Question & AnswerQ&A (EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 475)
Executive Order No. 475, dated March 30, 1998, transferred the Philippine Coast Guard from the Department of National Defense to the Office of the President.
The Philippine Coast Guard was created and established as a major unit of the Philippine Navy pursuant to Republic Act No. 5173.
The Philippine Coast Guard continues to be primarily responsible for the promotion of safety of life at sea and the protection of the marine environment.
The transfer was made under the continuing authority granted to the President by Section 31, Chapter 10, Title III, Book III of Executive Order No. 292 (Administrative Code of 1987) to reorganize the Office of the President, including transferring any agency or function thereto.
The Transition and Liquidation Committee was composed of the Department of Transportation and Communications (as Chairman), the Philippine Navy, Philippine Coast Guard, Department of Budget and Management, and the Office of the President as members.
The Committee is tasked to recommend plans and measures to effect the transfer within 30 days, and to undertake inventory and disposition of all PCG properties.
All current appropriations and assets such as vessels, watercraft, firearms, armaments, munitions, communications and electronic equipment, vehicles, buildings, real estate, and lighthouses under PCG control were transferred to the PCG.
Appropriations already granted to the PCG will continue to be included in subsequent Annual General Appropriations Acts, and thereafter the PCG shall prepare its own budget as a Key Budgetary Item (KBI).
PCG uniformed personnel will continue to receive the same base pay, longevity pay, allowances, and benefits authorized for corresponding ranks in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Yes, they shall continue to be covered by Presidential Decree No. 1638 (AFP Retirement Law), as amended, until the PCG establishes its own retirement system under a regime and timetable agreed upon by the Transition and Liquidation Committee.
All executive orders, rules, and regulations or parts thereof contrary or inconsistent with Executive Order No. 475 are repealed or modified accordingly.
The executive order took effect immediately upon signing on March 30, 1998.