To: Undersecretaries
Assistant Secretaries
Regional Directors
Schools Division/City Superintendents
All Others Concerned

1. The Department of Education (DepEd), being the biggest government organization in the Philippines, administers seventeen (17) regions, two hundred (200) divisions, forty-three thousand two hundred four (43,204) public elementary and secondary schools and more than one thousand (1,000) personnel in the Central Office (CO). Due to the volume of legal and legislative works and the difficulty in filling-up of the Legal Officer item in the CO, the Regional Offices (ROs), and the Division Offices (DOs), Office of the Secretary (OSec), Undersecretaries (USecs), Assistant Secretaries (ASecs), Regional Directors (RDs) and Schools Division/City Superintendents (SDSs) are hereby authorized to hire legal consultants, subject to the enclosed guidelines.
2. All other previous and existing orders/memoranda inconsistent with this Order are amended.
3. All Contracts of Legal Consultancy and Services shall be treated with the highest degree of confidentiality.
4. Immediate dissemination of and strict compliance with this Order is directed.

Encl.: As stated
Reference: DECS Order: No. 15, s. 1999

To be indicated in the Perpetual Index under the following subjects:

AUTHORITY
OFFICIALS
POLICY
QUALIFICATIONS

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