Amending Executive Order No. 9 (S. 2016) for the Purpose of Strengthening the Functional Arrangements in the Office of the President

September 15, 2017

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 40

AMENDING EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 9 (S. 2016) FOR THE PURPOSE OF STRENGTHENING THE FUNCTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS IN THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

WHEREAS, Executive Order (EO) No. 9 (s. 2016) transferred the Public Concerns Office (PCO) from the Presidential Management Staff (PMS) to the Office of the Cabinet Secretary (OCS) and placed it under the direct control and supervision of the Strategic Action and Response (STAR) Office of the OCS;

WHEREAS, EO No. 9 also placed two PMS Offices, namely the Cabinet Support Office (CSO) and the Directives Monitoring Office (DMO), under the operational control of the OCS in relation to policy direction and coordination of Cabinet and other Presidential meetings;

WHEREAS, to rationalize the reporting lines of the PCO, CSO and DMO based on their actual functions, there is a need to revert their direct control and supervision to the PMS to ensure alignment with the Presidential perspective, direction and priorities;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution and existing laws, do hereby order:

SECTION 1. Public Concerns Office. — The PCO is hereby transferred back to the control and supervision of the PMS. PCO shall continue to institute feedback mechanisms for requests for assistance, complaints and grievances received by offices under the Office of the President and referred to other concerned government agencies or instrumentalities.

The PCO shall also provide feedback to the Special Assistant to the President on actions taken by agencies as regards requests for assistance, complaints and grievances referred to them.

SECTION 2. Cabinet Staff Support. — In accordance with EO No. 1 (s. 2016), the PMS shall continue to support the Cabinet Secretary in his role as Secretary to the Cabinet through the provision of substantive and logistical support, including the: a) development of the Cabinet Agenda; b) documentation of the meetings of the Cabinet and the Cabinet Assistance System; and c) crafting of the Cabinet Directives, as well as monitoring and follow through of these directives.

Both the CSO and DMO shall remain under PMS, which shall exercise direct control and supervision over these offices. The PMS and OCS shall strengthen their functional arrangements by way of close coordination and information-sharing.

SECTION 3. Separability Clause. — If any section or part of this Order is held unconstitutional or invalid, the other sections or provisions not otherwise affected shall remain in full force or effect.

SECTION 4. Repealing Clause. — All provisions of EO No. 9 (s. 2016) inconsistent with this Order are hereby amended accordingly.

SECTION 5. Effectivity. — This Order shall take effect immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 15th day of September, in the year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and Seventeen. CAIHTE

 

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 113, No. 40, p. 7278 on October 2, 2017.