Authority and constitutional-legal basis
- The President creates the Agency by virtue of the powers vested in me by law.
- The Agency operates under the Office of the President and is directly under and responsible to the President of the Philippines.
- The Agency’s authority to gather information and coordinate actions is exercised on behalf of the President.
- The President controls major actions requiring approval, including initiation of major projects and approval of certain criteria and guidelines.
Policy objectives and intent
- The Executive Order states that government structure requires an appropriate coordinating and implementing agency to carry out the Socio-Economic Program.
- It declares the necessity for a single agency to handle analytical staff work at the highest level to ensure consistency of action in implementation and matters of policy formulation.
- It emphasizes that the President must know intimately the plans, policy proposals, methods and problems connected to the primary goal of accelerated economic growth.
- It requires that best possible technical staff work be available to the President for day-to-day decisions and policy formulation.
Agency structure and headship
- The Agency is placed under the Office of the President and is directly under and responsible to the President.
- The Agency is headed by a Presidential Economic Assistant known as Director-General.
- The Director-General holds Cabinet rank.
- The Agency may receive personnel assigned or detailed from departments, bureaus, offices, and instrumentalities of the Government, plus additional personnel the President deems necessary.
Personnel characterization and status
- The Executive Order declares that all positions in the Agency are highly technical and/or primarily confidential in nature.
- The President may determine additional staffing needs for performance of the Agency’s work.
- Assigned or detailed government personnel become part of the Agency’s technical staff function under the Agency’s direction.
Information-gathering and coordination powers
- Authorized officials of the Agency may secure data and information directly from all government offices and entities.
- Authorized officials may consult and confer with officers and personnel of government offices and entities.
- These information-gathering and consultation activities are performed on behalf of the President.
- The consultation and data acquisition are undertaken on matters necessary for the Agency to discharge its functions.
Core functions and responsibilities
- The Agency performs socio-economic planning work at a level between the overall aggregative view of the National Economic Councils and the specialized views of individual government departments, corporations, and financial institutions.
- The Agency analyzes, coordinates, and integrates the plans, projects, programs, and studies of government entities to:
- formulate policy recommendations; and
- establish priorities; and
- program the utilization of public funds, manpower resources, and materials and equipment.
- The Agency analyzes, evaluates, and coordinates major capital projects involving public funds or funds of public financial institutions.
- Where necessary, the Agency may initiate major capital projects involving public funds or funds of public financial institutions with the approval of the President.
- The Agency performs studies and formulates recommendations for consistent internal and external economic policies of the Government.
- The Agency conducts analytical and projection work in operational planning and basic policy research.
- The Agency undertakes analytical work on commodity production and demand, and then consults with and makes suggestions to private entrepreneurs for appropriate investment projects in the private sector.
- With the approval of the President, the Agency establishes necessary criteria and other guidelines for the public and private sectors for investment decisions consistent with the objectives of the Socio-Economic Program.
- The Agency prepares draft legislative proposals designed to achieve the targets and objectives of the Socio-Economic Program.
- The Agency performs other functions necessary to attain its objectives and discharges such other duties as the President may direct.
Approval requirements embedded in duties
- The Agency initiates major capital projects involving public funds or public financial institutions’ funds only with the approval of the President.
- The Agency establishes investment decision criteria and guidelines for the public and private sectors only with the approval of the President.
- The President’s approval operates as a control point over major project initiation and over the policy criteria used to guide investment decisions.
Effectivity and presidential signing
- The Executive Order is completed and dated 24 August 1962 in the City of Manila.
- The President signs the Executive Order through Presidential signature (Diosdado Macapagal).
- The Executive Order is attested by the Executive Secretary (Salvador L. Mariáo).