WHEREAS, M.O. No. 57 was issued on March 18, 2002 directing the speedy resolution of appealed cases in the Office of the President; 

WHEREAS, there is need to further enhance such effort and increase the number of officials authorized to sign "By Authority of the President" for this purpose;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order as follows:

1. The following senior officials of the Office of the President (OP) are hereby directed to focus on the review and resolution of decisions, resolutions, orders or actions of departments, agencies, and offices elevated to the Office of the President for review and final administrative resolution: 

a. Deputy Executive Secretary Jose T. Tale
b. Deputy Executive Secretary Arthur P. Autea
c. Undersecretary Manuel B. Gaite
d. Undersecretary Rodel A. Cruz
e. Assistant Secretary Edwin R. Enrile

The Executive Secretary shall designate from among the foregoing officials the administrative coordinator of the team.

2. The officials designated herein are hereby directed to complete the review and disposition of the current inventory of all appealed decisions, resolutions, orders or actions of departments, agencies and offices pending before the Office of the President within a period ending June 30, 2003.

3. For this purpose, the officials so designated in Section 1 hereof shall have the authority to sign "By Authority of the President" decisions, resolutions and orders: 

a. affirming in toto the decisions, resolutions, or orders of the departments, agencies or offices,
b. denying/dismissing motions for reconsiderations of previous OP decisions which affirmed in toto the decisions, resolutions, or orders of the departments, agencies or offices,
c. dismissing appeals filed out of time,
d. dismissing appeals on matters over which the Office of the President has no jurisdiction,
e. dismissing appeals upon the mutual agreement of the parties,
f. declaring a decision, resolution or order in an appealed case as final and executory and/or remanding the records of the case to the relevant office; and
g. approving the withdrawal of an appeal 

The foregoing authority shall be for a period ending June 30, 2003.

4. However, recommended decisions for the reversal or modification of decisions, resolutions, orders or actions of departments, agencies or offices, shall be immediately forwarded to the Executive Secretary for disposition. The Executive Secretary may delegate the disposition of these matters to the Chief Presidential Legal Counsel.

5. The Executive Secretary shall issue guidelines and take such measures to effectively carry out this delegation of authority and ensure an orderly distribution and disposition of cases.

6. The foregoing delegation of authority shall not preclude the Executive Secretary from exercising his powers and functions pursuant to the provisions of Sections 25, 26, and 27, Title III, Book IV of the Administrative Code of 1987.

7. M.O. No. 57, dated March 18, 2002, and all previous issuances and/or provisions thereof in so far as these are inconsistent herewith, are hereby superseded and/or modified accordingly.

Adopted: 31 Dec. 2002

(SGD.) GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO
  President of the Philippines

By the President:

(SGD.) ALBERTO G. ROMULO
Executive Secretary