President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. before boarding a Philippine Airlines flight bound for China at Villamor Airbase in Pasay City on January, 3, 2023. Alfred Frias, PNA
Marcos places Presidential Management Staff under the executive secretary's office
MANILA — President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. has issued an executive order to "further streamline" the administrative structure of his office, as his administration gears towards rightsizing, Malacañang announced on Wednesday.
Executive Order No. 11, signed on Dec. 29 but only made public today, states "there is a need to further streamline the administrative structure of the OP as part of continuing efforts towards efficiency and responsiveness" to deliver its mandate to Filipinos.
Marcos, Jr.'s order also placed the Office of the Presidential Management Staff (PMS) under the direct supervision of the Office of the Executive Secretary.
"[It] shall be under the control and supervision of the Office of the Executive Secretary and shall provide staff assistance to the various offices under the Office of the President," noted the EO.
With this though, the PMS will do the functions of the Cabinet Secretariat to assist the President "in the establishment of agenda topics for Cabinet deliberation and facilitating discussions of cabinet meetings."
The EO also provided that the Cabinet Clusters System will be under the Presidential Management Staff and "also exercise administrative supervision over the Correspondence Office."
Cabinet Clusters were under the Cabinet Secretary under the previous administration.
The PMS traditionally provides technical support and advice for the President's team, and is also in coordination with many agencies in most of the Chief Executive's events.
The organizational structure of the Office of the President is as follows:
- Executive Office
- Office of the Chief Presidential Legal Counsel
- Private Office
- Office of the Special Assistant to the President
- Presidential Communications Office
What's the role of the Office of the Executive Secretary now?
The office "shall continue to exercise administrative supervision over all the offices and agencies attached to or under the Office of the President and other Executive Offices."
Based on the executive order, these offices refer to the following:
- Those offices placed under the chairmanship of the President
- Those under the control and supervision of the President
- Those attached to it for policy and program coordination
- Those that are not placed by law or order creating them under any specific department.
Rightsizing is among President Marcos' priorities for his administration, vowing to cut cost in the government by eradicating duplicate posts or offices.
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In his first order as President, Marcos abolished the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) and the Office of the Cabinet Secretary, citing the need for a “just allocation of resources” due to the ongoing health and fiscal crises.
The President earlier admitted that his administration is still "in transition" amid the resignation of several officials.
Here's the copy of Executive Order No. 11 series of 2022, which will take effect "immediately."