EO No. 1 broadens powers of Rody aide, Cabinet exec

MANILA, Philippines - Two of President Duterte’s closest aides were given extensive supervisory powers in his first executive order reorganizing the Office of the President.

More than a dozen agencies were placed under the supervision of Secretary to the Cabinet Leoncio Evasco and Special Assistant to the President Christopher Go.

Evasco is a former rebel priest and mayor of Maribojoc, Bohol who served as Duterte’s campaign manager.

Previous reports said Evasco was considered for the post of interior secretary, but Duterte thought him not qualified due to his previous links with the communists.

Go has been Duterte’s executive assistant since 1998.

Duterte signed the EO last June 30 to eliminate duplication or overlapping of common functions, maximize resources and to coordinate efforts closely.

Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said   yesterday the reorganization is basically  streamlining.

“So that it’s not repetitive, it’s not redundant,” he said.

Evasco will have supervision over 12 agencies: the Cooperative Development Authority, the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, National Anti-Poverty Commission, National Commission on Indigenous Peoples, National Commission on Muslim Filipinos, National Youth Commission, Office of the President-Presidential Action Center, Philippine Commission on Women, Presidential Commission on the Urban Poor, Technical Education and Skills Development Authority, the Philippine Coconut Authority and the National Food Authority.

“These agencies shall primarily evaluate existing poverty reduction programs and, if deemed necessary, formulate a more responsive set of programs complementing existing ones, channeling resources as necessary to reduce both the incidence and magnitude of poverty,” read the executive order.

The agencies will also develop programs and projects designed to reduce poverty and promote “social education” to allow the people “to participate in effecting real change by keeping watch of the affairs of the government.”

The PCA and the NFA were under the Department of Agriculture until EO 165 attached them to the Office of the President on May 5, 2014.

Then president Benigno Aquino III said the transfer was made due to the “need to enhance and coordinate the efforts” of the agencies in fulfilling their mandates.

The two agencies, along with the National Irrigation Administration and the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority, were placed under the supervision of the Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization, a position created on the same date EO 165 was released.