Memorandum Order No. 609




MALACAÑAN PALACE MANILA BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES [ Memorandum Order No. 609, March 20, 1978 ] CREATING THE MALACAÑANG ASSISTANCE CENTER AND INTEGRATING THEREWITH THE PUBLIC INFORMATION UNIT SPECIAL ACTION UNIT AND THE MALACAÑANG INFORMATION AND ASSISTANCE UNIT. In order to maximize and discharge efficient and effective assistance to callers and visitors in the Office of the President by having a single and centralized unit to handle their requests of problems and in order to minimize duplication and overlapping of functions among the units assigned to assist said callers and visitors, the Public Information Unit (PIU), Special Action Unit (SAU) and the Malacañang Information and Assistance Unit (MIAU) in the Office of the President are hereby abolished. Except as herein stated, all the functions and responsibilities of these units are hereby integrated and transferred into one centralized unit to be known as the Malacañang Assistance Center (MAC). In general, the Malacañang Assistance Center, in coordination with the different Malacañang operating units/ offices, shall have the function of providing a central clearing house through which the general public and all government officials may transmitinquiries, ventilate grievances and lodge complaints and receive information, advice and assistance, and through which direct liaison between the President of the Philippines and the executive departments, offices and instrumentalities of the government. including government-owned and controlled corporations can be established and maintained. Specifically, the Center shall undertake the following functions: 1. To provide callers, visitors, and other persons who come to the Office of the President to transact business with the necessary information as to the division or unit in this Office handling their papers and/or status of their paper or requests. 2. To attend to and interview such callers and visitors in order to expedite action on their papers or requests. 3. To direct and guide, if necessary, callers and visitors to the particular official or employee acting on their papers. 4. To serve as the liaison unit of the Office of the President with various agencies and departments of the government on all requests for assistance by the general public on miscellaneous matters. 5. To implement a referral system within the Office of the President for matters related to the offices concerned within OP. 6. A implement an identification subsystem by providing the facilities to conduct a routinary check on persons or visitors entering the Malacañang premises to follow-up communications or requests for assistance. 7. To render other functions and responsibilities as the Presidential Executive Assistant may direct. 8. To coordinate with all other units/offices within the OP in order to carry out its objectives and functions. 9. To exercise such other power and functions as may be deemed necessary to carry out its objectives. The corresponding appropriations, if any, equipment, property, records and personnel of the above mentioned units shall be transferred to the MAC, except the employees from other agencies of the Government on detail with the said units who shall return to their respective home offices immediately. 11 Memorandum Orders, Memorandum Circulars and designations inconsistent with this Order are hereby revoked.1aшphi1 This Order takes effect immediately. By authority of the President: (SGD.) JACOBO C. CLAVE Presidential Executive Assistant Manila, March 20, 1978 The Lawphil Project - Arellano Law Foundation