By Azer Parrocha, January 4, 2023; Philippine News Agency

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1192018

Manila – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has issued an executive order (EO) “to further streamline” the administrative structure of the Office of the President (OP).

EO 11, signed by Marcos on Dec. 29 last year, outlines the administrative restructuring of the OP, its immediate offices, agencies under or affiliated with it and the Common Staff Support System.

“There is a need to further streamline the administrative structure of the Office of the President as part of continuing efforts towards efficiency and responsiveness in the delivery of its critical mandates to the Filipino people,” the EO read.

Under the EO, the OP will now consist of five major offices under the President’s direct control and supervision namely the Executive Office, Office of the Chief Presidential Legal Counsel (OCPLC), Private Office, Office of the Special Assistant to the President (OSAP) and the Presidential Communications Office (PCO).

EO 11 gives the Executive Office direct supervision and control over the Presidential Management Staff (PMS), which was formerly under the OSAP.

The Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) was renamed to the PCO which will be responsible for crafting, formulating, developing, enhancing and coordinating the messaging system of the Executive branch and the OP.

The Private Office will exercise control and supervision over the Protocol Office and Social Secretary’s Office and attend to the President and the First Family’s needs in official functions and personal matters.

Likewise, the OSAP will now oversee Presidential Assistants and the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO) to push the administration’s priority measures in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

EO 11 supersedes the relevant provisions of EO 1 (s. 2022) and will be in effect immediately.

EO No. 292 or the Administrative Code of 1987 provides that the President will have the continuing authority to reorganize the administrative structure of the OP and restructure the internal organization of the OP Proper, including immediate offices, the Presidential Special Assistants/Advisers System and the Common Staff Support System, by “abolishing, consolidating, or merging units thereof or transferring functions from one unit to another” to o “achieve simplicity, economy, and efficiency.”

To recall, Marcos’ first edict abolished the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) and the Office of the Cabinet Secretary (OCS).

In signing the EO, Marcos said the administration endeavors to achieve “a comprehensive and meaningful recovery through a just allocation of resources and a simplified internal management and governance of the Office of the President and its immediate offices and common staff support system.”