QuestionsQuestions (EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 293)
Executive Order No. 293 is issued by the President to amend Executive Order No. 122-C. Its purpose is to clearly delineate responsibilities for policy and plan formulation versus program implementation, consistent with the government’s decentralization policy.
Section 6 of EO No. 122-C is amended. The Office is composed of an Executive Director and two (2) Deputy Executive Directors, all appointed by the President. The Executive Director has the rank of Department Undersecretary, while the Deputy Executive Directors have the rank of Assistant Secretary.
The Executive Director is a Department Undersecretary; the Deputy Executive Directors are Assistant Secretaries.
It provides that the Services consist of the Administrative Service, Planning Service, Finance and Management Service, and Legal Service. Each is headed by a Staff Director with the same compensation as an Assistant Staff Bureau Director.
It standardizes leadership positions and compensation parity with equivalent staff bureau director ranks, promoting consistent organizational structure and budgeting within the Office.
Section 15 is amended. It specifies three Bureaus: the Bureau of Economic Affairs, Bureau of Cultural Affairs, and Bureau of Tribal Relations and External Affairs.
Each Bureau is headed by a Director equivalent to a Staff Bureau Director.
It handles: (a) development and promotion of economic livelihood projects/programs including loans, entrepreneurship, trade and marketing assistance; (b) formulation of land-use development policies and plans for ancestral and tribal lands and settlement areas; and (c) research and studies for policy/plan formulation and implementation, including provision of medical assistance, nutrition services, and training on community self-help projects.
It is responsible for: (a) formulating policies, plans and programs for preservation and development of culture, traditions, institutions and well-being; (b) research/studies as inputs to policy and plans and to program/project implementation; (c) guidelines and procedures promoting goodwill between tribes and cultural communities and the mainstream; and (d) coordination with appropriate agencies, including education and scholarship programs for poor but deserving members.
It handles: (a) planning, conceptualization and monitoring of projects/activities to promote peace and harmony within, between and among the concerned cultural communities; (b) coordination with tribal institutions to strengthen relationships and settle disputes through advice and peaceful negotiation; and (c) liaison with local, international and non-government organizations in activities of the cultural communities.
It emphasizes clearly delineating responsibilities between policy/plan formulation (generally staff functions) and program implementation (operational functions), aligning the Office’s structure with decentralization.
If any provision is declared unconstitutional, it does not nullify the entire EO as long as the remaining provisions can still subsist and be given effect in their entirety.
All existing laws, orders, issuances, rules and regulations—or parts thereof—inconsistent with EO No. 293 are repealed or modified accordingly.
It takes effect immediately. It was signed by President Corazon C. Aquino, with Executive Secretary Joker P. Arroyo.
At the top: Executive Director and two Deputy Executive Directors. Under them: Services (Administrative, Planning, Finance and Management, Legal) each headed by a Staff Director. Additionally, there are three Bureaus (Economic Affairs; Cultural Affairs; Tribal Relations and External Affairs) each headed by a Director equivalent to a Staff Bureau Director.