WHEREAS, the Constitution mandates that the State shall promote social justice to ensure the dignity, welfare and security of all the people, and that it shall establish, main­tain and ensure adequate social services to guarantee the enjoyment by the people of a decent standard of living;

WHEREAS, it is the government's concern to uplift the living conditions of our people in order to develop their maximum capacities to become dignified and self-respect­ing members of society;

WHEREAS, the goals and objectives of the New Society require innovative social service schemes and strategies to enable the most disadvantaged to be self-reliant and independent, so that he can participate in national develop­ment, an attempt to solve a Filipino problem the Filipino way; and

WHEREAS, changing "Department of Social Welfare" to "Department of Social Services and Development" will give the Department the more accurate institutional id­ entity in keeping with its productivity and developmental thrust;

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. Changing the name of the Department. — The Department of Social Welfare, created under Republic Act Numbered Fifty Four Hundred Sixteen, shall henceforth be known as the Department of Social Services and Development, with the same organizational structure, powers, duties and functions prescribed under Presidential Decree No. 1, as amended: Provided, That the Secretary of the Department shall be authorized to initiate and establish such rules and regulations as may be deemed necessary for the Department to carry out its objectives and func­tions effectively, subject to approval of the President.

SEC.. 2. Repealing Clause. — All provisions of existing laws, decrees, orders, proclamations, instructions, rules and regulations, or parts thereof, contrary to or inconsistent or in conflict with any of the provisions of this Decree are hereby repealed, amended and/or modified accordingly.

SEC. 3. Effectivity. — This Decree shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 8th day of September, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-six.

(Sgd.) FERDINAND E. MARCOS
President of the Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.) JUAN C. TUVERA
Presidential Assistant