WHEREAS, two important Cabinet workshops have been held to assess Government performance as well as the organizational strengths and weaknesses of each department in relation to present challenges and opportunities;

WHEREAS, a consensus was reached during these workshops that the accomplishments and performance of the President and the Government are not being proactively and adequately communicated to the people, thereby creating a gap between public perception and reality in the field;

WHEREAS, the task of informing and communicating is a responsibility of all departments, particularly in their respective jurisdictions, with the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) acting as the lead agency in communicating the accomplishments, reports and activities of the Presidency and the Executive Branch;

WHEREAS, one of the actions as a result of the workshops is the promulgation of Memorandum Order No. 327 constituting Task Forces on Communicating National Reforms and Development;

WHEREAS, Memorandum Order No. 327 tasks the Press Secretary, among many others, to provide administrative and technical secretariat support as well as necessary media coordination for the above Task Forces;

WHEREAS, there is a need to streamline the present organizational and functional operations of all agencies attached to the Office of the Press Secretary to enable it to perform these crucial tasks more effectively and efficiently;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FIDEL V. RAMOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the power vested in me by law, do hereby order:

SECTION 1. Coverage. The attached agencies covered by this Executive Order are as follows:

a. Bureau of Broadcast Services
b. News and Information Bureau, including the Philippine News Agency
c. Bureau of Communication Services
d. National Printing Office
e. Philippine Information Agency
f. RPN-9
g. IBC-13
h. PTNI or PTV-4
i. Presidential Broadcast Staff (RTVM)
j. OPS Proper

SEC. 2. Streamlining. The Press Secretary shall exercise direct supervision and control over all OPS attached agencies in all matters relating to informing and communicating to the public the achievements, reports, programs and activities of the President and Government.

As such, the Press Secretary may:

a. Recruit the honest and the brightest professionals to constitute the print, radio and television composite team which will provide the technical support to and media coordination for the Task Forces and their media activities;

b. Direct bureau directors and network general managers as well as their key personnel to report to the OPS Proper as often as the Press Secretary deems necessary to discuss media policy guidelines which have to be carried out in support of the Presidency, the Executive Branch and the Government;

c. Recommend the employment and development of personnel in each agency in pursuance of the overall goal of mobilizing government instrumentalities towards one common direction in the attainment of our shared vision of œPhilippine 2000!!! ; and

d. Organizationally and functionally streamline the operations of the agencies, effect economies of scale, and implement cost-cutting measures, where necessary, in the pursuance of greater productivity and coordination.

SEC. 3. Repealing Clause. Executive Order No. 297, series of 1987, and other rules and regulations or parts thereof which are inconsistent herewith are hereby modified accordingly.

SEC. 4. Effectivity Clause. This Executive Order shall take effect immediately.

APPROVED in the City of Manila, this 15th day of January in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Six.

(Sgd.) FIDEL V. RAMOS
President of the Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.) RUBEN D. TORRES
Executive Secretary