Institutional Strengthening Program Presidential Committee on Effective Governance Rules and Regulations Implementing Executive Order No. 72 (Rationalizing the Agencies Under or Attached to the Office of the President)

March 15, 2002

INSTITUTIONAL STRENGTHENING PROGRAM PRESIDENTIAL COMMITTEE ON EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE RULES AND REGULATIONS IMPLEMENTING EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 72 (RATIONALIZING THE AGENCIES UNDER OR ATTACHED TO THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT)

Pursuant to Section 5 (Oversight) of Executive Order 72 dated February 11, 2002, the following rules and regulations are hereby promulgated and adopted, upon consultation with the Civil Service Commission and the Commission on Audit, and approval by the Presidential Committee on Effective Governance:

RULE I

Policies and Objectives

SECTION 1. Title. — These rules shall be known and cited as the Rules and Regulations Implementing EO 72, which calls for the rationalization of agencies under or attached to the Office of the President (OP).

SECTION 2. Declaration of Policy. — It is the policy of the Administration to undertake a streamlining program to rationalize the organization and supervision of the agencies under or attached to OP.

SECTION 3. Statement of Goals and Objectives. — The objectives of the rationalization of the agencies under or attached to OP are as follows:

a. To focus the attention of the Office of the President on the overall management of governmental affairs and the supervision of agencies requiring direct Presidential intervention;

b. To enhance accountability for specific activities by transferring supervision of related agencies to those whose functions are properly aligned with/or subsumed under existing departments; and CAHTIS

c. To simplify and expedite processes and procedures in the Office of the President and in the entire bureaucracy.

RULE II

Coverage

SECTION 4. Coverage. — All agencies, task forces and other bodies chaired by the President, placed under and/or attached to the Office of the President, including those which are intended to attend to the locally funded projects of OP which are abolished, deactivated, merged, or consolidated as a result of the implementation of the OP streamlining plan, shall be covered by the guidelines prescribed herein on the winding-up of their activities. ISaCTE

RULE III

Definition of Terms on Organizational Actions

SECTION 5. Organizational Actions. — As used in the EO and in this implementing rules and regulations, abolition, deactivation, merger, or consolidation of agencies shall mean as follows:

•  Abolition pertains to the dissolution of an agency. It is a one-time elimination or discontinuance of an agency's operations.

•  Deactivation pertains to making an agency, dormant or inoperational by phasing out its functions or transferring them to other departments/agencies. An agency is rendered dormant or inoperational if its operation is terminated but its formal existence continues. It is devoid of any activity, personnel, financial and physical resources.

•  Merger pertains to the absorption of an agency by another; the acquired/absorbed agency is dissolved, while the identity of the acquiring/absorbing agency is maintained.

•  Consolidation pertains to the dissolution of agencies to form a new agency.

RULE IV

Winding-Up Plan

SECTION 6. Preparation of a Winding-up Plan. — The winding-up plan shall be prepared within one (1) month from the issuance of the Executive Order that directed the abolition, deactivation, merger or consolidation of an agency, unless an earlier winding-up period is stipulated. In case of abolition/deactivation of an agency, the winding-up plan shall be prepared by the head of the agency. In case of agency abolition/deactivation but whose functions have been transferred to another, the plan shall be prepared by the head of the absorbing agency, in consultation with the head of the abolished/deactivated agency. In case of merger, the winding-up plan shall be prepared by the head of the acquiring agency, in consultation with the head of the absorbed agency, while in case of consolidation, the heads of the affected agencies shall jointly prepare the plan. DCTHaS

Such plan shall be submitted to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for approval. The implementation of the plan shall be completed within three (3) months from its approval, unless otherwise indicated in the EO or authorized by the Presidential Committee on Effective Governance (PCEG).

In the preparation of the winding-up plan, the head of the agency concerned shall undertake the following activities:

a. Obtain a complete documentation on the following areas:

• Existing organization structure, staffing pattern and plantilla of personnel, indicating filled and unfilled positions;

• Inventory of physical assets to include lands, buildings, equipment, supplies;

• Status of financial resources, including existing contracts, receivables, loans and other obligations; and

• Status of pending cases filed by or against the agency.

b. Prepare the Winding-Up Plan containing the following:

•  Dispositive action for functions and/or organizational units indicating which ones will be abolished/phased out, transferred, devolved or merged, based on the provisions of the EO;

•  Dispositive action for positions, specifying which ones will be abolished, retained, transferred, converted or reclassified, in accordance with the dispositive action for the corresponding functions and/or organizational units;

•  Dispositive action for personnel, indicating who will be transferred, separated, retired or placed in the manpower pool; aDICET

•  Dispositive action for the physical assets, specifying which ones will be transferred to other agencies, with or without cost, sold by public bidding or donated, as applicable;

•  Dispositive action for pending cases; and

•  Budget reconfiguration as a result of the changes brought about by the organizational changes.

c. Obtain DBM approval of the Winding-Up Plan.

d. Implement the Winding-Up Plan as approved.

RULE V

Specific Dispositive Actions and Personnel, Budgeting, Accounting and Auditing Requirements

SECTION 7. Dispositive Action for Functions. — The dispositive action for functions shall be consistent with the specific provisions of the EO on the abolition/deactivation/merger/consolidation of the agency/ies concerned. Such actions may involve the following:

a. If the functions of the absorbing entity are the same/similar to the functions, activities and projects of the merged/abolished/deactivated agency in terms of objectives, geographical or clientele coverage, expected outputs and outcomes, the internal structure of the absorbing entity shall be retained. Any organizational change that may be introduced to such agency, if not provided by the EO, shall be strictly aimed at streamlining and making the agency's operations effective, but not expanding or making it bigger than its present structure.

b. The internal structure of the agency which is mandated to absorb the functions, programs, projects and activities of the merged/abolished/deactivated agency may be strengthened or expanded, as may be provided by the EO, or if there are additional mandated functions which are not currently being undertaken, subject to the evaluation by the Department of Budget and Management as to the need for such organizational change. The functions of the affected agency shall be prioritized on the basis of their linkage to the organizational, sectoral, or societal outcomes. Strengthening may be effected for those which contribute substantially to sectoral/societal outcomes. Functions, activities and projects that are devolved to local government units shall be excluded. ISDCHA

c. Consolidated agencies shall form a new agency, taking into consideration the functions of the new body in the design of its organization structure and staffing pattern, subject to the final approval by the Department of Budget and Management.

SECTION 8. Dispositive Action for Itemized Positions. — The dispositive action for itemized positions involving either abolition, transfer, conversion or reclassification shall correspond to the requirements of the specific provisions of the EO on the abolition/deactivation/merger/consolidation of the agency/ies concerned. Such actions may involve the following:

a. Outright abolition of vacant positions;

b. Abolition of positions declared redundant due to the abolition/deactivation/merger/consolidation of agencies/organizational units;

c. Transfer of positions to other agencies/organizational units due to the transfer of certain functions to pertinent agencies/units; and

d. Conversion/reclassification of positions, provided that the number after conversion/reclassification shall not exceed the original number, and that the personal services (PS) requirements shall not exceed the PS cost of the abolished/reclassified positions.

SECTION 9. Personnel Actions. — The following guidelines on personnel actions shall be adopted:

a. Upon receipt of the EO, the following personnel policies shall be observed in the agencies concerned:

• non-filling of vacant regular/permanent/itemized positions; and

• non-renewal of contracts/appointments of all employees hired on contractual, casual or temporary basis.

b.Affected personnel shall be given due notice of the action to be taken regarding his employment.

c. All personnel hired on contractual, casual or temporary basis shall be terminated thirty (30) days after receipt of the notice indicated under Section 9.b hereof.

d. Incumbents of regular/itemized positions whose items have been abolished shall be placed in a pool to be administered by the Civil Service Commission (CSC), with the end in view of matching their qualifications with the needs of the other agencies of the Executive Branch. They shall stay in the pool for a period of three (3) months during which time, efforts shall be undertaken to deploy them. After three months, they shall be deemed separated or retired, as the case may be.

e. If a match has been found and the incumbent objects to it, he shall likewise be deemed separated/retired. Those who are deemed separated or retired shall be paid separation or retirement benefits, whichever is applicable, under existing laws.

 

f. The hiring of personnel pursuant to Section 9.d hereof shall be exempt from existing prohibitions on new hiring that may be contained in any Presidential issuance at the time.

SECTION 10. Disposition of Assets and Liabilities. — The following guidelines shall be adopted in the disposition of assets and liabilities:

a. All assets and properties of abolished/deactivated/merged/consolidated agency/ies shall be duly acknowledged by the Office of the President.

b. Assets and properties that may be necessary in the performance of the transferred functions shall be identified and transferred to the absorbing agency.

c. Assets and properties which shall not be transferred to the absorbing agency shall be made available to other government agencies.

d. Other assets that may still be remaining shall be disposed of by the Office of the President.

e. All liabilities and pending cases shall be transferred to the absorbing agency. In case there is no absorbing agency, the Office of the President shall assume the same.

SECTION 11. Budgeting, Accounting and Auditing Requirements. — The following guidelines shall be followed:

a. Funds for the payment of three (3) months salaries and other benefits of personnel placed in the pool shall be transferred/released to the CSC;

b. Funds for existing vacant positions in other agencies to be filled by transferred personnel shall be sourced from the corresponding funds transferred/released to the CSC, to be augmented by the DBM, if necessary. DCSETa

c. Funds for the payment of separation and retirement benefits to be paid by the national government shall be taken from the remaining funds of the abolished/deactivated/merged/consolidated agency/ies, if any. Otherwise, DBM shall give priority to the payment of the aforecited benefits from the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund.

 Those qualified to retire shall receive the retirement benefits to which they may be entitled to under existing laws, rules and regulations. Otherwise, they shall be paid separation benefits pursuant to RA 6656 (An Act to Protect the Security of Tenure of Civil Service Officers and Employees in the Implementation of Government Reorganization).

d. The existing accounting, auditing and budgeting rules and regulations on the winding-up of agency operations shall be strictly adhered to. HaAIES

RULE VI

General Requirements

SECTION 12. Reporting Requirements. — The PCEG shall submit a report to the OP on the implementation of agency winding-up activities.

SECTION 13. Effectivity. — This Implementing Rules and Regulations on EO 72 shall take effect upon its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation, whichever comes earlier.

This 15th day of March, 2002, in the City of Manila, Philippines.

(SGD.) EMILIA T. BONCODINCo-Chairman, PCEG and Secretary of Budget and Management