The Office of the Executive Secretary of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

(formerly the Executive Office) is the head and highest-ranking official of the

Office of the President of the Philippines The Office of the President of the Philippines (OP; fil, links=no, Tanggapan ng Pangulo ng Pilipinas), is an administrative, advisory, and consultative government agency that aids the president of the Philippines in performing their duty as he ...

and a member of the

Cabinet of the Philippines The Cabinet of the Philippines ( fil, Gabinete ng Pilipinas, usually referred to as the Cabinet or Gabinete) consists of the heads of the largest part of the executive branch of the national government of the Philippines. Currently, it includes ...

. 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." It is headed by the Executive Secretary. The office was established on October 12, 1936, with

Jorge B. Vargas Jorge Bartolomé Vargas y Celis (August 24, 1890 – February 22, 1980) was a Filipino lawyer, diplomat and youth advocate born in Bago, Negros Occidental, Philippines. He graduated valedictorian from Negros Occidental High School in 1909 and ...

as the inaugural holder. The incumbent Executive Secretary is retired Chief Justice and GSIS Chairman

Lucas Bersamin Lucas Purugganan Bersamin (born October 18, 1949) is a Filipino lawyer and jurist who currently serves as the Executive Secretary of the Philippines. Bersamin previously served on the Supreme Court of the Philippines for 10 years, first as an ...

, who was appointed to the post on September 27, 2022, days after the resignation of his predecessor

Vic Rodriguez Vic (; es, Vic or Pancracio Celdrán (2004). Diccionario de topónimos españoles y sus gentilicios (5ª edición). Madrid: Espasa Calpe. p. 843. ISBN 978-84-670-3054-9. «Vic o Vich (viquense, vigitano, vigatán, ausense, ausetano, ausonense): ...

Powers and duties

In Book III, Chapter 9, Section 27 of Executive Order No. 292, the Administrative Code of the Philippines, the role of the Executive Secretary was defined as: The Executive Secretary possesses so much power since the holder of the office is the chief 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. The Executive Secretary, can also be the top coordinator of the activities of the Executive Branch of the government, if necessary.

List of Executive Secretaries

References

{{Executive Departments of the Philippines

Office of the President of the Philippines