Here are the government offices and positions that Duterte has created since 2016
MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte late Tuesday night said that, unlike Congress, he does not have the power to create offices and government positions.
Talking at length about designating Vice President Leni Robredo as co-chair of the Inter-Agency Commitee on Anti-Illegal Drugs but not to the Cabinet, the president said:
Well, I cannot create an office. I do not have that power. It is only Congress who can create government positions. I cannot do it. Even if it is a delegated power to me in some of the laws, the rule is I cannot delegate what is delegated to me.
I am a delegated authority and I cannot delegate another authority based on the authority of my delegation in the first place. Ganun ‘yan.
It is unclear what office the president was referring to, but both the 1987 Constitution and Administrative Code (Executive Order 292) grant the president control over the executive branch and ordinance power through issuances like executive orders, administrative orders, proclamations, memorandum orders, memorandum circulars, and general or special orders.
The ICAD, the panel that he designated Robredo as co-chair of, was itself created by Executive Order No. 15. in 2017, "by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution and existing laws."
According to a post on the Official Gazette: "The president of the Philippines has the mandate of control over all the executive departments, bureaus, and offices. This includes restructuring, reconfiguring, and appointments of their respective officials."
What the Administrative Code says
The Administrative Code provides information on the organization of the Office of the President, as well as the functions of the agencies under it.
Agencies under the Office of the President are defined in the code as "offices placed under the chairmanship of the president, those under the supervision and control of the president, those under the administrative supervision of the Office of the President, those attached to it for policy and program coordination, and those that are not placed by law or order creating them under any special department."
“The president, subject to the policy in the Executive Office and in order to achieve simplicity, economy and efficiency, shall have continuing authority to reorganize the administrative structure of the Office of the President,” according to Section 31 of Book III (Office of the President), Title III (Functions), Chapter 10 of the Administrative Code.
The provision empowers the president to take any of the following actions:
“Restructure the internal organization of the Office of the President Proper, including the immediate Offices, the Presidential Special Assistants/Advisers System and the Common Staff Support System, by abolishing, consolidating or merging units thereof or transferring functions from one unit to another;
“Transfer any function under the Office of the President to any other Department or Agency as well as transfer functions to the Office of the President from other Departments and Agencies; and
“Transfer any agency under the Office of the President to any other department or agency as well as transfer agencies to the Office of the President from other departments or agencies.”
Offices and positions created since 2016
Here is a list of offices, agencies, and other bodies established by Duterte through executive orders issued during his presidential term, usually citing the above provision of the Administrative Code:
- EO 92 - National Council Against Child Labor
- EO 82 - Inter-Agency Council on the International Maritime Organization Member State Audit Scheme
- EO 70 - National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict.
- EO 68 - National Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism Coordinating Committee
- EO 53 - Boracay Inter-agency Task Force
- EO 52 - Program Management Office for Earthquake Resiliency of the Greater Metro Manila Area
- EO 43 - Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission
- EO 31 - Strategy, Economics, and Results Group (Department of Finance)
- EO 30 - Energy Investment Coordinating Council
- EO 15 - Inter-agency Committee on Anti-Illegal Drugs and National Anti-Illegal Drug Task Force
- EO 10 - Consultative Committee to review the 1987 Constitution
- EO 1 - Office of the President - Events Management Cluster
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