Duterte's first EO: Restructure Office of the President

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday issued his first executive order on which seeks to reengineer the Office of the President.

Duterte cited Presidential Decree 1416 which provides that the president shall have continuing authority to reorganize the administrative structure of the national government.

Under EO 1, the Cabinet secretary—a post currently held by Jun Evasco Jr.—will supervise the following agencies:

• Cooperative Development Authority
• Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council
• National Anti-Poverty Commission
• National Commission on Indigenous Peoples
• National Commisison on Muslim Filipinos
• National Food Authority
• National Youth Commission
• Office of the President - Presidential Action Center
• Philippine Commission on Women
• Philippine Coconut Authority
• Presidential Commission on the Urban Poor
• Technical Education Skills Development Authority

The 12 agencies are tasked to evaluate existing poverty reduction programs and formulate projects that seek to reduce poverty and improve the lives of the most venerable sectors of the society.

"They shall conduct consultations with LGUs for the proper allocation of resources and program implementation and recommend courses of action for the government to adopt to achieve a sustainable system of meeting the needs of the people, while ensuring resiliency for vulnerable communities," the EO states.

The first EO also consolidated the functions of the Office of the Special Assistant to the President, the Office of the Appointments Secretary and the Presidential Management Staff (PMS) under the Office of the Special Assistant to the President. Duterte's longtime executive secretary Christopher "Bong" Go is currently leading the office.

Meanwhile, the Events Management Cluster was created to ensure collaboration among the PMS, Presidential Security Group, Office of the Chief Presidential Protocol, Media Accreditation and Relations Office and Radio-Television Malacañang.

The PMS will also be tasked to support the executive secretary in the provision of policy inputs to the president and to the Cabinet secretary in the provision of support to the Cabinet.

The executive order, signed June 30, will take effect immediately. – Patricia Lourdes Viray