Malacanan issued Executive Order (EO) No. 41 reconstituting the membership of the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) Board.
Signed by President Duterte on September 15, EO No. 41 reverted to the general qualifications of the members of the LWUA Board under Presidential Decree No. 198, as amended, and repealed the ex officio designation of the Finance Secretary, Public Works Secretary, and Health Secretary, or their alternates.
The EO mandated that all LWUA Board members, composed of a chairman and four trustees, must be Filipino citizens, with the following qualifications, such as one should have at least 10 years of experience in banking, finance, or business; possessed sufficient background in economics; or experienced in management or system operations; two must be civil or sanitary engineers with exposure to water supply or wastewater operations.
Further, the EO allows three representations from the National Government and one representation from the private sector; provided that no elected official should be part of the LWUA Board.
All trustees are further required to meet the conditions outlined under the Fit and Proper Rule of the Government-Owned or -Controlled Corporations (GOCC) Governance Act of 2011.
“Pending the designation and assumption of the new members of the LWUA Board representing the National Government, the Secretaries of Finance, Public Works and Highways, and Health, or their alternates, shall continue to sit in the LWUA Board to ensure the continuous and unhampered operations thereof,” the EO said.
President Duterte likewise signed Administrative Order (AO) No. 7, on September 22, in a bid to revitalize the National Intelligence Committee (NIC).
“The NIC is hereby organized and revitalized to serve as a vital mechanism for intelligence management, and as an instrument for promoting greater unity and cohesion of the Intelligence Community,” AO No. 7 stated.
Chaired by the Director-General of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA), the NIC was organized in 2003, pursuant to AO 68, to serve as advisory body to the NICA Director- General. It is composed of representatives from the Department of Foreign Affairs, National Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Immigration, Bureau of Customs, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and Philippine National Police as members.
Under AO No. 7, the NIC membership was expanded to include representatives from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, Philippine Coast Guard, and Office for Transportation Security.
Further, the NIC is authorized to call upon any government agencies to become its members, may designate or invite resource persons from relevant government units, and may review its current organizations to make the Committee more organized, proactive, and effective in fulfilling its mandate.
Nonetheless, “the NIC shall continue to be assisted by the Regional Intelligence Committees (RIC) that have already been institutionalized in all regions of the country to promote and enhance intelligence fusion,” the AO said. ###PCO-Content
