Reorganization of Department of Foreign Affairs

Policy, mandate, and overall purpose

Section 3 declares it the policy of the State to pursue an independent foreign policy to harness foreign relations toward rapid national recovery and sustained long-term growth of national sovereignty, security, territorial integrity, national interest, right to self-determination, and commitment to international peace.
Section 4 requires the Department to advise and assist the President in planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, integrating, and evaluating the total National effort in the field of foreign relations.
Section 5 directs the Department to conduct foreign relations and related functions in alignment with presidential policies and coordinated government action.

Department powers and functions

Section 5 requires the Department to conduct the country’s foreign relations in accordance with policies laid down by the President.
Section 5 requires the Department to maintain and develop the country’s representation with foreign governments.
Section 5 requires the Department to conduct Philippine representation in the United Nations, ASEAN, and other international and regional organizations.
Section 5 makes the Department the channel for matters involving foreign relations, including official communications to and from the Republic of the Philippines.
Section 5 requires the Department to negotiate treaties and other agreements pursuant to instructions of the President, and in coordination, when necessary, with other government agencies.
Section 5 requires the Department, in cooperation with other government agencies and the private sector, to promote trade, investments, tourism, and other economic relations with other countries.
Section 5 directs the Department, in cooperation with other government agencies, to foster cultural relations with other countries and to protect and enhance the Philippines’ image abroad.
Section 5 requires the Department to undertake, in cooperation with other government agencies, efforts to inform the international community about the Philippines.
Section 5 requires the Department to protect and assist Philippine nationals abroad.
Section 5 requires the Department to carry out legal documentation functions as provided by laws and regulations.
Section 5 requires the Department to monitor and analyze events in other countries and report them, as appropriate, to the President and other government agencies.
Section 5 requires the Department, in coordination with other government agencies, to initiate, formulate, integrate, and submit to the President short-, medium-, and long-range foreign policy plans and programs.
Section 5 requires the Department to supervise and direct official and employees assigned by the Department and other government agencies to Foreign Service establishments abroad, consistent with applicable laws, rules, and inter-agency agreements.
Section 5 directs the Department to recruit, maintain, and develop a professional career foreign service based on merit.

Secretary: authority, functions, and delegated bodies

Section 6 vests the Department’s authority and responsibility in the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, who is appointed by the President and has supervision and control over the Department and the Foreign Service.
Section 6 allows the Secretary to designate as Special Advisers certain Chiefs of Mission on home assignment for specific areas in their agencies of the service.
Section 6 allows the Secretary to create advisory boards and committees to assist and provide advice for formulation of substantive policies, and other bodies required by existing laws, rules, and regulations.
Section 7 makes the Secretary the primary and principal adviser of the President in foreign relations.
Section 7 requires the Secretary to advise the President on the promulgation of executive orders, rules and regulations, proclamations, and other issuances on matters under Department jurisdiction.
Section 7 requires the Secretary to establish policies and standards for efficient and effective operation of the Department in accordance with Department programs and projects.
Section 7 requires the Secretary to supervise all attached agencies and to exercise supervision and control over the Department’s functions and activities.
Section 7 allows the Secretary to delegate authority for performance of any function to Department officers and employees.
Section 7 requires the Secretary to perform other functions provided by law or appropriately assigned by the President.

Organizational structure and offices

Section 8 provides that the Department consists of Department Proper, Home Offices, and Foreign Service Establishments.
Under Department Proper, Section 8 creates Office of the Secretary and places under it: Office of the Legal Adviser, Office of the Coordination and Policy Planning, Office of Data Banking and Communication, Office of Protocol, State and Official Visits, and Office of Intelligence and Security.
Section 8 places under direct supervision of the Secretary: Foreign Service Institute, UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines, Technical Assistance Council, the Offices of the two (2) Undersecretaries, and the Offices of the Assistant Secretaries.
Section 8 designates Foreign Service Establishments as Philippine Embassies, Consulates, Legations, and Permanent Missions.
Section 8 enumerates Home Offices including: Office of Asian and Pacific Affairs, Office of Middle East and African Affairs, Office of American Affairs, Office of European Affairs, Office of ASEAN Affairs, Office of United Nations and other International Organizations, Office of International Economic Affairs and Development, Office of Cultural Affairs and Public Information, Office of Personnel and Administrative Services, Office of Financial Management Services, and Office of Consular Services.

Undersecretaries, assistant secretaries, and key offices

Section 9 requires the Department to be assisted by two (2) Undersecretaries, appointed by the President upon recommendation of the Secretary, with the Secretary determining and assigning each Undersecretary’s functions and responsibilities.
Section 9 requires the Secretary to designate one Undersecretary as Acting Secretary in the Secretary’s behalf.
Section 10 requires the Department to be assisted by six (6) Assistant Secretaries (as stated), appointed by the President upon recommendation of the Secretary, with the Secretary delineating each Assistant Secretary’s area of responsibility.
Section 11 creates the Office of the Legal Adviser under the Office of the Secretary, headed by a Legal Adviser who is a career Chief of Mission, but may be appointed by the President upon recommendation of the Secretary from outside the career service.
Section 11 provides that an outside appointee Legal Adviser has an assimilated rank of a Chief of Mission, with a term co-terminus with the Secretary’s tenure unless sooner terminated, and is not eligible for foreign assignment.
Section 12 creates the Office of Coordination and Policy Planning, headed by a Chief of Coordinator, which provides staff support, performs coordinating functions as prescribed by the Secretary, and initiates, coordinates, and integrates planning of foreign policy.
Section 13 creates the Office of Data Banking and Communication, requiring establishment and maintenance of a modern data center, a computerized foreign-relations data bank, and communications and records systems, plus technical assistance within its competence.
Section 14 creates the Office of Protocol, State and Official Visits, requiring coordination of state visit preparations and protocol responsibilities, including formalities, courtesies, and enforcement of immunities and privileges under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and other applicable conventions and agreements.
Section 15 creates the Office of Intelligence and Security, requiring a system for information gathering and analysis, liaison with the intelligence community, security services, and enforcement and monitoring of security procedures in the Department and Foreign Service establishments.
Section 16 provides that the Foreign Service Institute continues operating under its charter, but is revitalized as the Department’s training, research, and career development arm in accordance with rules prescribed by the Secretary, and participates in the Department’s planning review process.
Section 17 directs the UNESCO National Commission of the Philippines to coordinate with the Office of United Nations and other International Organizations for advising the Philippine delegation to UNESCO and to function as a liaison agency for UNESCO-related matters.
Section 18 provides that the Technical Assistance Council continues to perform its present functions, including conduct and expansion of its programs.
Section 19 establishes the Board of Foreign Service Administration with nine (9) members (including one Undersecretary as Chairman and one as Vice-Chairman), and tasks it to consider and recommend policies for efficient and economical administrative operations, including personnel matters (appointment, assignment, promotion), and to act and submit recommendations on administrative cases involving personnel.
Section 20 establishes the Board of Foreign Service Examiners under administrative supervision of an Undersecretary, requiring planning and administration of examinations for Foreign Service Officers, Foreign Service Staff Officers, and Foreign Service Staff Employees, with membership including the Undersecretary as Chairman, the Head of the Office of Personnel and Administrative Services, and a Commissioner of the Civil Service Commission.

Transferred and renamed units; foreign service framework

Section 21 transfers the Law of the Sea Secretariat from the defunct Office of the Prime Minister to the Department.
Section 21 transfers the Inter-Agency Technical Committee on Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation with Socialist Countries (SOCCOM), Inter-Agency Technical Committee on Technical Cooperation Among Developing Countries (IATC-TCDC), and Permanent Inter-Agency Technical Committee on ESCAP Matters (PITCHEM) from NEDA to the Department.
Section 22(f) renames the Office of Personnel and Management Services to the Office of Personnel and Administrative Services, requiring it to manage human resources and administrative support and to make recommendations on job classification, salary administration, benefits, retirement, and awards.
Section 22(g) renames the Office of Fiscal Services to the Office of Financial Management Services, requiring budgetary, financial, and accounting services for the Department and Foreign Service.
Section 22(h) creates/defines the Office of Consular Affairs to deliver passport, visa, and authentication services and extend assistance to Filipinos both here and abroad.
Section 22(a) assigns geographical units specified countries/regions to provide staff support and policy guidance for Philippine diplomatic missions within their geographic coverage, including coordination, supervision, monitoring, integration, reporting, and operations.
Section 22(b) requires the Office of ASEAN Affairs to continue responsibility for Philippine participation and negotiation in ASEAN and related operational staff support.
Section 22(c) requires the Office of United Nations and Other International Organizations (UNIO) to continue responsibility for Philippine participation in the UN and other international organizations (except ASEAN), provides staff support for coordination, supervision, monitoring, integration, reporting, operations, and serves as secretariat for Philippine participation in conferences and for Philippine National Commissions and Councils created under UN commitments and specialized agencies.
Section 22(d) creates Office of International Economic Affairs and Development to conduct Department programs in international trade, finance and economics; coordinate with regional offices and UNIO; and, in coordination with the Department of Trade and Industry, conduct trade and investment promotion activities.
Section 22(e) creates Cultural Affairs and Public Information Services to initiate, coordinate, integrate, rationalize, monitor, report, and evaluate cultural plans and manage media relations and dissemination to Foreign Service establishments.
Section 23 orders the Secretary to conduct a study and submit to the President within one hundred twenty (120) days from the approval of this Executive Order:
- a new classification of diplomatic and consular establishments using criteria including national interests, number of Filipino resident nationals, geopolitical significance, and historical-cultural considerations, with reviews “from time to time”;
- a rotation plan for foreign service personnel strictly adhering to placing personnel in posts where they have the best preparation or training, consistent with the standing policy on rotation, so that no personnel remain at one post for an unreasonably extended period;
- recommendations for consolidation of diplomatic and consular posts and creation of others consistent with Section 3 policy; and
- measures to realize efficient supervision and control of foreign service posts, including attached agencies.

Boards’ coordination and periodic oversight

Section 26 requires the Secretary to formulate and enforce a system for measuring and evaluating the Department’s performance periodically and objectively and to submit the system annually to the President.
Section 19 and Section 20 establish governance for administrative policy recommendations and examination administration, respectively, to support the Department’s personnel and operational management.

Reorganization procedures, protection of rights, and limitations

Section 24 provides comprehensive transitory rules for reorganization execution, requiring transfer of a government unit to include functions, appropriations, funds, records, equipment, facilities, choses in action, rights, other assets, and liabilities (if any), as well as personnel in hold-over capacity, who continue performing duties and receiving corresponding salaries and benefits.
Section 24 requires that personnel of a transferred unit whose positions are not included in the Department’s new position structure and staffing pattern approved and prescribed by the Secretary, or who are not reappointed, are deemed separated from the service and become entitled to the benefits provided under Section 25’s second paragraph.
Section 24 requires reversion of abolished units’ remaining appropriations and funds to the General Fund, and allocation or disposition of remaining assets in accordance with the Government Auditing Code and other pertinent laws, rules, and regulations.
Section 24 provides that personnel in hold-over capacity continue receiving salaries and benefits, but separation from service applies where positions are not included in the new position structure and staffing pattern approved and prescribed by the Secretary, or where personnel are not reappointed.
Section 24 prescribes treatment of liabilities incurred in connection with government auditing functions and requires compliance with the Government Auditing Code and other pertinent laws, rules, and regulations.
Section 24 governs scenarios involving merger or consolidation, requiring the surviving/new unit to acquire functions, appropriations, funds, records, equipment, facilities, choses in action, rights, assets, liabilities (if any), and personnel necessary to discharge functions; hold-over continues with the same separation rule for excluded positions or non-reappointment.
Section 24 governs termination of a function not resulting in abolition of the government unit, requiring reversion of appropriations and funds intended to finance the function to the General Fund and disposal/allocation of records and assets and treatment of liabilities consistent with the Government Auditing Code and other pertinent laws; affected personnel not included in the new structure or not reappointed are deemed separated and entitled to benefits under Section 25’s second paragraph.
Section 27 requires compliance with any notice to or consent of creditors requirement if the reorganization change is of such substance or materiality as to prejudice third persons with rights recognized by law or contract such that notice or consent is required pursuant to agreements with creditors, and such notice or consent must be complied with prior to implementation.
Section 28 prohibits any reorganization change from being valid except upon prior approval of the President for the purpose of promoting efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of public services.
Section 29 provides that funds needed to carry out the Executive Order’s provisions shall be taken from funds available in the Department.

New staffing, separation benefits, and funding

Section 25 requires that, upon approval of the Executive Order, officers and employees continue in hold-over capacity, performing duties and receiving corresponding salaries and benefits.
Section 25 requires the Secretary to approve and prescribe the Department’s new position structure and staffing pattern within one hundred twenty (120) days from approval of the Executive Order and authorized positions created thereunder.
Section 25 requires authorized positions to be filled with regular appointments by the Secretary or by the President, as the case may be.
Section 25 provides that incumbents whose positions are not included in the new position structure and staffing pattern, or who are not reappointed, are deemed separated from service.
Section 25 provides that separated officers and employees receive the retirement benefits to which they may be entitled under existing laws, rules and regulations.
Section 25 provides a separation compensation formula where, otherwise, the person is paid the equivalent of one-month basic salary for every year of service or fraction thereof, computed on the basis of the highest salary, and where the total is paid only if it does not exceed the equivalent of twelve (12) months of salary.
Section 29 authorizes funding by taking needed funds from funds available in the Department.

Implementation authority, separability, repeals, and effectivity

Section 30 authorizes the Secretary to issue rules, regulations, and other issuances necessary for efficient and effective implementation.
Section 30 authorizes the Secretary to establish, create, transfer, or restructure organizational units, but requires that such creation/transfer/restructuring be consistent with the Executive Order’s provisions toward simplicity, efficiency and economy in delivery of public services by the Department.
Section 31 provides separability: unconstitutional portions do not nullify other provisions if remaining provisions can subsist and be given effect.
Section 32 repeals or modifies laws, ordinances, rules, regulations, or parts thereof inconsistent with the Executive Order.
Section 33 provides that the Executive Order takes effect immediately upon approval.