The National Economic and Development Authority’s (NEDA) reorganization into the Department of Economy, Planning and Development (DEPDev) marks a “significant milestone in the country’s pursuit of stronger and more future-ready economic governance,” Secretary Arsenio Balisacan said Thursday.
Balisacan spoke on at the ceremonial presentation of the signed law legislating DEPDev’s charter. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed Republic Act No. 12145, also known as the Economy, Planning, and Development Act, on April 10, 2025. The law aims to strengthen the agency’s mandate, institutional independence and its capacity to serve as the executive branch’s primary body for economic policy, planning, coordination and monitoring.
“We thank President Marcos, Jr. and our partners in Congress for enacting this vital reform,” Balisacan said.
“With DEPDev now institutionalized, we are building a more coordinated, resilient, and forward-looking system of economic governance—one that supports sustained and inclusive growth and brings us closer to our long-term vision,” he said.
The transformation of NEDA into DEPDev coincides with the institution’s 90th founding anniversary, tracing its roots back to the National Economic Council, the country’s first economic planning body, established in 1935. This long history underscores the Philippines’ commitment to strategic development planning.
The new law fulfills Section 9 of Article XII of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, which authorizes Congress to establish an independent economic and planning agency headed by the President, tasked with implementing continuing integrated and coordinated programs and policies for national development.
The department will maintain its 16 regional offices, including DEPDev Negros Island Region, and eight attached agencies including Commission on Population and Development, Development Academy of the Philippines, Philippine Institute for Development Studies, Philippine National Volunteer Service Coordinating Agency, Philippine Statistical Research and Training Institute, Philippine Statistics Authority, Public-Private Partnership Center and Tariff Commission.
