REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7470 - AN ACT
ESTABLISHING THE NATIONAL ECONOMIC RESEARCH AND BUSINESS ASSISTANCE
CENTER OF THE PHILIPPINES, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFORE, AND FOR OTHER
PURPOSES
Section 1. Title. — This Act shall be known as the "National
Economic Research and Business Assistance Center of the Philippines Act
of 1992."
Sec. 2. Declaration of Policy. — It is the policy
of the State to enhance economic growth by providing necessary and
strategic economic and business information and research assistance
thereby expediting the process of business formation and encouraging
the growth of entrepreneurship in the country.
Sec. 3. Creation. — There is hereby created the
National Economic Research and Business Assistance Center (NERBAC) of
the Philippines, hereinafter referred to as the Center, which shall be
placed under the Department of Trade and Industry.
Sec. 4. Purpose. — The Center shall provide
prospective entrepreneurs/investors with the basic information on
various business options that are open to them in accordance with the
investment priorities of the Government. The Center shall likewise
provide a one-stop action center which shall facilitate the processing
and documentation of all paper requirements necessary for the
establishment of a business enterprise in the country, including credit
services.
Sec. 5. Functions. — The Center shall perform the
following functions:
(a) To provide information to prospective investors,
both local and foreign, on the different kinds of business
opportunities that are in accord with set investment priorities of the
Government;
(b) To establish an updated data bank of all
industries and business enterprise in the country;
(c) To prepare pre-feasibility studies of existing as
well as possible industries in the Philippines that can help
entrepreneurs decide on what business to venture into;
(d) To organize and maintain a centralized one-stop
shop services or assistance center that shall expedite the processing
of all government requirements necessary in establishing a business;
(e) To monitor technological advances relevant to
business and economy, and disseminate such information to Filipino
entrepreneurs and the public in general;
(f) To formulate and coordinate the conduct of
relevant research projects to help attain the Center's goals;
(g) To monitor and collate economic, technical, and
industry research output of all government agencies that has reference
to business enterprises, as well as to investors in the country;
(h) To collect and facilitate the gathering of
information on the kind of technology/machinery needed, their prices,
specifications, and where they can be purchased or leased, as well as
to help rehabilitate and modernize existing machinery and equipment of
essential industries; and
(i) To facilitate the gathering of information on how
to harness indigenous resources and technology required for our
development efforts.
Sec. 6. Structural Organization. — The Center
shall have a Board of Governors under which shall be the Office of the
Director General and the Office of the Deputy Director General. Under
the Office of the Director General shall be two (2) departments which
shall be headed by their respective directors, namely on: Agriculture,
Fishery and Forestry, to handle all agricultural, agri-based,
agribusiness, marine and aquaculture, and forestry matters; and
Industry, Utilities and Services, to handle all industrial, utilities
and service-related matters. Under each department shall be three (3)
divisions which shall be headed by their division chiefs, namely on:
Technical Research Assistance, to handle production and related
matters; Pre-feasibility Studies Assistance, to handle all
pre-feasibility studies and related matters; and Trade and Marketing
Assistance, to handle market research and related matters, both for
domestic and international: provided, that a central documentation and
information service headed by a director, to handle all documentation,
information and related mattes, including public relations, shall be
constituted to provide staff support to the Director General.
Sec. 7. Board of Governors. — The Board of
Governors shall have the following powers and functions:
(a) To formulate policies, guidelines and programs to
effectively implement the purposes of the Center;
(b) To approve the annual and supplemental budgets of
the Center;
(c) To fix any services or similar fees the Center
may charge the end-users of its services;
(d) To promulgate rules as may be necessary for the
effective exercise of the powers and functions of the Center;
(e) To authorize any contract or agreement as may be
necessary for the proper, efficient and stable administration of the
Center;
(f) To prepare and submit periodic and/or special
reports to the President;
(g) To determine and approve the appointment of other
officers of the Center, with their corresponding qualifications, duties
and emoluments; and
(h) To appoint consultants and acknowledged experts
in their respective fields as may be necessary for the realization of
this Act.
Sec. 8. Board of Governors: Composition, Term and
Compensation. — The Center shall be governed and its activities and
properties shall be managed by a Board of Governors which shall be
chaired by the Secretary of Trade and Industry and ten (10) other
Filipino citizens, five (5) of whom shall come from the government
sector, namely: the secretaries of the National Economic and
Development Authority, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the
Department of Finance, the Department of Agriculture, and the
Department of Environment and Natural Resources; and five (5) of whom
shall come from the private sector whose functions shall be related to
the purposes of the Center, all of whom shall be appointed by the
President: provided, that a representative from the private sector
shall be appointed as Vice-Chairman: provided, further, that the ex
officio Vice-Chairman shall be the Director General: provided, finally,
that all Board members shall have a broad experience in business,
management or finance.
The term of office of the Board members from the government sector
shall be for the duration of their public office while the term of
office of the private sector Board members shall be three (3) years
each until their successors shall have been appointed: provided, that
they shall be eligible for reappointment after the expiration of their
respective terms.
The Board members shall meet regularly at least once a month and as
often as the exigencies of the service demand. The presence of at least
six (6) members shall constitute a quorum, and the vote of majority of
the members present shall be necessary for the adoption of any
resolution, rule or decision.
The Board members shall receive for every meeting attended a per diem
to be fixed by the President of the Philippines.
Sec. 9. Office of the Director General. — The
chief operating officer and principal representative of the Center
shall be the Director General assisted by a Deputy Director General,
working full time, both to be appointed by the President: provided,
that such appointment shall be subject to confirmation by the
Commission on Appointments.
SECTION 10. Coordination with Government Agencies. —
Government agencies concerned shall coordinate with the Center and are
hereby obliged to give economic information and such other assistance
for taxation purposes, as well as to act on the applications submitted
by investors on any problem concerning the setting up of business in
the Philippines. For this purpose, all government agencies concerned
with business documentation and processing shall henceforth detail
their appropriate representatives to the Center: provided, that such
government agencies shall provide for such detailed personnel's
salaries and/or other emoluments.
Moreover, the Department of Foreign Affairs, through its commercial
attaches worldwide, shall extend assistance to the Center by
disseminating economic data properly released by the Center to the
different countries concerned. The commercial attaches shall also
furnish the Center with current and relevant economic data from other
countries for circulation in the Philippines.
SECTION 11. Vacancy Before Expiration of Term. — Any
private sector Board member appointed by the President to fill a
vacancy in the Board of Governors occurring prior to the expiration of
the term for which his predecessor was appointed shall serve only for
the unexpired portion of his predecessor.
SECTION 12. Removal or Suspension for Cause. — An
officer of the Center may be suspended or removed by the President for
mismanagement, grave abuse of discretion, infidelity in the conduct of
fiduciary relations, gross negligence in the performance of duties,
dishonesty, corruption, or any act involving moral turpitude.
SECTION 13. Appointment, Promotion, Terms and
Conditions of Employment. — The officers and employees of the Center
shall be covered by the Civil Service Law, as well as the rules of the
Office of Compensation and Position Classification.
SECTION 14. Location. — The Center's head office
shall be located in a convenient and accessible site in the National
Capital Region: provided, that the regional offices of the Center may
be integrated with the regional offices of the Department of Trade and
Industry whenever feasible and shall obtain all its service functions
under one roof, including the head office.
SECTION 15. Appropriations. — An amount not exceeding
Fifteen million pesos (P15,000,000) to provide for the initial
implementation of this Act shall be charged against the Contingent
Fund. Thereafter, the amount necessary for the continued operation of
the Center shall be included in the General Appropriations Act as part
of the budget of the Department of Trade and Industry.
SECTION 16. Implementing Guidelines. — The Department
of Trade and Industry shall make all other necessary guidelines for the
proper and effective implementation of this Act.
SECTION 17. Repealing Clause. — All other provisions
of law contrary to or inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed or
modified accordingly.
SECTION 18. Effectivity Clause. — This Act shall take
effect fifteen (15) days after its complete publication in two (2)
newspapers of general circulation.
Approved: April 29, 1992
|