MALACAÑAN PALACE
MANILA
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES
[ ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 271, February 15, 1971 ]
ESTABLISHING A DEVELOPMENT PERFORMANCE EVALUATION SYSTEM TO IMPROVE GOVERNMENT PERFORMANCE IN ATTAINING DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES
WHEREAS, there is an urgent need to revitalize the government structure to meet the changing directions in development objectives for the coming decade;
WHEREAS, the present organization of government, while having steadily improved in performance over the years, still exhibits shortcomings with respect to orientation for development;
WHEREAS, the need to effect more substantial improvements in government performance has become particularly urgent by reason of the increasing political awareness among our People, especially the young; and
WHEREAS, some mechanism must therefore be activated, at the level of the President’s Cabinet, which can effectively perform the functions of contemporaneous review and analysis, and of coordination and control, of the entire development efforts of the National Government;
NOW THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby establish a Development Performance Evaluation System.
Organizational Framework
The Development Performance Evaluation System shall encompass the entire spectrum of development activities of government (social, economic, political, and national security). To this end, implementation of the System shall rest primarily on the following entities:
1. The Cabinet, which shall set broad guidelines and conduct periodic reviews of operations;
2. The Development Management Staff, which shall manage the day-to-day operation of the system;
3. A Secretariat, which shall be composed of the PES-DND Computer Center, the Planning and Statistical Research Office of the Presidential Economic Staff, and the existing Cabinet Secretariat; and
4. Performance Teams, the number and compositions of which shall be determined by the Cabinet and/or the Development Management Staff.
The relationship among these entities is shown in the Chart attached as Annex A.
Concept of Operation
The System will revolve around a series of performance audits, which will be conducted on a regular basis on all government entities concerned with development. Performance Teams will be constituted for this purpose within the flexible staffing pattern authorized for the Development Management Staff.
Performance Teams shall be-organized along four general categories of government entities to be audited, as follows: (a) Project-oriented organizations, (b) Financial organizations, (c) Justice and Social Services, and (d) Government operations not classified under the first three categories. These Teams shall draw the necessary expertise for each of these categories from both the government and private sectors, and each shall have at least two members from the entity being audited.
A Cabinet official not directly involved with the entity being audited shall be designated to head each Team, and he shall actively participate in the audit. In order not to overburden the exercise of his regular duties, however, at least one other high-level, non-Cabinet official shall be assigned to assist him supervise the Team.
Role of the Cabinet
The active involvement of the Cabinet in the Development Performance Evaluation System is designed to catalyze and effect the needed revitalization and reorientation of the government structure. Effectiveness of the System will require, among other things, that the Cabinet:
1. Be development-oriented;
2. Serve not only as a policy formulating body, meeting only when convened by the President; but also serve as a review body, meeting regularly to assess, on a continuing basis, whether national policies and. objectives have in fact been translated into effective, consistent, and coordinated programs of government; and
3. Members, through regular meetings arid active participation in performance audits, each learn to appreciate problems of government departments/agencies other than his own, and to subordinate institutional biases to the higher requirement of maintaining a truly national perspective in the solution of national problems and in the attainment of development objectives.
As a top-level Executive Team, the Cabinet shall have the following functions relative to the System:
1. To formulate broad guidelines and criteria for evaluating development performance;
2. To meet regularly to evaluate performance in accordance with the guidelines and criteria established, identify problem areas and their causes, and recommend appropriate measures;
3. To facilitate inter-agency coordination in program implementation;
4. To implement, or cause to be implemented, with vigor and determination, directives issued by the President to correct deficiencies/anomalies unearthed by Performance Teams; and
5. To perform such other related functions as the President may from time to time direct.£A⩊phi£
Role of the Development Management Staff
The basis for the creation of the Development Management Staff, and its organizational framework and functions are as prescribed in Executive Order No. 250, series of 1970. Pursuant thereto, it shall have the following specific functions relative to the System:
1. To manage the day-to-day operation of the Development Performance Evaluation System;
2. To organize Performance Teams with the expertise necessary to conduct effective performance audits;
3. To translate broad guidelines and criteria established by the Cabinet into specific guidelines, criteria, and checklists for use of the Performance Teams;
4. To establish a reporting system consistent with the aims of performance evaluation; and
5. To compile into an Operations Manual the detailed set of rules and procedures that will govern the Development Performance Evaluation System.
All departments, bureaus, offices, agencies, and instrumentalities of the Government, including government owned or controlled corporations, are hereby directed to cooperate with and assist the Performance Teams in accomplishing their assigned tasks, and to reorient their activities towards the prompt and smooth implementation of the Development Performance Evaluation System.
Done in the City of Manila, this 15th day of February, in the year of our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-one.
(Sgd.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS
President of the Philippines
By the President:
(Sgd.) ALEJANDRO MELCHOR
Executive Secretary
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