QuestionsQuestions (EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 17)
It creates the Program Implementation Agency under the Office of the President as the technical staff responsible for coordinating and implementing the Socio-Economic Program, providing analytical support for policy formulation and day-to-day decisions of the President, and ensuring consistency in program implementation.
The order states it is issued “by virtue of the powers vested in me by law,” i.e., pursuant to the President’s legal authority to issue the EO creating the agency.
It is created under the Office of the President and is directly under and responsible to the President of the Philippines.
It is headed by a Presidential Economic Assistant known as Director-General, who has Cabinet rank.
The Agency may have personnel assigned or detailed from departments, bureaus, offices, and instrumentalities of the government, and the President may also appoint other personnel deemed necessary.
All positions in the Agency are declared to be “highly technical and/or primarily confidential in nature.”
They may secure data and information directly from all government offices and entities, and they may consult and confer with officers and personnel of those entities as necessary for the Agency’s functions.
It performs socio-economic planning work at a level between the overall aggregative view of the National Economic Councils and the specialized specific views of individual government departments, corporations, and financial institutions.
It analyzes, coordinates, and integrates plans, projects, programs, and studies of various departments and instrumentalities to formulate policy recommendations, establish priorities, and program utilization of public funds, manpower, and materials/equipment.
It may initiate such major capital projects only “where necessary and with the approval of the President.”
It performs studies and formulates recommendations for consistent internal and external economic policies of the Government.
It performs necessary analytical and projection work in operational planning and basic policy research.
It undertakes analytical work on commodity production and demand, and based on this, consults with and makes suggestions to private entrepreneurs for appropriate investment projects in the private sector.
It must obtain the approval of the President.
It prepares draft legislative proposals designed to achieve the targets and objectives of the Socio-Economic Program.
Section 5(i) states it can “perform such other functions as may be necessary to attain its objectives and shall discharge such other duties as the President may direct.”
It signals that the Agency’s work requires specialized expertise and may involve sensitive information, supporting the need for confidentiality and technical competence in its staffing and operations.
It enables the Agency to gather information directly (without going through intermediaries), facilitating faster analysis, integration of plans, and better policy recommendations for coordinating and implementing the Socio-Economic Program.