This will strengthen the mandate and the institutional independence of the agency.
On Friday, April 11, the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) reported that President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos has signed into law Republic Act 12145 the day before.
The law concerns the agency’s transformation into the Department of Economy, Planning, and Development (DEPDev), which will become the country’s primary policy, planning, coordinating, and monitoring arm of the Executive branch on the national economy.
“The establishment of the DEPDev contributes to sound economic governance by bridging past and future development strategies, ultimately ensuring our upward development trajectory and that economic progress is sustained, remains resilient, and is beneficial to all Filipinos,” said NEDA Secretary Arsenio M. Balisacan.
According to the agency, the newly-approved RA 12145 is also a fulfillment of the Section 9 of the Article XII of the 1987 Constitution, which states that “Congress may establish an independent economic and planning agency headed by the President, which shall, after consultations with the appropriate public agencies, various private sectors, and local government units, recommend to Congress, and implement continuing integrated and coordinated programs and policies for national development.”
RA No. 12145 also aims to institutionalize the DEPDev’s mandate to conduct futures thinking and scenario planning exercises to enable the government to better anticipate and respond to technological shifts, economic disruptions, and global uncertainties.
Another key reform under the law is the institutionalization of the Planning Call, which seeks to further strengthen the linkages between planning, budgeting, and M&E by establishing clear standards, guidelines, and accountability mechanisms.
Part of the DEPDev’s legislated charter is the agency’s scope of work for the major technical exercises and outputs it expects to undertake and produce, including the formulation of the country’s long-term vision and development framework; the national and regional development plans and reports; the public investment program and regional development investment programs; transparency and accountability reports; the medium-term national evaluation agenda; and an Inter-Generational Report, among others.
The law is due to officially take into effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
DEPDev is the Philippines’ first newly-created department since the formation of the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development in 2019.