The Office of the Cabinet Secretary (), or the Cabinet Secretariat (), is a member agency of the Cabinet of the Philippines that provides support to the president, facilitates the exchange of information, and discusses and resolves issues among Cabinet members. The cabinet secretary also acts as a coordinator and integrator of the initiatives of the president. The Cabinet Secretariat was created through Executive Order No. 237, s. 1987.
History The position of Cabinet Secretary traces its origins to the War Cabinet of the Commonwealth government-in-exile, when Col. Manuel Nieto was appointed Secretary to the Cabinet by President Manuel L. Quezon in Asheville, NC. Under President Carlos P. Garcia, a Cabinet Secretariat was formally established as an attached agency of the Executive Office headed by the Executive Secretary. Under the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos, its responsibilities were transferred to the Office of the Prime Minister.
Following the People Power Revolution, the Cabinet Secretariat was reestablished through Executive Order No. 237, s. 1987 signed by President Corazon Aquino. It was renamed as the Office of the Cabinet Secretary by President Benigno Aquino III on October 31, 2012, through Executive Order No. 99. He reinstated the Office of the Cabinet Secretary as an independent body from the Presidential Management Staff, similar to its original mandate in 1987. The Cabinet Secretary was given cabinet ranking and staff support.
The office underwent a reform in 2018, when President Rodrigo Duterte issued Executive Order No. 67, which transferred eight agencies under it to other government agencies and renamed it back as the Cabinet Secretariat.
On June 30, 2022, President Bongbong Marcos issued Executive Order No. 1, which abolished the office alongside the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission. All powers and functions will be transferred to the Presidential Management Staff.
On July 8, 2026, the position was revived following President Marcos's appointment of Benhur Abalos as Cabinet Secretary.
Powers and functions According to Section 2 of Executive Order No. 99, the powers and functions of the Office of the Cabinet Secretary were as follows:
Reorganization Eight agencies under the Cabinet Secretariat were placed under the jurisdiction of other agencies when President Rodrigo Duterte reorganized the office. The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the Cooperative Development Authority were placed under the Department of Trade and Industry; the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos and the Philippine Commission on Women to the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG); and the National Anti-Poverty Commission, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples and the Presidential Commission on the Urban Poor to the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
List of cabinet secretaries
Image Name Term started Term ended President Era Jun Factoran(1943–2020) December 22, 1986 April 1987 Corazon Aquino Fifth Republic Jose de Jesus April 1987 January 1990 Aniceto Sobrepeña(1953–2026) January 1990 June 30, 1992 Ma. Leonora Vasquez-de Jesus June 30, 1992 March 1996 Fidel V. Ramos Alexander Aguirre April 1996 June 30, 1998 colspan="4" Joseph Estrada Ricardo Saludo January 20, 2001 June 30, 2004 Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Silvestre Bello III(born 1944) June 30, 2004 June 30, 2010 colspan="4" Benigno Aquino III Rene Almendras(born 1960) November 5, 2012 March 8, 2016 Leoncio Evasco Jr.(born 1944) June 30, 2016 October 16, 2018 Rodrigo Duterte Karlo Nograles(born 1976) November 5, 2018 March 7, 2022 Melvin MatibagActing March 9, 2022 June 30, 2022 colspan="4" Bongbong Marcos Benhur Abalos(born 1962) July 8, 2026 Incumbent
Notes
References
External links The Cabinet Secretary – Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines