[ Memorandum Order No. 126, May 20, 1969 ]
PRESCRIBING THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SECRETARIAT OF THE NATIONAL FOOD AND AGRICULTURE COUNCIL AND DEFINING THE DISTRIBUTION OF FUNCTIONS THEREIN.
Pursuant to Executive Order No. 183, dated May 6, 1969, creating the National Food and Agriculture Council, the Secretariat of said Council shall be constituted as follows:
A. Plans & Programs Staff
ORGANIZATION:
There shall be a Plans and Programs Staff composed of the following divisions;
1. Rice and Corn Production Programs Division
2. Other Food Production Programs Division
3. Marketing-Financing Division
4 Cooperatives Development Division
The Plans and Programs Staff shall be headed by a Director of Plans and Programs. He shall be assisted by a Programs Evaluator and a Statistics Consultant.
FUNCTIONS:
It shall be the function of the Plans and Programs Staff to prepare the annual integrated program for increased rice and com production, setting the national production targets, indicating the riceland areas in hectares, by provinces and municipalities, to be covered by said programs, specifying the planned input requirements to attain the target yield output, and outlining the complementary marketing and financing schemes to insure stability of prices, accrue maximum benefits to the farmers from the proceeds, assure continuity of refinancing, and bring about eventual reduction cost.
The Staff shall, in planning, avail of base data supplied by governmental and even nongovernmental sources, thru a statistical unit which shall be assigned by the Bureau of Agricultural Economics to the Staff for this purpose.
The Staff shall also process such other food programs as may he prepared by the agency concerned and submitted to the Council for coordination by the Council and/or implementation by the Council member agencies, reviewing the proposed program to determine consistency with declared Council policies, economic feasibility, and viability particularly as to whether the recommended financing and marketing schemes will Insure continuity of financing, protect the producer against loss, and assure stabilized prices to the consumer.
The plan of the program shall include implementation schedules indicating the areas programmed, the personnel assigned, the phases or stages of activity, the expected time of completion; with such diagrams, charts and other illustrative devices as are convenient to guide the Programs Management Staff in monitoring the progress of each and every program.
B. Programs Management Staff
ORGANIZATION:
There shall be a Programs Management Staff composed of the following:
1. Field Coordination Division
2. Performance Evaluation Division
The Programs Management Staff shall be headed by a Director of Programs Management.
FUNCTIONS:
It shall be the function of the Programs Management Staff to assist the Executive Director of the Council in the supervision, coordination and keeping track of the implementation of each and every project, activity or undertaking as provided in the programs and/or resolutions approved by the Council or as directed by the Chairman.
The Staff shall coordinate, as defined in the duly approved programs and/or undertakings, the complementary activities of agencies implementing each and every program in the field, availing of the assistance of agency officers in the area as agreed upon by the agency heads in Council.
The Staff shall endeavor to secure the cooperation of such elements of the private sector as are needed in the implementation of the programs, enlisting the assistance of national or local government officials whenever necessary for this purpose.
For efficient management of the Council’s programs, projects and activities, a system of standardized reporting shall be adopted to enable the Council, through the Executive Director, to know the periodic progress in the implementation of said undertakings. Evaluation of programs and all other undertakings shall be conveyed, at periodic intervals or whenever so indicated in a program’s implementation schedules, to the Executive Director, utilizing for this purpose such accepted management devices as will facilitate overall or comparative assessment of the progress accomplished, or will help to understand situations and problems that develop in the course of programs implementation.
C. Administrative, Fiscal, and Other Supporting Services
ORGANIZATION AND FUNCTIONS:
There shall be an Administrative Officer, a Finance Officer, and a Resident Auditor to take charge of providing the normal supporting services as will enable the Council Staff, the field personnel and such other operating units under the Council to carry out promptly and efficiently their respective functions.
The Administrative Officer shall have such assistants as are needed to attend to the requirements of the personnel of the overall Council Staff and field units, provide normal administrative assistance, custody of property, effective maintenance of equipment and constant availability of needed office supplies, and general services.
The Finance Officer shall be responsible for procuring the prompt and speedy release of funds alloted to the Council or to its programs, keeping account of expenditures, obligations and disbursements, and budgeting the financial requirements of the Council Staff in consultation with the heads of the respective divisions or units. He shall be assisted by an Assistant Finance Officer, an Accountant, and a Special Disbursing Officer. He shall have the services of such other personnel as are necessary to cope with the volume of work.
The Resident Auditor, to be assigned by the Auditor General, shall discharge the functions of his office in a manner as will expedite rather than hinder, and in consonance with law, the financial support to the Council and its duly approved undertakings.
D. Special Operating Units
There shall be included in the Information Coordinating Center, which was duly created under Executive Order No. 66 Series of 1967, an Educational Operations Unit to undertake the field educational activities in support of Council programs, The head of said unit shall be concurrently deputy director of the Center, and shall supervise the operations of the field teams, whose deployment shall be made in coordination with the provincial officers of the Council. The Center shall continue to discharge it.
There shall be, until otherwise provided, an ad hoc, Cooperatives Development Task Force, to be headed by a director, which shall take charge of carrying out the Council’s approved program for establishment of pilot fanners cooperatives, the said unit to be composed of such personnel as are temporarily assigned to assist in the implementation of its assigned tasks.
There shall be, under the Executive Director of the Council, a Secretary to the Council. He shall prepare the Council agenda for conferences or meetings, keep record of Council deliberations, and maintain regular liaison and/or communication with the member agencies of the Council.
E. Overall Direction and Management
The Executive Director of the Council shall, in addition to his duties as head of the Secretariat, be responsible for the supervision and management of the programs, projects, activities, and all other undertakings as approved by the Council, and the coordination of Council programs with the land Reform Council in areas proclaimed under land reform.
He shall be assisted by a deputy, who shall act in his absence, and to whom the Executive Director may delegate such other functions or duties as deemed expedient for the better interest of the Council.
The Executive Director shall, within five (5) days from the effectivity hereof, submit a plantilla of personnel for the organization prescribed herein, including the current updated list of field personnel assigned to the Council under their respective Council-designated provincial directors.1aшphi1
The Executive Director, likewise, shall within the same period submit a summary of the status of finances under the Council, with such budgetary recommendations as are needed to provide adequate support of approved programs, projects, activities and all other undertakings, including suggestions for priority in funding in case of insufficiency of available funds.
This Order shall take effect immediately.