QuestionsQuestions (EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 711)
EO No. 711 was issued to minimize the number of ministries to simplify government management, to limit conferment of ministry status to agencies performing substantive line functions, and to modify the status of certain agencies that were previously classified as ministries.
It cited the President’s powers under the Constitution and the authority vested by Presidential Decree No. 1416 as amended, which empowers the President to undertake organizational and related improvements appropriate to changing circumstances and developments.
The following: (1) Ministry of the Budget—renamed Office of Budget and Management; (2) Ministry of Muslim Affairs—renamed Office of Muslim Affairs; (3) Ministry of Public Information—renamed Office of Media Affairs; (4) Office of the President; (5) Office of the Solicitor General; (6) National Science Development Board.
It is renamed the Office of Budget and Management and is headed by a Director General.
(a) Ministry of Muslim Affairs becomes the Office of Muslim Affairs, headed by a Director General. (b) Ministry of Public Information becomes the Officer of Media Affairs (as written in the EO), headed by a Director General.
The heads of ministries are ex-officio Ministers and members with portfolio of the Cabinet. However, at the discretion of the President, other officials may be conferred the personal rank of Minister and/or appointed as members without portfolio of the Cabinet.
Yes. The President may confer the personal rank of Minister and/or appoint as member without portfolio the head of any agency listed in Section 1, and may confer the personal rank of Deputy Minister on any deputy heads of those agencies.
It provides that the agencies shall be directly under the President.
Yes. Their heads continue to exercise the same authority over their agencies as before, including the power to appoint and dismiss personnel.
Nothing in the EO is construed to mean a reduction in the rank or salary of other personnel in the agencies solely as a result of this reclassification.
Only the head of the staff of the National Economic and Development Authority and the heads of the agencies listed under Section 1 may carry the title of Director General, unless the title is specifically conferred later by the President.
It authorized the Office of Budget and Management, in consultation with the Presidential Commission on Reorganization, to provide other suitable titles for current officials with the title of Director General.
Any laws, decrees, orders, proclamations, rules, regulations, or parts thereof inconsistent with EO No. 711 are repealed or amended accordingly.
It took effect immediately.
(a) Section 1 (reclassification and renaming). (b) Sections 2 and 3 (ex-officio Minister status and presidential discretion on personal rank/appointments). (c) Section 4 (directly under the President; continuity of authority and personnel powers; no reduction of rank/salary solely due to reclassification).
The EO states that ministry status should be limited to agencies performing substantive line functions; this suggests that agencies not performing core line functions may be reclassified into offices to streamline governance while preserving effective administration.