Powers and core functions of PANAMIN
- Section 3 provides that PANAMIN acts for and in behalf of the President in all matters pertaining to National Minorities.
- Section 3 requires PANAMIN to perform the powers, functions and duties provided under Presidential Decree No. 719, while incorporating the pertinent provisions of Republic Act No. 1888 as amended.
- Section 3 authorizes PANAMIN to establish and maintain ethnographic research centers and museums to preserve artifacts and other evidence of the lifeways of National Minorities.
- Section 3 directs PANAMIN to design, implement, and maintain settlements and development projects among National Minorities to further the government’s policy.
- Section 3 establishes PANAMIN as the agency through which National Minorities can seek government and private assistance, and through which assistance from both government and the private sector (local as well as foreign) may be given.
- Section 3 authorizes PANAMIN to give grants-in-aid out of its appropriation or other funds from whatever source to cooperating government agencies, tribal groups, and/or private organizations formed or existing for the benefit and welfare of National Minorities for activities or programs aligned with PANAMIN’s basic objectives.
- Section 3 requires PANAMIN to provide legal assistance of whatever nature, medical aid, relief, and any and all other forms of help to National Minorities.
- Section 3 authorizes PANAMIN to undertake action projects necessary to attain the objectives of the Decree.
Land-related inspection and certification requirement
- Section 3 requires PANAMIN, jointly with the Bureau of Forest Development, to inspect areas covered by applications for licenses, leases or permits granted under the Revised Forestry Code (Presidential Decree No. 705).
- Section 3 limits the inspection requirement to provinces and cities inhabited by National Minorities based on the latest official population census.
- Section 3 states the inspection objective is to determine the extent to which the licenses, permits, or lease applications affect the rights of National Minorities resident in the area.
- Section 3 requires PANAMIN, on the basis of the inspection, to issue a certification of the findings.
- Section 3 prohibits granting any such license, permit, or lease without:
- prior inspection being made; and
- issuance of a certification by PANAMIN stating that no member of the National Minorities actually occupies or possesses or has a claim to all or a portion of the area applied for.
- Section 3 directs that when only portion(s) of the areas applied for are occupied/possessed/claimed by members of the National Minorities, those portion(s) shall be excluded or deemed excluded.
Funding, contracts, donations, and eminent domain
- Section 3 requires that contracts, agreements, or arrangements with government or private agencies necessary to attain PANAMIN’s objectives be entered into subject to the approval of the President of the Philippines on behalf of the Republic of the Philippines.
- Section 3 authorizes PANAMIN to accept grants, donations, gifts, funds, and/or property for the benefit of National Minorities from domestic or foreign sources in whatever form.
- Section 3 requires PANAMIN to administer accepted items in accordance with the terms of the grant, donation, gift, funds, and/or property.
- Section 3 provides that when there are no conditions, PANAMIN shall administer the property or funds in the manner it determines for the benefit of National Minorities.
- Section 3 authorizes PANAMIN to initiate eminent domain proceedings in pursuit of the aims and purposes of the Decree.
- Section 3 authorizes PANAMIN to perform other functions and duties vital to national interest and security as may be assigned by the President of the Philippines.
Presidential Assistant leadership and rank
- Section 4 provides that PANAMIN shall be headed by a Presidential Assistant.
- Section 4 establishes that the Presidential Assistant shall be of cabinet rank.
- Section 4 grants the Presidential Assistant all privileges and prerogatives of a regular member of the Cabinet.
Organizational structure and staffing
- Section 5 authorizes the Presidential Assistant to determine PANAMIN’s organizational structure in the manner that best carries out its powers, functions, and duties and attains the Decree’s objectives.
- Section 5 empowers the Presidential Assistant to organize PANAMIN, and to appoint, discipline and/or remove personnel.
- Section 5 authorizes the Presidential Assistant to determine the compensation and allowances of PANAMIN personnel.
- Section 5 exempts from the rules and regulations of the Office of Compensation and Position Classification positions that are highly technical, policy determining, or primarily confidential as declared by the Presidential Assistant.
- Section 5 authorizes PANAMIN to have consultants and other experts as needed, who may be drawn from the private sector by appointment or on contractual basis or from government agencies or instrumentalities on detail or through other arrangements.
- Section 5 requires the Presidential Assistant to fix the compensation, allowances, or honoraria of consultants and other experts.
- Section 5 authorizes the Presidential Assistant to appoint tribal chieftains, members of tribal councils, and other tribal leaders, and other deserving minorities, even without the requisite civil service eligibility when the Presidential Assistant is of the opinion that the welfare and interest of the National Minorities and the government will be best served thereby.
Certification of bona fide minority membership
- Section 6 grants PANAMIN exclusive authority to issue certifications attesting to bona fide membership in a tribal or ethno-linguistic group considered as National Minorities under the Decree.
- Section 6 provides that these certifications are for establishing qualification for appointments in government and for other benefits provided by law.
Appropriations and funding
- Section 7 provides that PANAMIN receives an annual lump sum appropriation in such amounts as may be sufficient to finance its operations and its programs, projects, and activities.
Repeal, separability, and effectivity
- Section 8 repeals or modifies accordingly all laws, orders, proclamations, rules, regulations, or parts thereof that are inconsistent with any provision of the Decree.
- Section 9 provides a separability rule: any portion or provision declared unconstitutional does not nullify the other provisions.
- Section 9 requires that remaining portions be given effect in their entirety to accomplish the objectives of the Decree.
- Section 10 provides that the Decree takes effect immediately.
Issuance details
- This Decree is Presidential Decree No. 1414.
- It was issued on June 09, 1978 by President Ferdinand E. Marcos.
- It is titled “Further Defining the Powers, Functions and Duties of the Office of the Presidential Assistant on National Minorities and for Other Purposes.”
- It was signed in the City of Manila on the 9th day of June, 1978.