Amended IRR of RA 7356 on NCCA and Cultural Arts

Declaration of Principles and Policy

Culture is a human right that must be accorded due respect and allowed to flourish (Section 2).
Culture reflects and shapes values and beliefs and defines national identity; a Filipino national culture mirroring Philippine economic, social, and political life shall be evolved, promoted and conserved (Section 3).
The Filipino national culture must be independent, equitable, dynamic, progressive, and humanistic (Section 4).
Filipino national culture must be evolved and developed by the people themselves according to original and ancestral wisdom (Section 5).
National cultural policies and programs must be pluralistic, democratic, non-partisan, liberative, and nationalistic (Section 5).
The creation and dissemination of artistic and cultural products must be promoted to reach the greatest number of people, and Filipino cultural consciousness must be raised through formal education and extra-scholastic means, including traditional and modern media (Section 6).
Every citizen has the duty to preserve and conserve Filipino historical and cultural heritage and resources, and the retrieval and conservation of Filipino cultural and historical artifacts must be vigorously pursued (Section 7).

Creation, Mandate, and Powers of the NCCA

The NCCA is created to formulate policies for culture and arts, implement them with affiliated cultural agencies, and coordinate their programs (Section 8).
The NCCA administers the National Endowment Fund for Culture and Arts (NEFCA) (Section 8).
The NCCA must encourage artistic creation with artistic freedom, develop and promote Filipino national culture and arts, and preserve Filipino cultural heritage (Section 8).
The NCCA is mandated to formulate and implement policies and plans consistent with the principles in Rule I (Section 12).
The NCCA must encourage and ensure freedom of expression by eliminating censorship inimical to cultural and artistic growth and development, while safeguarding others’ right to develop their own culture and to enhance a genuinely Filipino culture (Section 13.1).
The NCCA must extend financial and economic assistance such as subsidies, artist funds, and social security to promote cultural development and protect artists and cultural workers (Section 13.2).
The NCCA must ensure decentralization of creative-expression opportunities by establishing local culture and arts centers and organizations in regions with needed resources (Section 13.3).
The NCCA must recognize artistic and intellectual achievement through awards, grants, and services to artists and cultural groups contributing to Filipino cultural legacy (Section 13.4).
The NCCA must promote artists’ and cultural workers’ interests and welfare by protecting rights to intellectual and artistic properties and by associations that protect artists’ economic and moral rights (Section 13.5).
The NCCA must encourage research into Philippine artistic traditions with a condition that adoption must not result in mockery of the tradition (Section 13.6).
The NCCA must recommend measures and legislations to protect intellectual and artistic rights and properties of Filipino artists and cultural workers (Section 13.7).
The NCCA must explore and adopt the best possible relationship between public and private sectors at the local level considering varying socio-cultural situations (Section 13.8).
To conserve, promote, and protect heritage, the NCCA must support retrieval and conservation of artifacts and treasures across the archipelago and other countries, and systematize these efforts (Section 14.1).
The NCCA must support study, recognition, and preservation of endangered human cultural resources and conserve/develop threatened skills and talents (Section 14.2).
The NCCA must support establishment and preservation of cultural and historical monuments, markers, names, and sites (Section 14.3).
The NCCA must encourage establishment and/or maintenance of museums, libraries, and archives across the country as repositories for cultural/historical artifacts, artistic creation, printed works, archival records, and other materials indispensable to study and evaluation (Section 14.4).
The NCCA must encourage the private sector to establish and maintain private museums, libraries, learning centers, and archives (Section 14.5).
The NCCA must support scholarly research and documentation of Philippine cultural traditions, arts and crafts, significant cultural movements, achievements, personalities, and matters in mass media (Section 14.6).
The NCCA must encourage writing Philippine history and pre-history and cultural studies from multiple perspectives supporting national identity and activities such as conferences, congresses, fora, and symposia (Section 14.7).
The NCCA must encourage and support scholarly and scientific research and anthropological and archaeological studies and their publication, and encourage support and systematize audio-visual documentation of Filipino cultural expressions (Sections 14.8 and 14.9).
The NCCA must establish a culture and arts education program at all educational levels to ensure study across the curriculum (Section 15.1).
The NCCA must encourage and support programs such as publication, exhibition, production, performance, staging, reproduction, and promotion of original Filipino creations (Section 15.2).
The NCCA must coordinate and provide technical and/or financial assistance for cultural events and related activities such as festivals, competitions, lectures, seminars, fora, and symposia (Section 15.3).
The NCCA must develop and implement a comprehensive translation program making works by Filipinos and selected foreign classics equally accessible to Filipino and international readers (Section 15.4).
The NCCA must re-orient tourism programs to become instruments for popular education about the best of heritage and creativity (Section 15.6).
The NCCA must undertake systematic collection of statistical and other data reflecting cultural conditions to serve as a database for cultural-policy formulation (Section 15.7).
The NCCA must create and support international cultural exchange, scholarships, travel grants, and other forms of assistance (Section 15.8).
The NCCA must promulgate standards and guidelines for protection and promotion of Filipino artists, cultural workers, and creative works in other countries (Section 15.9).
The NCCA must encourage and support continuous training of cultural workers and administrators by qualified trainers (Section 15.10).
The NCCA must help set up and monitor subsidized apprenticeship/trainee systems intended to develop traditional cultures, preferably in community settings apart from usual museum settings (Section 16.1).
The NCCA must ensure that ultimate beneficiaries of research efforts, tourism programs, and activities affecting cultural communities are the people and cultural communities subject of research, and that their cultures are nurtured rather than violated, damaged, or exploited (Section 16.3).
The NCCA must ensure relevant information is made available to legislators introducing laws with cultural implication (Section 16.4).
The NCCA must encourage standards of excellence by supporting continuing discussion and debate through symposia, workshops, and publications on highest available norms in Philippine culture (Section 17).
The NCCA must set up a Secretariat under an Executive Director for administrative and day-to-day operations (Section 18.2).
The NCCA must receive and accept donations and other conveyances by gratuitous title (Section 18.7).
The NCCA must administer the NEFCA, give grants for development, protection, preservation, and dissemination of Philippine culture and the arts, and designate a comptroller (Section 18.8).
The NCCA must prepare an annual budget and submit it to the President for inclusion in the annual General Appropriations Act (GAA) (Section 18.9).
The NCCA must advise the President on matters pertaining to culture and arts, including creation of special decorations or awards for persons who significantly contributed to development and promotion (Section 18.10).
The NCCA must regulate activities inimical to preservation/conservation of national cultural heritage/properties through a separate document (Section 18.11).
The NCCA must investigate inimical activities in conjunction with proper government agencies to aim at prosecuting and recommending other actions including legislation and executive issuances (Section 18.12).
The NCCA may delegate decision-making on specific cases to the Chairperson, the Executive Director, and the Secretariat; matters not explicitly delegated by resolution require Commission action (Section 18.13).
The NCCA must promulgate other rules and regulations and undertake necessary measures to implement R.A. No. 7356 (Section 18.14).

Commission Composition, Terms, and Restrictions

The Commission is composed of specified members under the NCCA Charter, including the Undersecretary, Department of Education Culture and Sports, the Undersecretary, Department of Tourism, and several congressional chairpersons and cultural-agency heads (Section 9).
The Commission includes the President, Cultural Center of the Philippines, the Executive Director, National Historical Institute, the Director, National Museum, the Director, The National Library, and other listed heads (Section 9).
The Commission includes the Executive Director, NCCA and the Head of the Subcommission on Cultural Communities and Traditional Arts (SCCTA) (Section 9).
The Commission includes three (3) representatives from the private sector elected by Heads of the National Committees within subcommissions (SCH, SCA, SCD) (Section 9).
Non-ex-officio Commission members have a term of three (3) years, reckoned from July 1, 1992 (Section 10).
Commission members are restricted from eligibility for any grant or other financial aid from the Commission as an individual during their term (Section 11).
A Commissioner may compete for grants and awards at the same level as other artists one (1) year after the term expires (Section 11).

Chairperson, Commissioners, and Compensation Rules

The Commission is headed by a Chairperson elected by Commission members from among themselves (Section 20).
The Chairperson’s term is three (3) years, reckoned from July 1, 1992, so long as the Chairperson remains a Commission member (Section 21).
The Chairperson may not serve for more than two consecutive terms (Section 21).
Filling an unexpired term of an outgoing Chairperson counts as one full term for purposes of counting terms (Section 21).
The Chairperson may be removed before term expiration subject to due process by a two-thirds vote of the entire Commission on specified grounds including culpable violation of NCCA IRR and rules/policies, culpable violation of NCCA Code of Ethics, final conviction for violations of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards, or final conviction for a crime involving moral turpitude (Section 22).
The Chairperson must provide leadership, advise the President on culture and arts, preside over Commission meetings, propose the agenda, oversee implementation of decisions, represent the Commission on official matters, and perform other delegated duties (Section 23).
The Chairperson occupying an ex-officio position is not entitled to honorarium or other compensation under Section 8, Article IX-B of the Constitution, but may receive reimbursement of miscellaneous expenses for attendance to meetings subject to government rules and rates (Section 24).
Commissioners must attend regular Commission meetings for policy formulation, approval of projects and grants, approval of the annual budget for presentation to DBM and Congress, and discussion/resolution of culture-and-arts issues (Section 25).
All actions taken by individual Commissioners on NCCA concerns and activities require Commission approval (Section 25).
Each Commissioner has one vote, and a representative may vote only with written authorization from the Commissioner represented (Section 26).
Non-ex-officio Commissioners (or official representatives in their absence) receive per diem as prescribed by DBM for actual attendance and reimbursement of travel expenses, with reimbursement immediately after the meeting (Section 27).
Ex-officio members receive RATA in accordance with DBM-prescribed rates, and ex-officio undersecretary-rank members are entitled to reimbursement of expenses incurred in connection with duties as Commissioner according to authorized DBM rates (Section 27).

Meetings, Quorum, and Referendum Procedures

The Commission holds regular meetings at least once a month, at a place and time approved by a majority of all members (Section 28).
Special meetings may be called by the Chairperson or upon request of the majority of Commissioners for valid and urgent reasons and must be held at a specified time and place, with notice provided at least two days before the meeting (Section 29).
A majority of Commissioners or their authorized representatives constitutes quorum to proceed (Section 30).
The Chairperson may authorize circulation of matters in referendum when urgency prevents awaiting the next regular meeting; approval by a majority is sufficient for action, and matters approved must be submitted to the next meeting for confirmation/ratification (Section 31).
The Commission may adopt the Parliamentary Rules of Procedure and other rules to govern conduct of members (Section 32).

Secretariat, Executive Director, and Subcommissions

The Secretariat provides administrative and technical support to the Commission and other organizational units created with it (Section 33).
The Secretariat assists in formulating a National Development Plan for Culture and the Arts, establishes and maintains a system to achieve it, and recommends and undertakes measures for effective and efficient implementation upon Commission approval (Section 34.1 to 34.2).
The Secretariat submits periodic reports on program/project progress and implementation of policies/plans, facilitates review/evaluation/approval of NCCA Grants, and assists potential partners and project implementors to develop arts-and-culture programs/projects (Section 34.3 to 34.5).
The Secretariat prepares an annual report to the President and Congress subject to final Commission approval, monitors implementation of Commission-approved projects, and undertakes other necessary activities or those delegated by Chairperson/Commission (Section 34.6 to 34.8).
The Executive Director heads the Secretariat (Section 35).
The Executive Director is appointed by the Commission based on open nominations after meeting and due deliberation as a collegial body (Section 36).
The Executive Director takes charge of administration, direction, and supervision of the Secretariat; ensures implementation of Commission resolutions and decisions; formalizes implementation of grants via Memoranda of Agreement or contracts; ensures administrative support to attached bodies; and performs other assigned functions (Section 37.1 to 37.4).
The Executive Director must meet qualifications set by the Commission in conjunction with Civil Service Rules and Regulations, in accordance with qualifications required of a Director III (Section 38).
The NCCA oversees National Committees under specific Subcommissions: Subcommission on Cultural Heritage, Subcommission on the Arts, Subcommission on Cultural Dissemination, and Subcommission on Cultural Communities and Traditional Arts (Section 39.1 to 39.4).
Each Subcommission covers designated areas and has listed national committees under it (Section 39.1.1 to 39.4.3).
Subcommissions must assess the state of the country’s culture and arts and recommend appropriate action; consolidate/harmonize committee positions; coordinate programs requiring two or more subcommissions; and perform delegated functions (Section 40.1 to 40.4).
Each Subcommission has a Head, Vice Head, and Secretary elected for a term of three (3) years reckoned from July 1, 1992, for as long as the elected individuals remain ExeCon members, and they may not serve more than two consecutive terms (Section 41).
Subcommission Heads represent their Subcommissions in the Commission (Section 41).
Subcommissions meet not more than four (4) times a year; meetings are called by the Head or in the Head’s absence by the Vice-Head (Section 42).
Special Subcommission meetings may be called only upon request from the majority of members for valid and urgent reasons, with notice at least two days before scheduled meeting (Section 43).
A majority of Committee Heads within the Subcommission or their authorized representatives constitutes quorum; decisions require vote of a majority of authorized voting Heads/Representatives (Section 44).
Secretariat presence is required in regular or special Subcommission meetings; otherwise, meetings are unofficial and all actions taken are null and void (Section 45).
Subcommission Head may authorize referendum for urgent matters; majority approval is sufficient and matters must be submitted at next meeting for confirmation/ratification (Section 46).
Subcommission Heads may be removed subject to due process by a two-thirds vote of the entire Subcommission on grounds including culpable violations of NCCA IRR/rules/policies, Code of Ethics, final convictions under the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards, or final conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude (Section 47).