture and arts in the
context of the country's developmental goals.

SEC. 5. Powers and Functions. The Department shall exercise the following powers and
functions:

a. Formulate and implement national policies, plans, programs, and guidelines for the
protection, preservation, regulation, development, management, dissemination and
promotion of culture, to ensure overall consistency, effectiveness, efficiency, and
conformity with the policies of the State articulated in the Constitution as well as in this
Act and other pertinent laws and issuances;

b. Assume and exercise all existing regulatory and quasi-judicial functions established
under Republic Act No. 4846, or "The Cultural Properties Preservation and Protection
Act;" Presidential Decree No. 374, or “Amending the Cultural Properties Preservation and
Protection Act;" Presidential Decree No. 1616, or "Creation of the Intramuros
Administration;” Presidential Decree No. 1748, or "An Act Amending the Charter of the
Intramuros Administration," Republic Act No. 8491, or "The Flag and Heraldic Code of
the Philippines." Republic Act No. 9105, or “Art and Forgery Act of 2001;" Republic Act
No. 10066, or "The National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009;" and, Republic Act No. 10086
or "Strengthening Peoples’ Nationalism Through Philippine History Act:" as well as such
functions promulgated through executive issuances that pertain to the agencies of the
National Government covered under this Act, which are all hereby transferred in fo1o to
the Department from the said agencies;

c. Be responsible for disaster risk reduction and management relative to culture and cultural
property, both through its own programs and projects as well as through the National
Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council and Regional Disaster Risk Reduction
and Management Councils, on which it shall have full membership, representation and
participation;

d. Recommend to the President of the Philippines the designation, through Presidential
Proclamation, with appropriate published guidelines pertaining thereto, of a cultural
property, whether immovable or movable, tangible or intangible, as a National Cultural
Monument, a category hereby established which incorporates the previously-establis
legal definitions of, criteria pertaining to, and all cultural property previously dec
authorized agencies as National Cultural Treasure, National Historical Landmark, National
Historical Shrine, National Historical Monument, and National Historical Site;

¢. Designate, through Department Order, and with appropriate published guidelines
pertaining thereto, cultural property, whether immovable or movable, tangible or
intangible, as National Cultural Property, a category hereby established which incorporates
the previously-established legal definitions of, criteria pertaining to, and all cultural
property previously declared by authorized agencies as Important Cultural Property and
Heritage House:



f. Administer the qualification and selection, with appropriate published guidelines
pertaining thereto, of the Award for National Living Treasures (Gawad ng Manlilikha ng
Bayan), which is hereby renamed as the Order of National Living Treasures (Orden ng
mga Pambansang Manlilikha ng Bayan), and the Order of National Artists (Orden ng mga
Pambansang Alagad ng Sining), and recommend those nominees to either Order who have
been qualified and selected to the President of the Philippines for proclamation as such and
conferral of the same;

8. Undertake, through a National Institute of Culture and Arts Management and the
Institutes of Living Traditions to be established for the purpose, in an appropriate
partnership with the academic sector, the education, training and certification of cultural
officers and personnel as a necessary qualification for employment and promotion in the
National Government and in local governments where such might be required by the
Department in coordination with the Civil Service Commission and the Career Executive
Service Board, at the career sub-professional, career professional, and career executive
levels, to include appropriate courses and programs towards certificates, diplomas, and
undergraduate and graduate degrees;

h. Administer the qualification, selection and conferral of such other awards as it may
establish in support of its mandate;

i, Support the development of the cultural, artistic and creative industries of the country, in
all particulars and at all levels;

j. Administer the endowment funds established separately under Section 20 of Republic
Act No. 7356, The Law Creating the National Commission for culture and the Arts, and
Section 50 of Republic Act No. 10066, which are herein consolidated into a single National
Endowment Fund for Culture and Arts (NEFCA) that shall continue to be sourced and
augmented as provided by the aforementioned provisions, and provide financial support
from this fund for various national programs through a system of grants drawing from the
proceeds, including both principal and interest, of the same, subject to the approval of the
Department of Budget and Management.

k. Represent the Philippines in matters pertaining to culture in overseas regional and
international organizations and events.

J. Other powers and functions as may be created, assigned or transferred by the President
of the Philippines in accordance with law

SEC. 6. Composition. The Department proper shall include the Office of the Secretary and
the staff units directly under it, inchiding the Services established herein. The Office of the
Secretary shall consist of the Secretary, at least three (3) Undersecretaries, and at least five (5)
Assistant Secretaries, together with the personnel in their immediate offices


SEC. 7. Secretary of Culture. The authority and responsibility for the exercise of the
mandate of the Department and for the discharge of its powers and functions shall be vested in the
Secretary, who shall have supervision and control of the Department and shall be appointed by the
President of the Philippines, subject to the confirmation by the Commission on Appointments

SEC. 8. Powers and Functions of the Secretary. - The Secretary shall have the following
powers and functions:

a. Provide executive direction and supervision over the entire operations of the Department
and exercise administrative supervision over its attached agencies;

b. Establish policies and standards for the effective, efficient and economical operation of
the Department, in accordance with the programs of government;

c. Promulgate rules and regulations necessary to carry out department mandates,
objectives, policies, functions, plans, programs and projects;

d. Promulgate administrative issuances necessary for the efficient administration of the
offices under the Secretary and for proper execution of the laws relative thereto. These
issuances shall not prescribe penalties for their violation, except when expressly authorized
by law;

. Rationalize delivery systems necessary for the effective attainment of the objectives of
the Department, in accordance with the programs of Government:

£. Appoint all officers and employees of the Department except those whose appointments
are vested in the President or in some other appointing authority and shall appoint
employees to positions in the second level in the regional offices as defined in this Act and
in accordance with the Civil Service laws, rules and regulations:

8. Exercise disciplinary powers over officers and employees under the Secretary in
accordance with law, including their investigation and the designation of a committee or
officer to conduct such investigation;

h. Sit on the governing boards of attached agencies as provided in this Act, as well as any
other agencies or organizations as may be appropriate or designated:

i, Coordinate with local governments, other agencies and public and private interests
groups, including non-government organizations (NGOs) and people's organizations
(POS) on Department policies and initiatives;

J. Advise the President of the Philippines and make recommendations on the promulgation
of executive and administrative orders and regulatory and legislative proposals on matters
pertaining to culture;

k. Formulate and enforce a system of measuring and evaluating periodically and


objectively the performance of the Department and submit the same annually to the
President,

1. Prepare and submit to the President through the Department of Budget and Management
an estimate of the necessary expenditures of the department during the next fiscal year, on
the basis of the reports and estimates submitted by bureaus and officers under the
Department;

m, Exercise jurisdiction over all bureaus, offices, agencies and corporations under the
Department as are provided by law: and,

n, Performs such other functions as may be provided by law or assigned by the President
of the Republic of the Philippines.

SEC. 9. Undersecretaries. The Secretary shall be assisted by three (3) Undersecretaries.
who shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines upon the recommendation of the
Secretary, at least two (2) of whom shall be career officers. In general, the undersecretaries shall

a. Advise and assist the Secretary in the formulation and implementation of department
objectives and policies;

b. Oversee all the operational activities of the bureau or units for which he shall be
responsible as assigned by the Secretary:

c. Coordinate the programs and projects of the same and be responsible for its economical,
efficient and effective administration;

d. Whenever necessary be designated to serve as deputy to the Secretary in all matters
relating to the operations of the department; the designated Undersecretary will temporarily
discharge the duties of the Secretary in the latter's absence or inability to discharge his or
her duties for any cause or in case of vacancy of the said office, unless otherwise provided
by law, the President of the Philippines shall likewise make the temporary designation of
Acting Secretary to the same; and

e. Perform such other funetions and duties as may be provided by law

SEC. 10. Assistant Secretaries. The Secretary shall be assisted by at least five (5) Assistant
Secretaries, who shall be appointed by the President of the Philippines upon the recommendation
of the Secretary, at least three (3) of whom shall be career officers. The Assistant Secretaries shall
be in charge of specific areas of responsibility as may be established by the Secretary.

SEC. 11. Qualifications. No person shall be appointed Secretary, Undersecretary, of
Assistant Secretary of the Department unless he or she is a citizen and resident of the Philippines.
of good moral character, and of proven integrity, and with at least seven (7) years of competence
expertise/ experience as manager, advocate, scholar or practitioner in fields of endeavor related to
Philippine culture and the mandate and functions of the Department


©. Bureau of Cultural Research, Education and Dissemination ~ shall undertake cultural
research for policy and program development, publish cultural materials, especially on
positive Filipino values for dissemination, manage the cultural education program for the
country, ensure the development and promotion of Philippine languages, implement

national translation program, and implement national promotion program in various forms
of media.

£ Bureau of Cultural and Creative Industries — shall formulate plans and programs to
ignite the innovative and entrepreneurial mindset of Filipino artists and establish industries
in the various genre of arts; performing arts, cinema, books and publications, creative
designs, culinary and lifestyle and architecture and allied arts, and others.

Each Bureau shall be headed by a Bureau Director, who shall be assisted by one (1)
Assistant Bureau Director. The Bureau Director and Assistant Bureau Director shall be appointed
by the President upon the recommendation of the Secretary

SEC. 14. Powers and Duties of Bureau Director. The Bureau Director shall be its chief
executive officer. He shall exercise overall authority in matters within the jurisdiction of the
bureau, including those relating to its operations, and enforce all laws and regulations pertaining
to it. Shall appoint personnel to all positions in his bureau or office, in accordance with law. In the
case of the line bureau or office, the head shall also appoint the second level personnel of the
regional offices, unless such power has been delegated. He shall have the authority to discipline
employees in accordance with the Civil Service Law.

ARTICLE V
THE REGIONAL AND FIELD OFFICES

SEC. 15. Regional Offices of the Department. The Department is hereby authorized to
establish, operate and maintain a Regional Office, whenever appropriate, in each of the
administrative regions of the country. Each regional office shall be headed by a Regional Director
who may be assisted by‘one (1) Assistant Regional Director. The Regional Director and Assistant
Regional Director shall be appointed by the President upon the recommendation of the Secretary
Provided, that they shall be persons recognized as an accomplished manager, advocate, scholar or
practitioner in fields of endeavor related to Philippine culture in the region, or any suitably
qualified person in accordance with Civil Service Commission (CSC) rules and regulations

It may also establish satellite, extension or field offices when and wherever necessary

particularly in locations where significant cultural and heritage properties and concerns are
identified to exist, and to support the operations, programs and projects of its attached and other
concerned agencies and institutions. A regional office shall have, within its administrative region

the following functions:

a, Implement laws, policies, plans, programs, rules and regulations of the department or
agency in the regional area;

"1


b. Provide economical, efficient and effective service to the people in the area;

c. Undertake research and gather data on local culture and arts trends and other relevant
cultural and artistic information;

4. Cause to establish and oversee the regional and local culture and arts councils (as far as
the city and municipal level) to engage participation of local artists and cultural workers:

€. Coordinate with regional offices of other departments, bureaus and agencies in the area

f. Coordinate with local government units in the area;

g. Make recommendations to the Secretary on all matters relating to culture and arts in the
region; and,

h. Perform such other functions as may be provided by law.

SEC. 16. Duties of a Regional Director. — The Regional Director shall perform duties
and functions as may be provided by law or further delegated by the head of agency or other proper
authorities concerned.

ARTICLE VI
THE ATTACHED AGENCIES, INSTITUTES, ADVISORY
COUNCIL, OVERSEAS OFFICES

SEC. 17. The Attached Agencies.

a. The National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) is hereby abolished, and
their powers and functions, applicable funds and appropriations, records, equipment,
property, and personnel transferred to the Department

b. The following agencies are hereby attached to the Department for policy and program
coordination, and shall continue to operate and funetion in accordance with the charters,
laws or orders creating them, insofar as they are not inconsistent with this act

1. Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP)

2. National Museum of the Philippines (NMP)

3. National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP)
4. National Library of the Philippines (NLP)

5. National Archives of the Philippines (NAP)

6. Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF)

7. Intramuros Administration (IA)

8. National Parks Development Committee (NPDC)

9. Nayong Pilipino Foundation (NPF)

10 Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP)

12


11. National Book Development Board (NBDB)
12 Design Center of the Philippines

¢. The laws and rules on government reorganization as provided for in Republic Act No.
6566, otherwise known as the Reorganization Law, shall govern the organization process
of the Department.

SEC. 18. National Institutes. The following National Institutes, with their respective
networks throughout the country, shall be established under the Department:

a. The National Institute of Living Traditions, and through it, a network of individual
Schools of Living Traditions to be established, which, with the support of appropriate -
partnerships, shall be responsible for programs and projects related to the safeguarding,
sustainability, propagation and intergenerational transmission of intangible cultural
heritage, particularly that which pertains to indigenous cultural communities;

b. The National Institute of Cultural Heritage Preservation, and through it, a network
of individual Eskwela Talyer (Workshop Schools) to be established, which, with the
support of appropriate partnerships, shall be responsible for programs and projects related
to national capacity building in the area of conservation arts, sciences and trades with
respect to the preservation of immovable and movable cultural property and with a
particular focus on vocational training for youth; and

c. The National Institute of Culture and Arts Management, and through it, a network
of individual Culture and Arts Management Training Centers to be established, which, with
the support of appropriate partnerships, shall be responsible for programs and projects
related to the education, training and certification of cultural officers and personnel as a
necessary qualification for employment and promotion in the National Government and in
local governments where such might be required by the Department in coordination with
the Civil Service Commission and the Career Executive Service Board, at the career sub-
professional, career professional, and career executive levels, to include appropriate
courses and programs towards certificates, diplomas, and undergraduate and graduate
degrees;

SEC. 19. National Academy of Culture and Arts. There is hereby established under the
Department a National Academy of Culture and Arts, which shall be an institutionalized
association of the nation’s foremost leaders and exponents of culture and arts, the primary purpose
of which is to support the mandate of the Department as an independent body of eminent persons
The President of the Philippines shall be the Honorary Patron of the National Academy of Culture
and Arts.

The structure and organization of the Academy, including the specification of its functions.
procedures as to its governance and the selection of its members, and the composition of its
secretariat, shall be contained in a charter to be formulated by the Department and promulgated by
the President of the Philippines through an Executive Order within one (1) year of the effectivity
of this Act

13


SEC. 20. Culture and Arts Advisory Councils. The Department shall facilitate the creation
of a National Culture and Arts Advisory Council, a Regional Culture and Arts Advisory Council,
and, a Local Culture and Arts Advisory Council, to assist the Department in the implementation
of culture and arts initiatives.

SEC. 21. Sectoral and Industry Task Forces. The Department may create a sectoral and
industry task forces, technical working groups, advisory bodies or committees for the furtherance
of its objectives. Additional private sector representatives, such as from the academe, CSOs, and
federation of private industries directly involved in culture and the arts as well as representatives
of other LGUs, and GOCCs may be appointed to these working groups.

SEC. 22. Rizal Centers. — The Department shall, through a dedicated organizational unit
to be established for the purpose, establish and manage centers, to be known as Rizal Centers or
Sentro Rizal, throughout the country and overseas, the primary purpose of which shall be the
promotion of, and the facilitation of access by the constituency of each center to, Philippine culture

generally as well as the cultural resources managed by the Department and its attached agencies
in particular.

Domestically, the Department shall establish Seniro Rizal as regional cultural centers and
hubs, to be supervised and operated appropriately through its regional offices. Such regional
centers shall include exhibition and performance venues, and facilities enabling access to
knowledge resources, particularly those pertaining to vernacular language resources.

Overseas, the Department shall establish Sentro Rizal as Philippine cultural centers in key
places for the benefit of the global diaspora of Philippine citizens, the global community of Filipino
migrants or descendants thereof, and all who are interested in Philippine culture. The Department
for this purpose shall coordinate with the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Commission on
Filipinos Overseas, and other concerned agencies.

Such Sentro Rizal as may be established overseas shall have a dedicated budget and staff under
the Department and be considered as overseas offices thereof, shall function as repositories of
Philippine cultural resources, shall carry out active programs and projects to engage their
respective constituencies, and shall offer courses in the national language and any other Filipino
languages as may appropriate.

The operations of the Sentro Rizal network of the Department, both domestically and
overseas, shall be considered as one its permanent flagship programs, and shall therefore be
specifically provided for in the General Appropriations Act for every fiscal year

Article XII, including Sections 42 to 47, of Republic Act No. 10066 is hereby repealed

SEC. 23. Overseas Offices. The Department shall establish overseas offices whenever
necessary to:

a. Implement plans, programs and projects of the Department relative to communities of
Philippine citizens abroad;

14


b. Promote Filipino culture to the international community:

¢. Coordinate with international organizations as well as with the overseas offices of other
departments, offices and agencies of the Philippine government; and

d. Perform such other functions as may be provided by law.

ARTICLE VII
REORGANIZATION

SEC. 24. Reorganization. The laws and rules on government reorganization as provided
for in Republic Act No. 6656, otherwise known as the Reorganization Law, shall govern the
reorganization process of the Department and, where appropriate, its attached agencies

SEC. 25. Structure and Staffing Pattern. Subject to the approval of the Department of
Budget and Management (DBM), the Department and, where appropriate, its attached agencies,
shall determine its organizational structure and create new divisions or units as it may deem
necessary and shall appoint officers and employees of the Department and its attached agencies in
accordance with the Civil Service Law, rules, and regulations.

SEC. 26. Transition Period. The transfer of functions, assets, funds, equipment, properties.
transactions, and personnel of affected agencies, and the formulation of the internal organic
structure, staffing pattern, operating system, and revised budget of the Department, shall be
completed within six (6) months from the effectivity of this Act, during which time, the existing
personnel shall continue to assume their posts in holdover capacities until new appointments are
issued; Provided, that after the abolition of the agency, as specified in Section 17(a) of this Act
the Department, in coordination with the DBM, shall determine and create new positions, the
funding requirement of which shall not exceed the equivalent cost of positions abolished

SEC. 27. Separation from Service. Employees separated from the service as a result of this,
reorganization shall, within ninety (90) days therefrom, receive the separation and retirement
benefits to which they may be entitled under Executive Order No. 366. Provided that such
separation pay and retirement benefits shall have priority of payment out of the savings of the
department or agency.

ARTICLE VIII
PROPERTIES OF THE DEPARTMENT

SEC. 28. Post Office Building and Liwasang Bonifacio. The Post Office Building
currently the property of the Philippine Postal Corporation (PhilPost), and the area known as
Liwasang Bonifacio (formerly Plaza Lawton), both in the City of Manila, are hereby appropriated
for the exclusive use and central office premises of the Department of Culture and its attached
agencies

15


SEC. 29. Other Properties. Real and movable properties owned by those agencies
abolished or absorbed into the Department under this Act, namely the National Commission for
Culture and the Arts Building and the Metropolitan Theatre, shall be transferred to the Department

ARTICLE IX
APPROPRIATIONS AND FINAL PROVISIONS

SEC. 30. Appropriations. The amount needed for the initial implementation of this Act
shall be taken from the current fiscal year's appropriation for the NCCA. through the Office of the
President, and other appropriations available for the purpose. Thereafter, the amount needed for
the operation and maintenance of the Department proper shall be included in the General
Appropriations Act, provided that for the next fiscal year, the amount shall be no less than Two
Billion Pesos (PHP2,000,000,000.00).

SEC. 31. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - The Office of the President, in
consultation with other government agencies mentioned in this Act, shall promulgate its
implementing rules and regulations within ninety (90) days after the effectivity of this Act

SEC, 32. Repealing Clause. All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations and

other issuances or parts thereof that are inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed, amended or
modified accordingly.

SEC. 33. Separability Clause. \f any provision of this Act shall be declared

unconstitutional or invalid, the other provisions not otherwise affected shall remain in full force
and effect

SEC. 34. Effectivity Clause. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days from publication
in at least two (2) papers of general circulation

Approved.

16