Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Constitution Hills, Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

5436
House Bill No.

Introduced by REPRESENTATIVE ERIC L. OLIVAREZ
————————

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Culture, which is the broad spectrum of people’s beliefs,
practices, customs and traditions and other forms of actual and
symbolic expressions which are handed from generation to
generation, plays a big role in creating the country’s national identity,
despite of its diversity, It brings together Filipinos although
separated by different islands, beliefs and customs. It is what binds
the Filipinos as one. Thus, in order to further develop Philippine
culture to reach heights in advancing the Philippines’ national
identity, the creation of a Department of Culture is hereby proposed.

The Department of Culture shall, among others, focus on 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.

As such, the passage of this Bill is earnestly sought.

we
ERIC OLIVAREZ


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Constitution Hills, Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

5436
House Bill No.

Introduced by REPRESENTATIVE ERIC L. OLIVAREZ

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

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

SECTION 1. Short Title - This Act shall be known as the
“Department of Culture Act”.

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. - It is hereby declared the

policy of the State to:

a. Foster the preservation, enrichment and dynamic evolution
of a Filipino national culture based on the principle of unity
in diversity in a climate of free artistic expression;

b. Conserve, promote, and popularize the nation’s historical
and cultural heritage and resources, as well as artistic
creations;

c. Recognize, respect and protect the rights of indigenous
cultural communities to preserve and develop their cultures,
traditions and institutions;


d. Create a national body, which will be responsible for the
implementation of policy, legislation and strategic direction
for the protection, regulation, development, management,
dissemination and promotion of the country’s culture;

e. Ensure equal access to cultural opportunities through the
educational system, public or private cultural entities,
scholarships, grants and other incentives, and community
cultural centers, and other public venues;

f. Encourage and support research and studies on the arts and
culture.

SECTION 3. Definition of Terms. —

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 significant of a cultural property,
including but not limited to, preservation, restoration,
reconstruction, protection, adaptive re-use or any
combination thereof;

c. “Cultural Education” shall refer to the teaching and learning
of cultural concepts and processes

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

e. “Cultural Property” shall refer to all products of human
creativity by which people and nation reveal their identity,
including architecture and sites of human activity and
natural history specimens and sites, whether public or
privately owned, movable or immovable, and tangible or
intangible;

f. “Culture” shall refer to the broad spectrum of people’s beliefs,
practices, customs and traditions and other forms of actual
and symbolic expressions which are handed from generation
to generation;


g. “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 lives 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. It 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;

h. “Intangible Cultural Heritage” shall refer to practices,
representations, expressions, knowledge, skills, as well as
instrument, objects and artifacts associated therewith, that
communities, groups and individuals recognize as part of
their cultural heritage.

SECTION 4. Creation of the Department of Culture - There
is hereby created the Department of Culture (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,


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.

SECTION 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 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. 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
other functions promulgated through executive issuances
pertaining to the agencies of the National Government


covered under this Act; which all hereby transferred in toto to
the Department from the said agencies;

. Assume responsibility regarding disaster risk reduction and
management relative to culture and cultural property
through creation of programs and projects in coordination
with 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;

.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-
established legal definitions of, criteria pertaining to, and all
cultural property previously declared by 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 a
National Cultural Monument, 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 National
Cultural Treasure, National Historical Landmark, National
Historical Shrine, National Historical Monument and
National Historical House;

. Administer the qualification and selection, with appropriate
published guidelines pertaining thereto, of the Award for
National Living Treasures, 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 by the President of the Philippines for
proclamation as such and conferral of the same;

. 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 career
executive levels, to include appropriate courses and
programs towards certificates, diplomas, and undergraduate
and graduate degrees;

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

. 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
SO of Republic Act No. 10066, which are herein considered
into a single National Endowment Fund for Culture and Arts
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;
1, Other powers and functions as may be created, assigned or
transferred by the President of the Philippines in accordance
with law;

SECTION 6. Composition - The Department proper shall
include the Office of the Secretary and the staff units directly
under it, including 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

SECTION 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 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.

SECTION 8. Powers and Functions of the Secretary — The
Secretary shall have the following 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 the government;

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


. 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 for their
violation, exception 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;

. 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;

. 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;
Coordinate with local governments, other agencies and
public and private interests groups, including non-
government organizations and people’s organizations 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;

. 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 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

n.

and corporations under the Department as are provided
by law; and,
Performs such other functions as may be provided by
law or assigned by the President of the Republic of the
Philippines.

SECTION 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. The
powers of the undersecretaries are:

a.

b.

Advise and assist the Secretary in the formulation and
implementation of department objectives and policies;
Oversee all the operational activities of the bureau or
units for which he shall be responsible as assigned by
the Secretary;

. Coordinate the programs and projects of the same and

be responsible for its economical, efficient and effective
administration;

. 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 functions and duties as may be
provided by law.

SECTION 10. Assistant Secretaries. - The Secretary shall be
assisted by at least give (5) Assistant Secretaries, all of whom 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.

SECTION 11. Qualifications. No person shall be appointed
Secretary, Undersecretary or 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.

SECTION 12. Department Services - The Department of
Culture shall include the General Administrative Service, Financial
Management Service, Policy and Planning Service, Legal Affairs
Service, Physical Facilities Management Service, Human Resources
Development Service, Strategic Communications and Initiative
Service, Knowledge and Information Systems, Project Evaluation and
Monitoring Service, Foreign Assisted and Special Projects Service,
Internal Audit Service, Endowment Management Service, Grants
Management Service.

SECTION 13. The Bureaus of the Department - The
Department shall exercise supervision and control over the following
Bureaus created under it:

a. Bureau of Cultural Communities and Traditional Arts

Development - This Bureau shall formulate and implement


plans, programs and activities for the development of the
different cultural communities all over the country, ensure
the preservation and dissemination of the country’s diverse
cultures, establish schools for living traditions, encourage
the continued practice and development of traditional arts
and crafts, document the Indigenous Knowledge Systems
and Practices, and cause the recognition of outstanding
traditional artists.

. Bureau of Cultural Properties Protection and Regulation
- This bureau shall be in-charge of the registration and
documentation of the nation’s historical and cultural
properties, issue permits and licenses, conduct inspection
and assessment on cultural properties, implement Disaster
Risk Reduction program for the cultural assets, enforce laws
on cultural heritage conservation and intellectual property
protection for artists and cultural experts.

. Bureau of Cultural Properties Preservation - This bureau
shall be responsible for formulating and implementing plans,
programs and activities for the preservation of tangible and
intangible cultural heritage, providing architectural,
engineering, scientific and conservation laboratory services,
providing support to monuments and sites, museums and
galleries and libraries and archives all over the country and
establish a National Institute of Heritage Conversation.

. Bureau of Artistic Development — This bureau shall ensure
the continuing and balanced development of the nation’s
artistic heritage in its various forms; performing arts, film
and media arts, visual arts, architecture and allied arts and
literature, provide support to regional and local culture and
arts centers, performing arts and exhibition venues, ensure
the welfare of artists and cultural workers, undertake human
resource development programs for artists, and establish the
National Academy for Culture and Arts and National
Institute for Culture and Arts Management.


e. Bureau of Cultural Research, Education and
Dissemination - This bureau 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.

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

SECTION 14. The Bureau Director - 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 of the
Philippines upon the recommendation of the Secretary.

SECTION 15. Powers and Functions of the 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. The Bureau Director shall
appoint personnel to all positions in his bureau or office, in
accordance with the 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.


SECTION 16. 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 who shall both be appointed by the
President of the Philippines 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 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
culture 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;

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

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

d. Cause to establish and oversee the regional and local culture
and arts council Jas far as the city and municipal level) to
engage participation of local artists and cultural workers;

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

f. Coordinate with local government units in the area;

g. Make recommendation 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.

SECTION 17. 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.

SECTION 18. 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 function in accordance with the
charters, laws or orders creating them, insofar as they are
not inconsistent with this act:

i. Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP)
ii, National Museum of the Philippines (NMP)
iii, National Historical Commission of the Philippines
(NHCP)
iv. National Library of the Philippines (NLP)
v. National Archives of the Philippines (NAP)
vi. Komisyon sa Wikang Filipino (KWF)
vii, Intramuros Administration (IA)
viii. National Parks Development Committee (NPDC)
ix, Nayong Pilipino Foundation (NPF)
x. Film Development Council of the Philippines
(FDCP_
xi. National Book Development Board (NBDB)
xii. Design Center of the Philippines

c. 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.

SECTION 19. 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 though it, a network individual
Eskwela Talyer 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 qualifications for
employment and promotion in the National
Government and in local government 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, and
career executive levels, to include appropriate courses
and programs towards certificates, diplomas, and
undergraduate and graduate degrees.

SECTION 20. 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 Cultural 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.

SECTION 21. Cultural 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.

SECTION 22. 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 representative of other
LGUs, and GOCCs may be appointed to these working groups.

SECTION 23. 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 (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 culture generally as well as the cultural resources managed by
the Department and its attached agencies in particular.

Domestically, the Department shall establish Sentro Rizal as
regional cultural center 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 benefit of the global
diaspora of Philippine citizens the global community of Filipino
migrant 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 office 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.

SECTION 24. Overseas Offices. - The Department shall

establish overseas whenever necessary to:

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

b. Promote Filipino culture to the international community;

c. Coordinate with international organization 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.

SECTION 25. Structure and Staffing Pattern. 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.

SECTION 26. 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.

SECTION 27. 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.

SECTION 28. 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 wo 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.

SECTION 29. 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 for the exclusive use and central office
premises of the Department of Culture and its attached agencies.

SECTION 30. 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.

SECTION 31. 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).

SECTION 32. 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.

SECTION 33. 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 in full force
and effect.

SECTION 34. Separability Clause. — If any provision of this
Act shall be declared unconstitutional or invalid, the other provisions
not otherwise affected shall remain in full force and effect.

SECTION 35. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect
fifteen (15) days from publication in at least two (2) papers of general

circulation.

Approved,