President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday issued an administrative order streamlining the composition of the Neda Board’s Executive Committee and the Investment Coordination Committee for a more effective and speedy approval process.
In his Administrative Order No. 8, signed Oct. 20 (Friday), Duterte opted to rationalize the Neda Board from 22 members to just 12 members, with the President, as Chairperson and SocioEconomic Planning Secretary, as vice chairperson.
The other board members are the executive secretary, the Cabinet secretary; Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) chairperson; Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas deputy Governor and the secretaries of Budget and Management, Energy, Finance, Public Works and Highways, Trade and Industry, and Transportation.
Among those removed from the previous structure of the Neda Board were the Secretaries of Agriculture, Environment and Natural Resources, Science and Technology, and Tourism; the Chairman of the Metro Manila Development Authority and the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council; Governor of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao; chief of the Presidential Management Staff; and the president of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines.
Another six-member Neda board ExCo have likewise been reconstituted, headed by the president as chairperson, and SocioEconomic Planning Secretary as Vice Chairperson; and restored the ICC, with the Finance and Socio-Economic Planning chiefs as co-chairpersons.
Among the responsibilities of the Neda Board ExCom were to approve development plans and programs consistent with the policies set by the President and confirm “extremely urgent” ICC-approved projects.