EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 353

: The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
: US$9,589,000.
: The loan was taken to purchase three embassy properties located in Madrid, Rome, and Los Angeles.
: The government policy is to upgrade shabby embassy chanceries and residences to make them suitable showcases and centers of activity, especially in light of the Philippine Centennial celebration in 1998.
: The loan is payable within five years.
: The Secretary of Budget and Management is ordered to include in the DFA's annual budget appropriations for the years 1997 to 2001 the amounts necessary to amortize and pay off the government loan.
: The 1996 annual appropriations of the DFA for chancery rentals for the three posts shall initially pay for the interest.
: Madrid, Rome, and Los Angeles.
: The Secretary is ordered to include in the DFA's annual budget appropriations the necessary amounts for amortizing and paying off the loan for the purchase of properties.
: President Fidel V. Ramos signed the Executive Order, with the Executive Secretary Ruben D. Torres.