President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has issued Executive Order No. 89 abolishing the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Military and Police Affairs (OPAMPA) as part of efforts to achieve bureaucratic simplicity, economy, and efficiency.

According to the President’s EO 89 dated July 11, “it is imperative to revisit the need for a separate office in charge of military and police affairs within the OP (Office of the President), consistent with the streamlining and rightsizing policy of the Administration.”

EO 89 mandated that the Office of the Executive Secretary, Department of National Defense, National Security Council, Philippine National Police, National Police Commission, and other relevant agencies shall perform OPAMPA’s duties and functions subject to existing laws, rules, and regulations.

The executive order also stipulated that all records, documents, resources, office spaces, and other properties in the custody of or used by the OPAMPA be forwarded to the Office of the Deputy Executive Secretary for Support Services and Auxiliaries.

OPAMPA was established through EO No. 1 (s. 2022) under the administration of the Office of the Special Assistant to the President.

Before that, the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Military Affairs was created through Memorandum Order (MO) No. 40 (s. 1998) to provide military staff assistance within the OP, as well as to facilitate policy formulation and decision making on national security concerns and military affairs.

Similarly, MO No. 75 (s. 1993), as amended by EO No. 138 (s. 2002), created the Office of the Presidential Consultant on Police Affairs, which was later renamed as the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Police Affairs.

Its goal is to expedite coordination in the handling of police matters and provide police staff assistance within OP. | PND