Executive Secretary (Philippines)

Executive Secretary
Incumbent Paquito N. Ochoa, Jr. since June 30, 2010
Appointer	President of the Philippines
Inaugural holder	Jorge B. Vargas
Formation	October 12, 1936
Website	http://www.president.gov.ph

The Executive Secretary of the Philippines (formerly known as the Secretary to the President or Chief of the Executive Office) is the head and highest-ranking official of the Office of the President of the Philippines and a member of the Cabinet of the Philippines. The office-holder has been nicknamed as the "Little President" due to the nature of the position. It was given the mandate "to directly assist the President in the management of affairs of the government as well as to direct the operations of the Executive Office."

The office was established on October 12, 1936, with Jorge B. Vargas as the inaugural holder.^[1]

The current Executive Secretary is Paquito Ochoa, Jr., serving in this position since June 30, 2010, when President Benigno S. Aquino III was inaugurated.^[2]

Powers and duties

In Book III, Chapter 9, Section 27 of Executive Order No. 292, the Administrative Code of the Philippines,^[3] the role of the Executive Secretary was defined as:

“

Sec. 27. Functions of the Executive Secretary. - The Executive Secretary shall, subject to the control and supervision of the President, carry out the functions assigned by law to the Executive Office and shall perform such other duties as may be delegated to him. He shall: Directly assist the President in the management of the affairs pertaining to the Government of the Republic of the Philippines; Implement presidential directives, orders and decisions; Decide, for and in behalf of the President, matters not requiring personal presidential attention; Exercise supervision and control over the various units in the Office of the President Proper including their internal administrative requirements; Exercise supervision, in behalf of the President, over the various agencies under the Office of the President; Appoint officials and employees of the Office of the President whose appointments are not vested in the President; Provide overall coordination in the operation of the Executive Office; Determine and assign matters to the appropriate units in the Office of the President; Have administrative responsibility for matters in the Office of the President coming from the various departments and agencies of government; Exercise primary authority to sign papers "By authority of the President", attest executive orders and other presidential issuances unless attestation is specifically delegated to other officials by him or by the President; Determine, with the President's approval, the appropriate assignment of offices and agencies not placed by law under any specific executive department; Provide consultative, research, fact-finding and advisory service to the President; Assist the President in the performance of functions pertaining to legislation; Assist the President in the administration of special projects; Take charge of matters pertaining to protocol in State and ceremonial functions; Provide secretarial and clerical services for the President, the Cabinet, the Council of State, and other advisory bodies to the President Promulgate such rules and regulations necessary to carry out the objectives, policies and functions of the Office of the President Proper; Perform such other functions as the President may direct.

”

The Executive Secretary possesses much power since the holder of the office is the alter-ego of the President of the Philippines, the chief executive. The Executive Secretary can issue orders in the name of the President, can review and modify decisions of other cabinet secretaries on appeal and can perform numerous other functions as allowed or delegated by the chief executive.

List of Executive Secretaries

#	Name	Term started	Term ended	President	Era
Secretaries to the President					Commonwealth
1	Jorge Vargas	October 12, 1936	December 11, 1941	Manuel L. Quezon[4]
2	Manuel Roxas	December 24, 1941	March 26, 1942		Commonwealth (in exile)
3	Arturo Rotor	June 13, 1942	November 30, 1944
Executive Secretaries					Second Republic
4	Jose Gil	October 14, 1943	August 30, 1944	Jose P. Laurel[1][5]
5	Emilio Abello	August 31, 1944	February 27, 1945
Secretaries to the President					Commonwealth (restored)
6	Jose S. Reyes	February 27, 1945	May 24, 1946	Sergio Osmeña[6]
7	Emilio Abello	May 30, 1946	July 4, 1946	Manuel Roxas[7]
Chiefs of the Executive Office					Third Republic
		July 4, 1946	September 3, 1947	Manuel Roxas
8	Nicanor Roxas	September 10, 1947	October 3, 1947
Executive Secretaries
*		October 4, 1947	February 6, 1948	Manuel Roxas
9	Emilio Abello	February 26, 1948	April 17, 1948
		April 17, 1948	September 14, 1948	Elpidio Quirino[8]
10	Teodoro Evangelista	September 16, 1948	May 8, 1951
11	Marciano Roque	February 2, 1952	December 29, 1953
12	Fred Ruiz Castro	December 30, 1953	October 26, 1955	Ramon Magsaysay[9]
13	Fortunato de Leon	April 12, 1956	March 17, 1957
		March 17, 1957	December 30, 1957	Carlos P. Garcia[10]
14	Juan Pajo	January 16, 1958	August 28, 1959
15	Natalio Castillo	January 24, 1960	September 5, 1961
16	Rafael M. Salas	January 1, 1966	July 24, 1969	Ferdinand Marcos[11]
17	Ernesto Maceda	July 26, 1969	February 7, 1970
18	Alejandro Melchor, Jr.[12]	February 9, 1970	November 4, 1974
19	Ponciano Mathay	November 7, 1974	December 7, 1975
Presidential Executive Assistants
20	Jacobo Calve	December 8, 1975	December 23, 1979	Ferdinand Marcos
21	Juan Tuvera	December 30, 1979	June 30, 1981
		June 30, 1981	February 22, 1986		Fourth Republic
Executive Secretaries					Fifth Republic
22	Joker Arroyo	February 25, 1986	September 15, 1987	Corazon Aquino[13]
23	Catalino Macaraig, Jr.	September 17, 1987	December 14, 1990
24	Oscar Orbos	December 16, 1990	July 14, 1991
25	Franklin Drilon	July 15, 1991	June 30, 1992
26	Peter Garrucho	July 1, 1992	September 13, 1992	Fidel V. Ramos[14]
27	Edelmiro Amante	September 14, 1992	June 30, 1993
28	Teofisto Guingona, Jr.	July 6, 1993	May 19, 1995
29	Ruben Torres	May 20, 1995	January 8, 1998
30	Alexander Aguirre	January 9, 1998	June 30, 1998
31	Ronaldo Zamora	July 1, 1998	December 31, 2000	Joseph Estrada[15]
32	Edgardo Angara	January 1, 2001	January 21, 2001
33	Renato de Villa	January 22, 2001	May 7, 2001	Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo[16]
34	Alberto Romulo	May 8, 2001	August 24, 2004
35	Eduardo Ermita	August 24, 2004	February 23, 2010
36	Leandro Mendoza	February 24, 2010	June 30, 2010
37	Paquito Ochoa, Jr.	June 30, 2010	Present	Benigno Aquino III[17]

References

1. "The Executive Secretary". Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
2. MB.com.ph: "Aquino picks Ochoa as Executive Secretary" by Mario B. Casayuran, June 1, 2010
3. "Executive Order No. 292 Instituting the Administrative Code of 1987". Cahn Robles Virtual Law Library. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
4. "Manuel L. Quezon - Presidential Museum and Library". Retrieved 27 October 2012.
5. "Jose P. Laurel - Presidential Museum and Library". Retrieved 10 November 2012.
6. "Sergio Osmeña - Presidential Museum and Library". Retrieved 27 October 2012.
7. "Manuel Roxas - Presidential Museum and Library". Retrieved 27 October 2012.
8. "Elpidio Quirino - Presidential Museum and Library". Retrieved 27 October 2012.
9. "Ramon Magsaysay - Presidential Museum and Library". Retrieved 27 October 2012.
10. "Carlos P. Garcia - Presidential Museum and Library". Retrieved 27 October 2012.
11. "Ferdinand E. Marcos - Presidential Museum and Library". Retrieved 27 October 2012.
12. http://findarticles.com/p/news-articles/manila-bulletin/mi_7968/is_2002_July_14/heros-burial-melchor-set/ai_n33178343/
13. "Corazon C. Aquino - Presidential Museum and Library". Retrieved 27 October 2012.
14. "Fidel V. Ramos - Presidential Museum and Library". Retrieved 27 October 2012.
15. "Joseph Ejercito Estrada - Presidential Museum and Library". Retrieved 27 October 2012.
16. "Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo - Presidential Museum and Library". Retrieved 27 October 2012.
17. "Benigno S. Aquino III - Presidential Museum and Library". Retrieved 27 October 2012.