MALACAÑANG 
Manila

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE No. 15

CREATING THE CULTURAL CENTER OF THE PHILIPPINES, DEFINING ITS OBJECTIVES, POWERS AND FUNCTIONS AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

WHEREAS, one of the priority measures pending before Congress prior to the promulgation of Proclamation No. 1081 dated September 21, 1972, was House Bill No. 4454 creating the Cultural Center of the Philippines; and

WHEREAS, this measure is necessary to establish and enable the Cultural Center of  the Philippines as a non-municipal public corporation to implement more effectively and vigorously the constitutional injunction that arts and letters shall be under the patronage of the State.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution as Commander-in-Chief of all the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and pursuant to Proclamation No. 1081 dated September 21, 1972, and General Order No. 1 dated September 22, 1972, as amended, in order to promote, enhance and develop Philippine culture, do hereby order and decree that House Bill No. 4454 of the Seventh Congress of the Philippines, Sixth Special Session, with certain modifications shall be, as it is hereby adopted, approved and made as part of the law of the land, as follows:

Section 1. Name and Location. – Pursuant to the constitutional mandate that arts and letters shall be under the patronage of the State, there is hereby created a body corporate to be known as the Cultural Center of the Philippines, hereinafter referred to as the Center, with its main executive office in the City of Manila.

Section 2. Purposes and Objectives. – The Center shall have the following purposes and objectives:

(a) To construct, establish and maintain in a single site a national theater, a national music hall, an art gallery and such other buildings and facilities as are necessary or desirable for the holding of conferences, seminars, concerts and the like;

(b) To awaken the consciousness of our people to our cultural heritage, and to encourage them to assist in its preservation, promotion, enhancement and development;

(c) To cultivate and enhance public interests in, and appreciations of, distinctive Philippine arts in various fields;

(d) To discover, assist and develop talents, connected with Philippine cultural pursuits and create greater opportunities for individual and national self-expression in cultural affairs;

(e) To encourage the organization of cultural groups, associations or societies and the holding or staging of cultural exhibitions, performances and similar activities.

Section 3. Nature. – The corporation hereby created shall be a non-municipal public corporation. Its property, real and personal, shall belong to and be managed exclusively by the corporation for the benefit of the Filipino people. Any income that may be derived from its projects and operations shall be invested in a Cultural Development Fund set up to attain the objectives of this Act, or utilized for such purposes as its governing board may decide upon, consistent with the purposes herein provided. It shall enjoy autonomy of policy and operation but may seek the assistance and cooperation of various government offices in pursuit of its objectives.

Section 4. General Corporate Powers. – The Cultural Center of the Philippines shall have perpetual succession with the power to sue and be sued; to contract and be contracted with; to own and hold such real and personal property as shall be necessary for corporate purposes; to receive real and personal property by gift, devise, or bequest; to adopt a seal and alter the same; to adopt by-laws, rules and regulations not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act; and generally, to do all such acts and things as may be necessary to carry into effect the provisions of this Act.

Section 5. Existence. The corporation shall have perpetual succession. – Within sixty (60) days from the approval of this Act, the President of the Philippines shall issue a proclamation declaring the dissolution of the trust created by Executive Order No. 30 dated June 25, 1966, known as the Cultural Center of the Philippines and transferring all the properties including the Cultural Development Fund at present managed by an investment bank and a parcel of land covered by Presidential Proclamation No. 316 dated December 15, 1967, as well as all obligations thereof to the new Center created herein.

Section 6. Board of Trustees. – The governing powers and authority of the corporation shall be vested in, and exercised by, a Board of nine (9) trustees who shall serve without compensation.

(a) The trustees appointed by the President of the Philippines pursuant to Executive Order No. 30 dated June 25, 1966, and currently holding office shall be the first Trustees to serve on the Board of the new Center and shall be known as Founding Trustees. They shall elect the remaining trustees for a complete Board of nine (9) members. Elected trustees shall hold office for a period of four (4) years.

(b) Vacancies in the Board of Trustees due to termination of term, resignation, incapacity, death or other cause as may be provided in the By-laws, shall be filed by election by a vote of a majority of the trustees held at the next regular meeting following occurrence of such vacancy. The elected trustee shall then hold office for a complete term of four years unless sooner terminated by reason of resignation, incapacity, death or other cause. Should only one trustee survive, the vacancies shall be filled by the surviving trustee acting in consultation with the ranking officers of the Center. Such officers shall be designated in the Center’s Code of By-laws. Should for any reason the Board be left entirely vacant, the same shall be filled by the President of the Philippines acting in consultation with the aforementioned ranking officers of the Center.

(c) No person may serve as trustee who is not a resident of the Philippines, of good moral standing in the community and at least 25 years of age: Provided, That there shall always be a majority of the trustees who are citizens of the Philippines. Trustees may not be reelected for more than two (2) consecutive terms.

(d) A trustee who shall seek a political office shall be deemed automatically resigned upon filing of the certificate of candidacy.

(e) The majority of the trustees holding office shall constitute a quorum to do business.

Section 7. By-Laws. – The Board of Trustees shall ordain and promulgate the rules and regulations governing the Center, providing for, among other things, the organization, regular monthly, special and annual meetings of the Board, its officers, their powers and duties, as well as other officers, and their duties, of the Center, in a Code of By-Laws which shall be passed by an affirmative vote of majority plus one of all the members. Amendments thereto shall likewise be made by a similar vote of the trustees at any meeting of the Board duly convened.

Section 8. Appointment of Personnel. – The Chairman, with the confirmation of the Board, shall have the power to appoint all officers, staff and personnel of the Center with such compensation as may be fixed by the Board, who shall be residents of thePhilippines. The Center may elect membership in the Government Service Insurance System and if it so elects, its officers and employees who qualify shall have the same rights and privileges as well as obligations as those enjoyed or borne by persons in the government service. Officials and employees of the Center shall be exempt from the coverage of the Civil Service Law and Rules.

Section 9. Chapters. – The Center shall establish regional cultural centers in all regions of thePhilippines in pursuit of the purposes and objectives for which it is hereby organized.

Section 10. Title to Properties. – The corporation hereby created shall succeed to all rights, title and interests of the trust created by Executive Order No. 30 dated June 25, 1966, known by the same name, to properties of all classes within the territory of the Philippines and assume all its obligations upon proclamation by the President of the dissolution of the trust and transfer of all its rights and obligations to the corporation.

Section 11. Finances. – The corporation shall be financed both by the income from its various assets and from its operation, as well as by contributions from the private sector either from local or foreign sources. For permanent support of the Center, the equivalent of five (5%) per centum of the total annual collections of all taxes on amusement is hereby set aside and appropriated for the yearly maintenance and support of the Center. Government corporations are hereby authorized to make such contributions to the Center from time to time as their discretion decide, provided that said contributions do not exceed fifteen per centum (15%) of their annual unimpaired surplus. Contributions to the Center shall be considered as deductions deductible in full and shall not be included for purposes of computing the maximum amounts deductible under the first paragraph of Section 30 (h) of Commonwealth Act No. 466, as amended.

Section 12. Title to Land Site. – The parcel of land described in and embraced by Presidential Proclamation No. 316 dated December 15, 1967, is hereby assigned, transferred and conveyed to the Center in fee simple provided only that the same as well as all improvements thereon and all other properties of the Center after payment of obligations shall revert to the Government of the Philippines when and if the Center ceases to exist.

Section 13. Tax Exemption. – The Center shall be exempt from all forms of taxation whatever and from duties and all other imposts on any equipment, articles or goods that it may import from abroad which may be reasonably necessary for use in or as part of its operations.

Section 14. Annual Report. – The corporation shall, at the end of every calendar year, submit to the President of thePhilippines and Congress an annual report containing the activities of the corporation and showing clearly its exact financial condition, the sources of all receipts and the purposes of all disbursements.

Section 15. Separability Clause. – If any clause, paragraph or part of this Act shall be adjudged to be invalid, the same shall not affect, impair or invalidate the other provisions of this Act.

Section 16. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 5th day of October, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-two.

(Sgd.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS
President of the Philippines

By the President:
(Sgd.) ROBERTO V. REYES
Acting Executive Secretary

Source: Malacañang Records Office