Presidential Decree No. 1397 (PD 1397) — Providing for the Conversion of Departments into Ministries, and for the Senior Administrative Organization Therefor.
WHEREAS, the Philippines is presently in a transitional
stage from a presidential to a parliamentary form of government;
WHEREAS, this basic political change requires an adaptive
and corresponding change in the institutional requirements for governance;
WHEREAS, for this purpose it is now necessary to restructure
the organization of the existing departments by converting them into ministries
and defining the hierarchical relationship thereof, including the basic duties
and responsibilities of the principal officers;
NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the
Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby
order and decree:
SECTION 1. The departments of the government shall
henceforth be converted into and known as ministries, and the Secretaries of
such departments now designated as Ministers.
SECTION 2. Every Minister shall be assisted by one career
Deputy Minister, unless otherwise provided for by law or by directive of the
President/Prime Minister, and one political Deputy Minister. The Minister shall
exercise supervision and control over the Deputy Ministers.
The career Deputy Minister shall continue to perform the functions of
undersecretaries of departments as provided under Paragraph 4, Article II,
Chapter I, Part II of the Integrated Reorganization Plan as amended, and his
position continue to be covered by the Career Executive Service.
The political Deputy Minister shall serve as liaison between the ministry
and the Interim Batasan Pambansa. He shall be appointed by the President/Prime
Minister from among the members of the Interim Batasan Pambansa, and as such
shall be an officer thereof. He shall serve at the pleasure of the
President/Prime Minister, and may have cabinet rank at the discretion of the
latter.
SECTION 3. In addition to the senior officers of a ministry
as provided for above, the President/Prime Minister may appoint from among the
members of the Interim Batasan Pambansa one or more Ministers of State for any
ministry. A Minister of State may be granted cabinet rank, and shall serve at
the pleasure of the President/Prime Minister. He shall have such functions,
duties, and responsibilities as may be assigned him by the President/Prime
Minister, and shall be directly accountable to the latter.
SECTION 4. Except as above provided, the present
organizational structure of the departments, now ministries, including those of
the bureaus, agencies and offices under them, shall remain the same unless
otherwise changed by law.
SECTION 5. Should any provision of this decree or any part
thereof be declared unconstitutional, the remaining provisions or parts thereof
shall continue to be valid and binding.
SECTION 6. All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and
regulations which are inconsistent with this decree are hereby repealed, altered
or modified accordingly.
SECTION 7. This decree shall take effect immediately.
Done in the City of Manila, this 2nd day of June in the year of Our Lord,
nineteen hundred and seventy-eight.
(Sgd.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS
President of the
Philippines
By the President:
(Sgd.) JUAN C. TUVERA
Presidential Assistant
Source: Supreme Court E-Library, Republic of the Philippines. Philippine laws are public documents (works of the government).
