The STMO is created by virtue of Republic Act No. 10697, otherwise known as the Strategic Trade Management Act (STMA).
Enacted on 13 November 2015, the STMA fulfills one of the legally binding obligations under the UN Security Council Resolution 1540 (2014), which is to take and enforce effective measures to establish domestic controls to prevent the proliferation of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, or collectively called Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and their means of delivery. The STMA also contributes in maintaining international peace and security, and promoting economic growth by facilitating trade and investment through the responsible management of strategic goods and the provision of related services.
The STMA complements and reinforces other international treaties, conventions and protocols relevant to non-proliferation, to wit:
- Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
- Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)
- Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC/BWC)
- Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)
- Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)
- International Code of Conduct against Ballistic Missile Proliferation (Hague Code of Conduct, HCoC)
- Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction (Ottawa Treaty or Mine Ban Treaty)
- Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCCW)
- IAEA Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA)
- Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and Nuclear Facilities (CPPNM)
- Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT)
- International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism (ICSANT)
- Outer Space Treaty
The STMO is the executive and technical agency of the national government for the establishment of the management systems for the trade in strategic goods.
Under Section 9 of the STMA, the STMO shall have the following powers and functions:
- Implement strategies, policies and guidelines formulated by the NSC-STMCom and develop, evaluate, and monitor corresponding programs and activities;
- Develop and maintain the register and carry out registration activities to include registration, registration with conditions, denial of registration, modification, suspension, revelation or annulment of registration;
- Establish and maintain a comprehensive database information system on strategic goods and on persons engaged in the trade of strategic goods and the provision of related services;
- Issue or deny issuance of authorizations for the trade of strategic goods and the provision of related services;
- Modify, condition, limit, suspend, revoke, or annul authorizations that have been issued as circumstances warrant in consultation with the NSC-STMCom;
- Issue, modify, suspend and revoke governmental end-use assurances in consultation with the NSC-STMCom;
- Ensure and operate end-use/end-user controls and establish compliance checks and exercise authority to enter premises for such purposes;
- Issue warning letters and orders for corrective action;
- Conduct investigation into violations committed under this Act;
- Undertake the enforcement of the provisions of this Act in cooperation with other agencies;
- Coordinate, cooperate, provide assistance and share information with the ATC and other departments/agencies in the implementation of this Act;
- Conduct capacity building and training of personnel for the effective implementation of this Act;
- Coordinate with the industry and the public regarding their obligations under this Act;
- Encourage and facilitate international cooperation, including the exchange of assistance such as information on matters regarding the implementation and application of this Act or its implementing rules and regulations (IRR); and
- Perform such other tasks and functions necessary to effectively cany out the provisions of this Act.
