Designation of Presidential Regional Officers for Development (PROD) for the New Geographic Regions

November 5, 1972

LETTER OF INSTRUCTIONS NO. 36-A

In line with the policy framework outlined in Letter of Instructions No. 36 for the organization of a "Do Tank" to ensure the speedy and effective implementation of specific programs of reforms as well as other vital development projects, the following are hereby designated Presidential Regional Officers for Development (PROD) for the new geographic regions established under the Government Reorganization Plan:

Region			PROD
Region	I	:	Mr. Felix Nolasco, NACIDA Regional Director
Region	II	:	Commanding General, Northeast Command
Region	III	:	Mr. Pedro de Guzman, DAR Regional Director
Region	IV	:	Mr. Domingo Panganiban, DANR/NFAC
Region	V	:	Mr. Martiniano Ligon, DPWTC Regional Director
Region	VI	:	Mr. Emiliano Gianzon, DANR Regional Director
Region	VII	:	Mr. Demetrio Paz, NPC Regional Manager
Region	VIII	:	(To be appointed), DLGCD Regional Director
Region	IX	:	Commander, Southwest Command
Region	X	:	Commander General, Fourth Infantry Division
Region	XI	:	Mr. Ernesto Aboitiz, MDA Chairman/General Manager

The Presidential Regional Officers for Development herein designated shall constitute the corps of regional implementors or managers envisioned in Letter of Instructions No. 36, and are hereby placed under the overall supervision of the Executive Secretary. Their duties and functions shall be governed by the pertinent guidelines contained in Letter of Instruction No. 36 as well as by the following specific terms of reference.

1. The PROD shall, on a continuing basis, conduct field inspections to ascertain the status and progress of programs and projects in his region of responsibility, identify problem areas/bottlenecks and their causes, and institute or recommend the necessary corrective action/measures.

a. If the problem area/bottleneck is clearly the result of inaction, inefficiency, and/or lack of internal or interagency coordination at the execution level, the PROD is hereby empowered to utilize the prerogatives of the Office of the President to institute action measures needed to resolve/eliminate the problem area/bottleneck so identified.

b. If the problem area/bottleneck involves questions of policy of the Presidential or Departmental/Institutional level, or requires significant or substantive deviations in approved national plans/strategies of implementation, or involves covenants with international institutions, or concerns any matter beyond authoritative control at the field level, the PROD shall in all cases submit his recommendations for corrective action/measures to the national authorities concerned. He is hereby empowered to cut across normal decision-making channels to secure the required decisions, and he shall serve as the primary venue by which such decisions shall be speedily transmitted in advance to the field execution level. cd i

c. In no case shall the PROD establish himself as a separate or distinct layer of authority thru which decisions affecting program/project implementation must pass.

2. The PROD shall completely familiarize himself with national development plans and programs of reform and related projects within his region of responsibility. He shall check and ensure that the policy guidelines and strategies of implementation established at the Presidential and Departmental/Institutional levels are transmitted, understood, and complied with within the total system of execution down to the field level.

3. The PROD shall establish a close working relationship with key officials of the various local and national government agencies that are involved, directly or indirectly, in program/project implementation in his region. In problem areas where inter-agency coordination is a crucial factor, he is hereby empowered to call upon such officials/agencies to constitute, on an ad hoc basis, Action Coordinating Teams (ACT) as may be necessary to expedite program/project implementation.

4. Directives by the PROD shall be made in writing in a standard field form (to be prescribed) that can be readily issued and acknowledged on the spot. All such directives shall be recorded in a log book which the PROD shall maintain for ready reference, follow-up, and periodic review by the Executive Office.

The Executive Secretary is hereby directed to establish the operational system within which the PRODs can effectively exercise their functions and responsibilities. Mobility, rapid response, field orientation, speedy decision-making, and effective Presidential control shall be the guiding features of the desired system. Towards this end, the Executive Secretary shall task the Development Management Staff to:

1. Design the operational framework;

2. Prepare an Operations Manual that shall prescribe, among other things, the standard operating procedures and the reporting system to be followed;

3. Compile Regional Programs/Project Manuals containing a complete and up-to-date inventory of the programs and projects in each region;

4. Establish and maintain a Situation and Operations Room to serve as the central facility thru which Presidential direction and control, top-level coordination, overall monitoring, and field supervision of PRODs can be effectively exercised. cdt

The system herein desired shall be fully operational within forty-five (45) days from the date hereof. In the interim period, the designated PRODs shall exercise their functions and responsibilities according to transitory procedures to be prescribed by me thru the Executive Secretary. In general, this period should serve primarily as a familiarization period wherein the PRODs shall:

1. Acquaint themselves with the programs and projects in their respective regions;

2. Establish their working relationship with key officials;

3. Exercise the authority vested them herein to expedite the orderly development of the Regional Centers prescribed in the Government Reorganization Plan;

4. Assist the Executive Secretary and the Development Management Staff in establishing the desired system and rendering it fully operational.

The duties and responsibilities attendant to the designations made herein shall be concurrent and additional to the regular duties and responsibilities of PRODs in their respective organic assignments. The Executive Secretary shall continuously monitor their workload and performance and shall submit to the President recommendations for changes in PROD-designates when the situation so warrants.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 5th day of November, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Seventy-Two.