QuestionsQuestions (LETTER OF INSTRUCTIONS NO. 771)
It clarifies that the National Intelligence and Security Authority (NISA), as the focal point for national intelligence and security activities, is exempted from the provisions of Letter of Instructions No. 746 (issued 4 October 1978), due to its direct relationship to the Office of the President and its non-attachment to the Ministry of National Defense.
Presidential Decree 51.
NISA shall be the focal point of direction, coordination, and integration of government activities involving national intelligence and security, and it shall have functional supervision over all intelligence agencies within the government.
NISA falls directly under the Office of the President and is not a component of or agency attached to the Ministry of National Defense.
Letter of Instructions No. 746, issued on 4 October 1978.
It states NISA has 'functional supervision' over all intelligence agencies within the government.
It implies NISA is the central coordinating authority for national intelligence and security activities, harmonizing and integrating government actions among intelligence-related agencies.
The recipients include the Minister of the Budget, the Minister of National Defense, the Director General of NISA, and all others concerned. This is relevant because it indicates which government offices are expected to implement or be informed of the exemption.
It indicates that the LOI is intended to implement or give effect to an existing presidential decree, aligning executive issuances with prior legal authority.
LOI No. 771 exempts NISA from the provisions of LOI No. 746; therefore, LOI No. 746’s requirements do not apply to NISA, as long as the stated basis remains true.
The exemption is expressly tied to NISA: 'it is hereby exempted from the provisions of Letter of Instructions No. 746.' The text does not generally exempt all intelligence agencies.
It was done/signed on 27 November 1978 in the City of Manila.
It was signed by Ferdinand E. Marcos, identified as President of the Philippines.
Direct inclusion under the Office of the President is emphasized, along with the fact that NISA is not a component/attached agency of the Ministry of National Defense.
It suggests NISA’s authority is supervisory in function over intelligence agencies, while its organizational/legal placement (directly under the Office of the President) determines applicability of certain administrative provisions from another LOI.