Administrative Law: Chapter II — Nature and Organization of Administrative Agencies

Administrative Law

Chapter II — Nature and Organization of Administrative Agencies

A. Status and Characteristics

Creation, reorganization, and abolition of administrative agencies. 

• Some administrative agencies are created by or receive their powers from constitutional provisions which may be self-executing, but most of them have their source in legislative enactments. 
• The power of Congress to create and act through administrative agencies is undoubted.
• The Executive also may create administrative agencies, especially investigative agencies, and particularly under statutes so providing.

• Creation
• The creation of administrative agencies may present questions relating to the powers and functions which may be bestowed upon them. 
• Moreover, in the creation and establishment of administrative agencies there are applicable, of course, constitutional restrictions which apply to any legislative act.
• Duly executed acts of an administrative agency can have valid effects even beyond the life span of said agency.

• Expansion or Contraction, Reorganization or Abolition
• Administrative agencies of statutory origin are subject to expansion or contraction of their powers and functions, or to reorganization or abolition at the will of Congress, hamstrung only by constitutional limitations. 
• At various times, Congress has vested power in the President to reorganize executive agencies and redistribute functions, and particular transfers under such statutes have been held to be within the authority of the President.
• When the purpose of a statute is to abolish a department or an office or an organization and to replace it with another one, the lawmaking authority says so (e.g., is abolished; shall cease to exist).
• Crisostomo v. Court of Appeals, 258 SCRA 134 (1996):
• Presidential Decree No. 1341 which "converted" the former Philippine College of Commerce into a University to be known as Polytechnic University of the Philippines, did not abolish the PCC. 
• If the law intended the PCC to lose its existence, it would have specified that the PCC was being "abolished," and the PUP to be a new institution, it would have said that PUP was being "created." What took place was a change in academic status of [PCC]. 
• Hence, the change in its name, the expansion of its curricular offerings, and the changes in its structure and organization
• Congress can delegate the power to create positions. 
• This has been settled by decisions upholding the validity of reorganization statutes authorizing the President to create, abolish or merge offices in the executive department.
• While the President's power cannot be denied, this does not mean that the reorganization itself is properly made in accordance with law. 
• Well-settled is the rule that reorganization is regarded as valid provided it is pursued in good faith.

Meaning of administrative agency. 

• Administrative agency 
• term used generally to describe an agency exercising some significant combination of executive, legislative, and judicial powers. 
• It is a government body charged with administering and implementing particular legislation.

• It covers:
• boards
• commissions
• divisions
• bureaus
• departments
• and the somewhat less familiar designations of "office" and "authority." 
• Some commentators assert that the "administrative" is a fourth power of government, since viewed from the standpoint of any particular act of the agency, it is either executive or in the narrowest sense, administrative, or legislative, or judicial, or, to distinguish it from agencies which are purely or essentially legislative or judicial, it is quasi-legislative or quasijudicial.
• The term is usually employed to denote the functionaries with which administrative law is concerned, although sometimes the term used is "administrator" or "administrators" or "administrative body," and quite often, in regard to an adjudicative function, the term "administrative tribunal."
• A single officer (e.g., President) is also embraced in the term.
• Under the Administrative Code of 1987, the term agency of the Government is used to refer to any of the various units of the Government, including a department, bureau, office, instrumentality, or government owned or -controlled corporation, or a local government or a distinct unit therein. 
• "national agency"
• refers to a unit of the national Government 
• "local agency,"
• refers to a local government or a distinct unit therein

Administrative agency or body and court distinguished. 

• They are distinguished as follows:  OFR

1. Organization
• Administrative agency/body
• generally a large organization staffed by men who are deemed to become something of experts in their particular fields
• Court
• a tribunal which is presided by one or more jurists learned in the law
2. Function
• Administrative agency/body
• performs a variety of functions
• Court
• has only one function — judicial
3. Rules
• Administrative agency/body
• uses a varying degree of discretion in arriving at decisions and often proceeds without being bound by technical rules of evidence or procedure
• Court
• more or less governed by fixed rules in arriving at its decisions and bound by the rules that no final adjudication is to be made until after due notice to the parties with opportunity for a full and fair hearing

• It has been said that the powers and functions of administrative agencies may be classified, according to the degree of subjective choice involved in their exercise, as: DJFM
• discretionary
• judgment passing
• fact-finding
• ministerial
• The four classes representing degrees of progression from a theoretically absolute subjective choice, in a matter of discretion, to a theoretical absence of choice, in a ministerial matter.

Status or character of particular administrative agencies.

• To a large extent, the status and character of administrative agencies depend on the terms of the constitutional or statutory provisions creating them and the powers, rights, duties, liabilities, or functions conferred on them. PJLIC
1. As public or governmental agencies
2. As judicial bodies or courts
3. As legislative or executive agencies
4. As independent or subordinate bodies
5.  As corporate bodies or legal entities

1. As public or governmental agencies.
• While their exact status and character are thus variable, generally they may be said to be agencies of the state or government, representing no private interests of their own, but functioning or acting within the scope of their authority, for and on behalf of the government, and as representatives of the public, or guardians or protectors of their interest, and not those of private persons, although they may, as an incident to the performance of their public functions, determine issues between private parties or private rights.'
• The term "administrative agency," in its usage, has customarily been restricted to persons vested under a statute with  the real power to act for the government — those who actually have the power to act as (rather than merely for) the highest administrative authority of the government establishment. 
• The authority to act with the sanction of the government determines whether or not a governmental agency exists.
• The form the agency takes, or the function it performs is not determinative of the question whether it is an agency, although it may be significant with respect to other related questions.
2. As judicial bodies or courts.
•  Administrative agencies are just that, and are not courts or part of the judicial system.
• Not courts in the strict sense. 
• They are not courts, or judicial bodies, or tribunals in the strict sense, even though they have the name of "court." 
• The mere fact that a statute setting up a commission and the rules of procedure adopted by such commission provide a mode of procedure conforming in many respects to the regular practice of courts, or the fact that the commission possesses and exercises certain powers and functions resembling those conferred upon and exercised by courts, does not in itself render the commission a court. 
• Administrative agencies cannot exercise purely judicial functions, do not have the inherent powers of a court, are not bound in their proceedings by all the rules applicable to proceedings in court, and do not come within the statute prohibiting injunction to constitute courts or against proceedings "in any court" of a state. 
• Certain administrative agencies may be held not to constitute courts or judicial bodies because their function is not to adjudicate impartially but to represent a public interest, because of their investigatory and inquisitorial powers, or because they exercise commingled legislative, executive, and judicial functions. 
• Courts in the broad sense.
• While not directly so, administrative agencies exercising adjudicatory powers are judicial bodies or courts in the broad sense. 
• They exercise powers judicial in nature and perform the same functions as a court would perform in their absence, and their proceedings partake of the nature of judicial proceedings.
• Functions primarily regulatory.
• The functions of an administrative agency are primarily regulatory even if it conducts hearings and decides controversies to carry out this duty. 
• On the other hand, the primary duty of a judicial body is to adjudicate upon and protect the rights and interests of private parties and to that end, construes and applies the law.
3. As legislative or executive agencies. 
• While administrative agencies are separable from the judicial branch of the government, at least by a "quasi," they are not in all instances clearly attributable to either of the other two branches. 
• Certain administrative agencies are deemed to be agents of the legislative branch of the government and not of the executive branch, while in other instances, certain administrative agencies (e.g., the different executive departments and bureaus) or administrative agencies generally, are deemed to be agents of the executive, or described as "executive or administrative" agencies.
• Administrative agencies may be said to be arms and instrumentalities of the legislative branch of the government, and may perform functions of a legislative or quasi-legislative character, although they are without legislative power in the strict sense.
• They may be also viewed as part of the executive branch of the government, especially competent to deal with matters within the scope of their authority by reason of experience, information, and careful study.
4. As independent or subordinate bodies. 
• The term "administrative agency" or "commission" is often used either to designate an agency independent of the executive branch or one not subject to a superior head of department (e.g., Civil Service Commission, Commission on Elections, Commission on Audit) in contradistinction to "subordinate," the latter term being applied to a body whose actions are subject to administrative review or revision. 
5. As corporate bodies or legal entities.
• Some administrative agencies are bodies corporate with legal capacity to sue and be sued in the courts (e.g., Central Bank). Other agencies have also been held to constitute legal entities with perpetual existence apart from their members, and such as may be expressly authorized and empowered to bring suit.

Main characteristics of administrative agencies. 

1. Size
2. Specialization
3. Responsibility for results
4. Variety of administrative duties

1. Size.
• Many administrative agencies are necessarily large. 
• The size of administrative agencies reflects both their nationwide jurisdiction and the character of their work. 
• Their staffs include many people performing a variety of tasks which must be coordinated, supervised, and directed toward the fulfillment of agency functions. "
• Out of this solid fact of size, in terms of personnel, flow many of the problems of internal organization and delegation of authority... 
• Out of the fact of size, in terms of the number of cases handled, flow the problems... of providing informal means of settlement for the great bulk of relatively uncontested matters." 
2. Specialization. 
• Administrative agencies specialize. 
• Their staffs become specialized from experience or include persons with technical or professional training. 
• A central problem of organization is how to utilize these skills of training and experience best.
• This does not mean that the members of a regulatory board or commission need to be specialists. 
• The problem is rather how to bring the available technical resources to bear so as to reduce the points of controversy to an understandable record for agency decision and judicial review. 
• Specialization has bearing also upon procedure. 
• An agency's background of knowledge and experience and its equipment for investigation enable it to do much of its work by informal methods without the necessity of formal hearings, and have an impact upon its procedures for formal adjudication and for rule-making.
3. Responsibility for results. 
• A particular administrative agency is charged by Congress with accomplishing a particular statutory end.
• The various agencies taken together are charged with responsibility for making good to people a major part of the ends of democratic government. 
• This means that agencies, "cannot take a wholly passive attitude toward the issues which come before them." 
• They cannot, like the courts, sit passively until some plaintiff takes the initiative. 
• Nor can they take a purely neutral attitude toward accomplishment of the task with which they are charged.
• Administrative agencies supply much of the motive power of government, but at the same time motive power calls for brakes; and "the necessity of both must be faced frankly when either is in question." This gives rise to "perhaps the most difficult of the problems relating to the administrative process:" the problem of combining prosecution and adjudication in the same agency; the problem (from the point of view of the agency) of combining its responsibility for effective enforcement of public policy with fair play to the private interests which are regulated. 
4. Variety of administrative duties.
• This variety may be seen within a single agency as well as between different agencies. 
• This fact makes generalization in description difficult. It makes even more difficult, generalization in prescription. 
• For variety in functions means variety in the circumstances and conditions under which the activities of the various agencies impinge upon private individuals. 
• A procedure which would be for the protection of the individual in one situation may be clearly to his injury in another.

Consequence of characteristics.

• Each of the four characteristics of administrative agencies to a greater or lesser degree, in turn, contributes to, and necessitates, a highly important characteristic of administrative procedure: delegation of function and authority.

1. The large staff of an agency, the many duties which the agency is called upon to perform, the necessity of harmonizing its affirmative responsibility for results with its equally important duty of deciding correctly as between the parties in each particular case, and the practical need for the fullest possible utilization of its special skills and expertness — each of these calls for internal organization which involves an allocation of functions among the members and staff of the agency.
2. For it becomes obvious at once that the major work of the heads of an agency is normally supervision and direction. 
• They cannot themselves be specialists in all phases of work, but specialists must be immediately available to them. 
• They cannot themselves receive material which must be filed and analyze it. 
• They cannot, and they should not, conduct investigations, determine in every instance whether or not action is required, hear controversies, and at the same time make all the decisions. 
• Administrative procedures must be founded upon the reality that many persons in the agency other than the heads must do the bulk of this work. 
• When agency heads permit themselves to be overwhelmed by detail, they rob themselves of time essential for their most important tasks. 
• So it will be seen that the very characteristics of administrative agencies necessitate that delegation of function and authority be a predominant feature of their organization and procedure.
• For  this reason, the term "administrative body or agency" includes the subordinate officials (e.g., hearing officers, examiners, investigators) upon whose hand the body or agency delegates a portion of its authority.

Delegation of function and authority. 

• Types.
• Four types of delegation have been listed as necessary:
1. delegation of internal management;
2. delegation of authority to dispose of routine matters;
3. delegation of authority to dispose of matters informally, or to initiate formal proceedings; and 
4. delegation of authority and function in formal proceedings.
•  the fourth type includes delegation of authority to conduct formal hearings. 
• Degree.
• Delegation may be a matter of degree. 
• It is not true that authority must be delegated completely or not at all. 
• Delegation may be combined with supervision and control. 
•  Such supervision and control may call for:
1. the statement by agency heads of policies which have crystallized for routine application by subordinates; 
2. consideration by agency heads of cases in which the application of established policy is difficult, or in which policy has not crystallized; and
3. the requirement of weekly or even daily reports to agency heads. 
• Under like safeguards, delegation may even involve decentralization through delegation to field offices.

Types of administrative agencies.

• The common types of administrative agencies have been classified according to their purposes.

1. Those created to function in situations wherein the government is offering some gratuity, grant, or special privilege. 
• Examples:
• Philippine Veterans Administration (PVA)
• GSIS
• SSS
• Public Attorney's Office
• Philippine Medical Care Commission (PMCC)
2. Those set up to function in situations wherein the government is seeking to carry on certain functions of government. 
• Examples:
• Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR)
• Bureau of Customs
• Bureau of Immigration
• Land Registration Authority
• and most administrative agencies;
3. Those set up to function in situations wherein the government is performing some business service for the public. 
• Examples:
• Philippine Postal Corporation
• Philippine National Railways
• Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage Authority
• Government Telephone System
• National Electrification Administration
• National Food Authority
• National Housing Authority
4. Those set up to function in situations wherein the government is seeking to regulate businesses affected with public interest. 
• Examples
• Insurance Commission
• Bureau of Air Transportation
• Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) 
• Energy Regulatory Board
• Bureau of Mines and Geo-Sciences
• National Telecommunications Commission, Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB)
5. Those set up to function in situations wherein the government is seeking under the police power to regulate private businesses and individuals. 
• Examples: 
• Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
• Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB)
• Games and Amusement Board (GAB)
• Dangerous Drugs Board (DDB)
• Bureau of Trade Regulation and Consumer Protection (BTRCP) 
6. Those agencies set up to function in situations wherein the government is seeking to adjust individual controversies because of some strong social policy involved.
• Examples: 
• National Labor Relations Commission (NLRC)
• Employees Compensation Commission (ECC)
• Social Security Commission
• Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
• Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR)
• Commission on Audit

• It is obvious that an administrative agency may fall under more than one type.

B. Administrative Organization

Distribution of powers of government. 

• Administrative organization refers to the administrative structure of the government including its political subdivisions and the allocation of powers, functions, and duties to its various units or agencies. 
• National Government refers to the entire machinery of the central government, as distinguished from the different forms of local government which refers to the political subdivisions established by or in accordance with the Constitution.

Traditional branches.

• Under the Constitution and as provided in the Administrative Code of 1987, the powers of the National Government’ are distributed among three branches as follows:
1. The legislative power.
• It shall be vested in the Congress of the Philippines which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives, except to the extent reserved to the people by the constitutional provision on initiative and referendum.
2. The executive power. 
• It shall be vested in the President.
3. The judicial power. 
• It shall be vested in one (1) Supreme Court, and in such lower courts as may be established by law.
• The powers expressly vested in any branch of the Government shall not be exercised by, nor delegated to, any other branch of the Government, except to the extent authorized by the Constitution.

Special bodies or agencies.

• There are three independent Constitutional Commissions created by the Constitution, namely: 
1. the Civil Service Commission
2. the Commission on Elections, and 
3. the Commission on Audit.
• They shall exercise the powers and functions conferred upon them by the Constitution and the law. 
• There are also, in accordance with the Constitution, an independent office of the Ombudsman and an independent Commission on Human Rights. 
• The State is mandated to establish an independent central monetary authority and a national police commission.
• Likewise, as provided in the Constitution, Congress may establish an independent economic and planning agency. 
• They shall exercise the powers and functions conferred upon them by the Constitution and the law.

Organization of the Office of the President. 

• The Office of the President shall consist of the Office of the President Proper and the agencies under it. 

• The Office of the President Proper shall consist of the:
1. Private Office
2. the Executive Office
3. the Common Staff Support System
4. Presidential Special Assistants/Advisers System

• The Private Office 
• shall provide direct services to the President and shall, for this purpose, attend to functions and matters that are personal or which pertain to the First Family; 
• The Executive Office 
• headed by the Executive Secretary refers to the:
• Office of the Executive Secretary
• Deputy Executive Secretaries, and 
• Assistant Executive Secretaries. 
• It shall be fully responsive to the specific needs and requirements of the President to achieve the purposes and objectives of the Office. 
• 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 by the President; 
• The Common Staff Support System 
• embraces the offices or units under the:
• general categories of development and management
• general government administration 
• internal administration
• The Presidential Special Assistants/Advisers System
• includes such special assistants or advisers as may be needed by the President. 
• It shall provide advisory or consultative services to the President in such fields and under such conditions as the President may determine.

• The agencies under the Office of the President refer to:
• those offices under the chairmanship of the President,
• those under the supervision and control of the President,
• those under the administrative supervision of the Office of the President, 
• those attached to it for policy and proper coordination, and 
• those that are not placed by law or order creating them under any special department. 

• The President, subject to the policy in the Executive Office and in order to achieve simplicity, economy and efficiency, shall have continuing authority to reorganize the administrative structure of the Office of the President. 
• For this purpose, he may take any of the following actions: 
1. Restructure the internal organization of the:
• Office of the President Proper, including the
• immediate Offices, 
• the Presidential Special Assistants/Advisers System, and 
• the Common Staff Support System
• by abolishing, consolidating or merging units thereof or transferring functions from one unit to another; 
2. Transfer any function under the Office of the President to any other Department or Agency as well as transfer functions to the Office of the President from other Departments and Agencies; and 
3. Transfer agency under the Office of the President to any other department or agency as well as transfer agencies to the Office of the President from other departments or agencies.

Organization of Departments. 

• Department refers to an executive department created by law.
• It includes any instrumentality having or assigned the rank of a department, regardless of its name or designation.
• Instrumentality refers to an agency of the National Government, not integrated with the department framework vested with special functions or jurisdiction by law, endowed with some if not all corporate powers, administering special funds, and enjoying operational autonomy, usually through a charter. 
• This term includes:
• regulatory agencies
• chartered institutions and government-owned or controlled corporacial charter
• vested by law with functions relating to specific constitutional policies or objectives
• state universities and colleges
• monetary authority of the State.

1. Number, purpose, and decentralization:
1. The Executive Branch shall have such Departments as are necessary for the functional distribution of the work of the President and for the performance of their functions; 
2. The Departments shall be organized and maintained to insure their capacity to plan and implement programs in accordance with established national policies;
3. Bureaus and offices under each Department shall be grouped primarily on the basis of major functions to achieve simplicity, economy and efficiency in government operations and minimize duplication and overlapping of activities; and
4. The functions of the different Departments shall be decentralized in order to reduce red tape, free central officials from administrative details concerning field operations, and relieve them from unnecessary involvement in routine and local matters. 
• Adequate authority shall be delegated to subordinate officials. 
• Administrative decisions and actions shall, as much as feasible, be at the level closest to the public.
2. Department proper: 
1. Unless otherwise provided in the Code or by law, the Department proper shall include the Office of the Secretary and the staff units directly under it. 
• The Office of the Secretary shall consist of the:
• Secretary
• Undersecretary or Undersecretaries
• personnel in their immediate offices
2. Every Secretary shall be assisted by such number of Undersecretaries as may be provided for by the Code or by law;
3. Whenever necessary, Assistant Secretary position or positions may be created to form part of the Department proper; and 
4. In the absence of special provisions, the major staff units of each department shall be the services which shall include:
• the Planning Service
• the Financial and Management Service
• the Administrative Service
• when necessary, the Technical and the Legal Services
3. Jurisdiction over bureaus, etc.
• Each Department shall have jurisdiction over bureaus, offices, regulatory agencies and government corporations assigned to it by law, in accordance with the applicable relationships as defined in Chapters 7, 8, and 9 of the Code,  
4. Assignment of offices and agencies, etc. 
• The President shall, by executive order, assign offices and agencies not otherwise assigned by law to any department, or indicate to which department a government corporation or board may be attached.

• Agency of the Government refers to any of the various units of the Government, including a department, bureau, office, instrumentality, or a government-owned or -controlled corporation or a local government or district unit therein.
• Office refers, within the framework of governmental organization, to any major functional unit of a department or bureau including regional offices. 
• It may also refer to any position held or occupied by individual persons, whose functions are defined by law or regulation.

Secretaries, Undersecretaries, and Assistant Secretaries.

• Secretary
• The authority and responsibility for the exercise of the mandate of the Department and for the discharge of its powers and functions shall be vested in the Secretary, who shall have supervision and control of the Department. 
• Undersecretary
• The Undersecretary shall, among others, advise and assist the Secretary in the formulation and implementation of department objectives and policies. 
• He shall temporarily discharge the duties of the Secretary in the latter's absence or inability to discharge his duties for any cause or in case of vacancy of the said office, unless otherwise provided by law.
• Assistant Secretary
• The Assistant Secretary shall perform such duties and functions as may be provided by law or assigned to him by the Secretary.

Department Services. 

• Except as otherwise provided by law, each Department shall have the following Department Services: 
1. Planning Service
2. Financial and Management Service
3. Administrative Service
4. Technical Service
5. Legal Service

1. Planning Service.
• It shall provide the department with economical, efficient and effective services relating to planning, programming, and project development, and discharge such other functions as may be provided by law. 
2. Financial and Management Service.
• It shall advise and assist the Secretary on budgetary, financial and management matters and shall perform such other functions as may be provided by law.
3. Administrative Service.
• It shall provide the Department with economical, efficient and effective services relating to personnel legal assistance, information, records, delivery and receipt of correspondence, supplies, equipment, collections, disbursement, security and custodial work. 
4. Technical Service.
• It shall take charge of technical staff activities essential to a department and which cannot be allocated to the three other services or to the bureaus. 
5. Legal Service.
• It shall be provided where the operations of the department involve substantial legal work, in which case, the Administrative Service shall not have a Legal Division. 
• It shall provide legal advice to the department. 
• Where the workload of the department does not warrant a Legal Service or a Legal Division, there shall be one or more legal assistants in the Office of the Secretary.

Organization of Bureaus. 

• Bureau refers to any principal subdivision or unit of any department. 
• It shall include any principal subdivision or unit of any instrumentality given or assigned the rank of a bureau, regardless of actual name or designation, as in the case of department-wide regional offices.
• A Bureau is any principal subdivision of the department performing a single major function or closely related functions. 
• Each Bureau shall be headed by a Director who may have one or more Assistant Directors as provided by law. 
• It may have as many divisions as are provided by law for the economical, efficient and effective performance of its functions.
• Powers and duties of heads of bureaus or offices.
1. The head of bureau or office shall be its chief executive officer.
• He shall exercise overall authority in matters within the jurisdiction of the bureau, office or agency, including those relating to its operations, and enforce all laws and regulations pertaining to it;
2. He shall appoint personnel to all positions in his bureau or office, in accordance with law. 
• In the case of the line bureau or office, the head shall also appoint the second level personnel of the regional offices, unless such power has been delegated. 
• He shall have the authority to discipline employees in accordance with the Civil Service Law; 
3. He may, in the interest of economy, designate the assistant head to act as chief of any division or unit within the organization, in addition to his duties, without additional compensation; 
4. He shall, consistent with law, rules and regulations, prescribe the form and fix the amount of all bonds executed by private parties to the government under the laws pertaining to his bureau or office. 
• He shall pass on the sufficiency of the security and retain possession of the bond;
5. He shall prescribe forms and issue circulars or orders to secure the harmonious and efficient administration of his bureau or office and to carry into full effect the laws relating to matters within his jurisdiction. 
• Penalties shall not be prescribed in any circular or order for its violation, except as expressly allowed by law; and
6. He is authorized to issue orders regarding the administration of its internal affairs for the guidance of or compliance by its officers and employees.
• Bureaus are either staff or line.  
• A staff bureau shall primarily perform policy, program development and advisory functions. 
• It shall avail itself of the planning, financial and administrative services in the department proper, if circumstances so warrant. 
• The Director of a staff bureau shall: 
1. Advise and assist the Office of the Secretary on matters pertaining to the Bureau's area of specialization;
2. Provide consultative and advisory services to the regional offices of the department;
3. Develop plans, programs, operating standards, and administrative techniques for the attainment of the objectives and functions of the bureau; and 
4.  Perform such other duties as may be provided by law. 
• A line bureau shall directly implement programs adopted pursuant to department policies and plans. 
• It may have staff units, as may be necessary, corresponding to the services of the department proper. 
• If the Bureau is small, only a single unit performing combined staff functions may be provided.  
• The Director of a line bureau shall: 
1. Exercise supervision and control over all divisions and other units, including regional offices, under the bureau;
2. Establish policies and standards for the operations of the bureau pursuant to the plans and programs of the department;
3. Promulgate rules and regulations necessary to carry out bureau objectives, policies and functions; and
4. Perform such other duties as may be provided by law.

Organization of Field Offices. 

• Regional Offices.
• They shall be established according to law defining field service areas.
• The administrative regions shall be composed of the National Capital Region and Regions I to XII. 
• Provincial and district offices may be established only by law whenever necessary. 
• Except as otherwise provided by law and when the needs of the service so require, the department or agency shall organize an integrated regional office on a department or agency-wide basis.
• Administration.
• The regional office shall be headed by a Regional Director who may be assisted by one (1) Assistant Regional Director, except as may otherwise be provided by law. 
• The Regional Director shall be responsible for department or agency functions performed in the region under his jurisdiction.
• Supervision:
1. Whenever the function or activity of a department or agency requires central or inter-regional action, the function may be performed by the regional offices under the supervision and control of the department proper or line bureau concerned. 
2. The staff bureau or division shall perform primarily advisory or auxiliary functions and exercise in behalf of the department or agency functional supervision over the regional offices.
• Organization.
• Regional Offices organized on a department-wide basis shall have units or personnel in which the functional areas of the staff bureaus and services in the department shall be represented. 
• Regional offices of a line bureau may have units or personnel in which the functional areas of the primary units of the bureau are represented. 
• Related functions of regional units shall be consolidated. 
• Functions of a Regional Office. 
• A Regional office shall:
1. Implement laws, policies, plans, programs, rules and regulations of the department or agency in the regional area;
2. Provide economical, efficient and effective service to the people in the area; 
3. Coordinate with regional offices of other departments, bureaus and agencies in the area;
4. Coordinate with local government units in the area; and law.
5. Perform such other functions as may be provided by 
• District offices may be established only in cases of clear necessity.

Definition of administrative relationship. 

• Unless otherwise stated in the Administrative Code of 1987 or in other laws defining the special relationship of particular agencies, administrative relationship shall be categorized and defined as follows:
1. Supervision and control. 
• Supervision and control shall include authority to:
1. act directly whenever a specific function is entrusted by law or regulation to a subordinate;
2. direct the performance of duty; restrain the commission of acts;
3. review, approve, reverse or modify acts and decisions of subordinate officials or units;
4. determine priorities in the execution of plans and programs; and
5. prescribe standards, guidelines, plans and programs. 
• Unless a different meaning is explicitly provided in the specific law governing the relationship of particular agencies, the word "control" shall encompass supervision and control as defined above.
2. Administrative supervision: 
• It shall govern the administrative relationship between a department or its equivalent and regulatory agencies or other agencies as may be provided by law. 
• It shall be limited to the authority of the department or its equivalent:
1. to generally oversee the operations of such agencies and to insure that they are managed effectively, efficiently and economically but without interference with day-to-day activities; 
2. to require the submission of reports and cause the conduct of management audit, performance evaluation and inspection to determine compliance with policies, standards and guidelines of the department;
3. to take such action as may be necessary for the proper performance of official functions, including rectification of violations, abuses and other forms of maladministration; and
4. to review and pass upon budget proposals of such agencies but may not increase or add to them.
• Such authority shall not, however, extend to:
1. appointments and other personnel actions in accordance with the decentralization of personnel functions under the Code, except when appeal is made from an action of the appointing authority, in which case the appeal shall be initially sent to the department or its equivalent, subject to appeal in accordance with law;
2. contracts entered into by the agency in the pursuit of its objectives, the review of which and other procedures related thereto shall be governed by appropriate laws, rules and regulations; and
3. the power to review, reverse, revise, or modify the decisions of regulatory agencies in the exercise of their regulatory or quasi-judicial functions. 
• Unless a different meaning is explicitly provided in the specific law governing the relationship of particular agencies, the word "supervision" shall encompass administrative supervision as defined above. 
3. Attachment:
• This refers to the lateral relationship between the department or its equivalent and the attached agency or corporation for purposes of policy and program coordination.
• The coordination may be accomplished by: 
1. having the department represented in the governing board of the attached agency or corporation, either as chairman or as a member, with or without voting rights, if this is permitted by the charter;
2. having the attached corporation or agency comply with a system of periodic reporting which shall reflect the progress of programs and projects; and 
3. having the department or its equivalent provide general policies through its representative in the board, which shall serve as the framework for the internal policies of the attached corporation or agency.
• Matters of day-to-day administration or all those pertaining to internal operations shall be left to the discretion or judgment of the executive officer of the agency or corporation. 
• In the event that the Secretary and the Head of the Board or the attached agency or corporation strongly disagree on the interpretation and application of policies, and the Secretary is unable to resolve the disagreement, he shall bring the matter to the President for resolution and direction. 
•  Government-owned or -controlled corporations attached to a department shall submit to the Secretary concerned their audited financial statements within sixty (60) days after the close of the fiscal year.
• Pending submission of the required financial statements, the corporation shall continue to operate on the basis of the preceding year's budget until the financial statements shall have been submitted.
• Should any government-owned or -controlled corporation incur an operating deficit at the close of its fiscal year, it shall be subject to administrative supervision of the department; and the corporation's operating and capital budget shall be subject to the department's examination, review, modification and approval.

Powers and functions of Department Secretary.

• The Secretary shall: 
1. Advise the President in issuing executive orders, regulations, proclamations and other issuances, the promulgation of which is expressly vested by law in the President relative to matters under the jurisdiction of the Department;
2. Establish the policies and standards for the operation of the Department pursuant to the approved programs of governments;
3. Promulgate rules and regulations necessary to carry out department objectives, policies, functions, plans, programs and projects;
4. Promulgate administrative issuances necessary for the efficient administration of the offices under the Secretary and for proper execution of the laws relative thereto. These issuances shall not prescribe penalties for their violation, except when expressly authorized by law;
5. Exercise disciplinary powers over officers and employees under the Secretary in accordance with law, including their investigation and the designation of a committee or officer to conduct such investigation;
6. Appoint all officers and employees of the Department except those whose appointments are vested in the President or in some other appointing authority. 
• Where the Department is regionalized on a department-wide basis, the Secretary shall appoint employees to positions in the second level in the regional offices as defined in the Administrative Code; 
7.  Exercise jurisdiction over all bureaus, offices, agencies and corporations under the Department as provided by law and in accordance with the applicable relationships as specified in Chapters 7, 8, and 9 of Book IV of the Code;
8. Delegate authority to officers and employees under the Secretary's direction in accordance with the Code; and 
9. Perform such other functions as may be provided by law.

Authority of Department Secretary. 

• The Secretary of a Department shall have supervision and control over the bureaus, offices, and agencies under him, subject to the following guidelines: 
1. Initiative and freedom of action on the part of subordinate units shall be encouraged and promoted rather than curtailed, and reasonable opportunity to act shall be afforded these units before control is exercised; 
2. With respect to functions involving discretion, experienced judgment or expertise vested by the law upon a subordinate agency, control shall be exercised in accordance with said law; and
3. With respect to any regulatory function of an agency subject to department control, the authority of the department shall be governed by the provisions of the Code. 
• The Secretary's authority as provided above shall not apply to chartered institutions or government-owned or controlled corporations attached to the department.

Delegation of authority. 

• The Secretary or the head of an agency shall have authority over and responsibility for its operation. 
• He shall delegate such authority to the bureau and regional directors as may be necessary for them to implement plans and programs adequately.

1. Delegated authority shall be to the extent necessary for economical, efficient and effective implementation of national and local programs in accordance with policies and standards developed by each department or agency with the participation of the regional directors. 
2. The delegation shall be in writing; shall indicate to which officer or class of officers and employees the delegation is made; and shall vest sufficient authority to enable the delegate to discharge his assigned responsibility.

Line bureau authority. 

1. Line bureaus of a department shall exercise supervision and control over their regional and field offices.
• They shall be directly responsible for the development and implementation of plans and programs within their respective functional specializations; and
2. The regional and other field offices shall constitute the operating arms of the bureau concerned for the direct implementation of the plans of the programs drawn up in accordance with approved policies and standards. 
• As counterparts of the bureau in the region, they shall undertake bureau operations within their respective jurisdictions, and be directly responsible to their bureau director.

Relationship of government-owned or -controlled corporations to the Department.

• Government-owned or -controlled corporations refer to any agency organized as a stock or non-stock corporation, vested with functions relating to public needs whether governmental or proprietary in nature, and owned by the government directly or through its instrumentalities either wholly, or, where applicable as in the case of stock corporations, to the extent of at least 50% of its capital stock. 
• They may be further categorized by the Department of Budget and Management, the Civil Service Commission, and the Commission on Audit for purposes of the exercise and discharge of their respective powers, functions and responsibilities with respect to such corporations.
• They shall be attached to the appropriate department with which they have allied functions, or as may be provided by executive order, for policy and program coordination and for general supervision provided in pertinent provisions of the Code.
• In order to fully protect the interests of the government in government-owned or -controlled corporations, at least one-third (1/3) of the members of the Boards of such corporations should either be a Secretary, or Undersecretary, or Assistant Secretary.
• Note: During their tenure, the President, the Vice-President, members of the Cabinet, and their deputies and assistants (i.e., undersecretaries and assistant secretaries), are prohibited, unless otherwise provided in the Constitution itself, from holding any other office or employment.

Relationship of regulatory agencies to the Department. 

• A regulatory agency refers to any agency expressly vested with jurisdiction to regulate, administer or adjudicate matters affecting substantial rights and interest of private persons, the principal powers of which are exercised by a collective body, such as commission, board, or council.
• It shall be subject to the administrative supervision of the department under which they are placed, except when they are government corporations in which case they shall be governed as provided above.
• The heads of regulatory agencies shall submit annually, for the approval of the Secretary concerned, their budgets and work plans which shall be the basis of their day-to-day operations.
• The regulatory agencies may avail themselves of the common auxiliary and management services of the department as may be convenient and economical for their operations.

Mandates of the different Departments.

1. Department of Foreign Affairs.
• It shall be the lead agency that shall advise and assist the President in planning, organizing, directing and evaluating the total national effort in the field of foreign relations.
2. Department of Finance. 
• It shall be responsible for the formulation, institutionalization, and administration of fiscal policies in coordination with other concerned subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities of government.
3. Department of Justice. 
• It shall carry out the declared policy to provide the government with a principal law agency which shall be both its legal counsel and prosecution arm.
4. Department of Agriculture. 
• It shall be the government agency responsible for the promotion of agricultural development by providing the policy framework, public investments, and support services needed for domestic and export-oriented business enterprises.
5. Department of Public Works and Highways.
• It shall be the State's engineering and construction arm and is tasked to carry out the policy to continuously develop its technology, for the purposes of ensuring the safety of all infrastructure facilities and securing for all public works and highways the highest efficiency and the most appropriate quality in construction.
6. Department of Education.  
• It shall be primarily responsible for the formulation, planning, implementation and coordination of the policies, plans, programs and projects in the areas of formal and non-formal education at all levels, supervise all educational institutions, both public and private, and provide for the establishment and maintenance of a complete, adequate and integrated system of education relevant to the goals of national development.
7. Commission on Higher Education. 
• It shall be the key leader of the Philippine Higher Education System in putting education as the central strategy for investing in the Filipino people, reducing poverty, and building national competitiveness. It shall: Promote relevant and quality higher education (i.e. higher education institutions and programs are at par with international standards and graduates and professionals are highly competent and recognized in the international arena); Ensure that quality higher education is accessible to all who seek it particularly those who may not be able to afford it; Guarantee and protect academic freedom for continuing intellectual growth, advancement of learning and research, development of responsible and effective leadership, education of high level professionals, and enrichment of historical and cultural heritages; and Commit to moral ascendancy that eradicates corrupt practices, institutionalizes transparency and accountability and encourages participatory governance in the Commission and the sub-sector.
8. Department of Labor and Employment.
• It shall be the primary policy-making, programming, coordinating and administrative entity of the Executive Branch of the government in the field of labor and employment. It shall assume primary responsibilities, for: (a) The promotion of gainful employment opportunities and the optimization of the development and utilization of the country's manpower resources; (b) The advancement of worker's welfare by providing for just and humane working conditions and terms of employment; and (c) The maintenance of industrial peace by promoting harmonious, equitable, and stable employment relations that assure equal protection for the rights of all concerned parties.
9. Department of National Defense. 
• It shall carry out the declared policy to maximize its effectiveness for guarding against external and internal threats to national peace and security, and provide support for social and economic development.
10. Department of Health.
• It shall be primarily responsible for the formulation, planning, implementation, and coordination of policies and programs in the field of health. Its primary function is the promotion, protection, preservation or restoration of the health of the people through the provision and delivery of health services and through the regulation and encouragement of providers of health goods and services.
11.  Department of Trade and Industry. 
• It shall be the primary coordinative, promotive, facilitative and regulatory arm of the Executive Branch of government in the area of trade, industry and investments.
12. Department of Agrarian Reform. 
• It shall provide central direction and coordination to the national agrarian reform program extended to transform farm lessees and farm tenants into owner-cultivators of economic family-size farms to improve their living conditions.
13. Department of Interior and Local Government
• It shall assist the President in the exercise of general supervision over local governments and in ensuring autonomy, decentralization and community empowerment.
14. Department of Tourism. 
• It shall be the primary planning, programming, coordinating, implementing, and regulatory government agency responsible for development and promotion of the tourism industry, both domestic and international, in coordination with attached agencies and other government instrumentalities. It shall instill in the Filipino the industry's fundamental importance in the generation of employment, investment and foreign exchange.
15.  Department of Environment and Natural Resources. 
• It shall be primarily responsible for the implementation of the policy to ensure for the benefit of the Filipino people, the full exploration and development as well as the judicious disposition, utilization, management, renewal and conservation of the country's natural resources, consistent with the necessity of maintaining a sound ecological balance and protecting and enhancing the quality of the environment and the objective of making the exploration, development and utilization of such natural resources equitably accessible to the different segments of the present as well as future generations.
16.  Department of Transportation and Communications. 
• It shall be the primary policy, planning, programming, coordinating, implementing and regulating and administrative entity of the Executive Branch of the government in the promotion, development, and regulation of dependable and coordinated networks of transportation and communications systems as well as in the fast, safe, efficient and reliable postal, transportation and communications services.
17. Department of Social Welfare and Development. 
• It shall provide a balanced approach to welfare whereby the needs and interests of the population are addressed not only at the outbreak of crisis but more importantly at the stage which would inexorably lead to such crisis. Following such strategy, the Department's objectives shall be to: (a) Care for, protect and rehabilitate the physically and mentally handicapped and socially disabled constituents, for effective social functioning; (b) Provide an integrated welfare package to its constituents on the basis of their needs and coordinate the service facilities required from such departments or agencies, governmental and non governmental, which can best provide them; (c) Arrest the further deterioration of the socially disabling or dehumanizing conditions of the disadvantaged segment of the population at the community level; and (d) Advocate for policies and measures addressing social welfare concerns.
18. Department of Budget and Management.
• It shall be responsible for the formulation and implementation of the National Budget with the goal of attaining our national socio-economic plans and objectives and for the efficient and sound utilization of government funds and revenues to effectively achieve our country's development objectives.
19. Department of Science and Technology. 
• It shall provide central direction, leadership and coordination of scientific and technological efforts and ensure that the results therefrom are geared and utilized in areas of maximum economic and social benefits for the people. It shall formulate and implement policies, plans, programs, and projects for the development of science and technology and for the promotion of scientific and technological activities for both the public and private sectors and ensure that the results of scientific and technological activities are properly applied and utilized to accelerate economic and social development.
20. Department of Energy. 
• It shall prepare, integrate, coordinate, supervise and control all plans, programs, projects, and activities of the Government relative to energy exploration, development, distribution, and conservation, with the end in view of ultimately achieving self-reliance in the country's energy and power requirements without sacrificing ecological concerns.50