Question & AnswerQ&A (Act No. 2666.)
The main purpose of Act No. 2666 is to reorganize the executive departments of the government of the Philippine Islands, establishing specific departments and defining their functions and executive control under the Governor-General.
Six executive departments are created: the Departments of Interior, Public Instruction, Finance, Justice, Agriculture and Natural Resources, and Commerce and Communications.
All executive departments operate under the general supervision and control of the Governor-General.
The Secretaries are appointed by the Governor-General with the consent of the Senate at the beginning of each Legislature. Except for the Secretary of Public Instruction, they must be Philippine citizens, have resided continuously in the Islands for three years before appointment, and be at least thirty years old.
They hold office until their successors have been appointed and qualified, unless removed sooner.
The Under Secretary, appointed by the Governor-General with Senate consent, performs duties assigned by the Secretary and temporarily assumes the Secretary's duties when the Secretary is unable to perform them or when the office is vacant.
Yes, the Secretaries may be called and have the right to be heard by either House of the Legislature to report on matters related to their departments, unless the Governor-General states in writing that the public interest requires otherwise.
The Department of the Interior controls matters pertaining to non-Christian tribes, Philippine General Hospital, Boards of Pharmaceutical, Medical, and Dental Examiners, Executive Bureau, provinces and cities governed by special laws, the Philippine Constabulary, and other offices or functions assigned by law.
The Department of Finance supervises the Bureau of Customs, Bureau of Internal Revenue, Bureau of the Treasury, Bureau of Printing, and other offices or functions assigned by law. It also has general supervision over banks, banking transactions, coinage, currency, and authorized investments.
The Department of Justice supervises the Bureau of Justice, the Board of Public Utility Commissioners, the Code Committee, the Courts of First Instance and inferior courts, the Philippine Library and Museum, the Bureau of Prisons, and other offices assigned by law.
The Department supervises the Bureau of Agriculture, Bureau of Forestry, Bureau of Lands, matters related to colonies and plantations on public lands, the Bureau of Science, the Weather Bureau, hunting, fisheries, sponges, other sea products, and other offices assigned by law.
The Department oversees the Bureau of Public Works, Bureau of Posts, Bureau of Supply, Bureau of Labor, Bureau of Coast and Geodetic Survey, and other offices assigned by law.
Sections ninety-five to ninety-nine, inclusive, of the Administrative Code, and any Acts or parts inconsistent with Act No. 2666, are repealed.
The Act took effect upon its approval on November 18, 1916.