New law grants President authority to streamline executive agencies

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr .delivers his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) during the opening of the joint session of 20th Congress at the Batasang Pambansa on Monday (July 28, 2025). (PNA photo by Avito Dalan)

By Darryl John Esguerra, Philippine News Agency

NEW DELHI – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has signed into law a measure granting him authority to reorganize and streamline executive branch agencies, in a bid to create a more responsive and efficient bureaucracy.

Republic Act (RA) 12231, or the Government Optimization Act, was signed and published into the Official Gazette Monday as Marcos flew to India for a five-day state visit here.

The new law, a priority measure of the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC), authorizes the President to strengthen, merge, or abolish agencies and functions deemed redundant or misaligned, while protecting the welfare of civil servants.

The law seeks to “promote efficiency, equity, and ethical accountability” in government operations and improve frontline services by eliminating duplication, simplifying procedures, and pushing digitalization and e-governance.

Under the law, the President may scale down programs better carried out by local governments or the private sector and transfer functions across agencies as necessary.

It also allows the creation or deactivation of agencies, upon recommendation by a newly created Committee on Optimizing the Executive Branch (COEB), chaired by the Executive Secretary.

The COEB will conduct studies on the mandates, functions, programs, projects, operations, structures, and manpower complement of different government agencies; and develop and prepare the Optimized Organizational Structure and overall change management program of these agencies.

The law covers all agencies of the executive branch, which includes departments, bureaus, offices, and other entities under a department’s supervision, and government owned or controlled corporations (GOCC) not covered by RA 10149 or the GOCC Governance Act of 2011.

Teaching and teaching-related positions, as well as military and uniformed personnel, are excluded from the new law.

The legislature, judiciary, constitutional commissions, Office of the Ombudsman, and local government units may optimize their respective offices on an optional basis.