Instituting Rizal Collegiate Palms and Mabini Teachers Medal

Executive Order No. 663 is issued by the President by virtue of the powers vested in the President by law.
The presidential power exercised is to institute national honors by establishing annual decorations and medals.
A presidential committee is created to screen candidates for the awards under the order’s framework.

The order is premised on honoring not only military personnel but also other citizens who have rendered valuable service to the country in the field of education.
The awards serve as a tangible expression of Government appreciation for contributions to education.
The awards recognize contributions while also perpetuating the memory of Dr. Jose Rizal and Mabini.

The Rizal Collegiate Palms are awarded annually only to citizens who have made distinct contributions to higher education in the Philippines.
The annual award is designed to give recognition for valuable service to higher education.
The order requires that the number of Rizal Collegiate Palm annual awards shall not exceed six for any given year.
The award perpetuates the memory of Dr. Jose Rizal, described as scholar, scientist, patriot, and martyr.

The Mabini Teachers Medal is awarded to those who have made noteworthy contributions to elementary and secondary education in the Philippines.
The medal serves to honor the memory of Mabini, described as a humble teacher and patriot destined to guide the countrymen during critical periods.
The annual award is capped such that the number of Mabini Teachers Medals shall not be more than twelve for any given year.
The order defines the Mabini Teachers Medal as one of the Government’s most significant teacher-related recognitions.

The total number of educational awards given annually shall be capped at eighteen: six Rizal Collegiate Palms and twelve Mabini Teachers Medals.
At least two of each kind of medal must be awarded for long, faithful and efficient services.
At least one award of each kind must be granted for extraordinary contribution to education irrespective of length of service.
At least one award of each kind must be granted to persons who are neither teachers, supervisors nor school administrators but who have made signal contribution to the program of education in the Philippines.
Each individual is limited to only one medal of each class.

The Rizal Collegiate Palms are limited to citizens making distinct contributions to higher education in the Philippines.
The Mabini Teachers Medal covers persons who have made noteworthy contributions to elementary and secondary education in the Philippines.
The order expressly permits awardees who are not teachers, supervisors, or school administrators to qualify under the “signal contribution” category.
Only one medal of each class may be awarded to any one individual.
If an awardee receives additional or subsequent citations, the awardee may attach one gold star to the ribbon of the medal for each additional or subsequent citation.

A committee is to be appointed by the President of the Philippines to take charge of screening the candidates.
The screening committee is responsible for evaluating candidates for the annual awards.
Candidate screening operates as the selection mechanism under the annual decorations system instituted by the order.

The order recognizes that the annual awards are not of great intrinsic value or of rare metal, but are treasured possessions for transmission within families.
Until Congress provides the necessary funds for the eighteen annual medal awards, expenses to carry out the order’s provisions may be taken from the discretionary fund of the Office of the President.
The annual awards must still comply with the order’s numerical caps and award composition rules even during the interim funding arrangement.