Legal charter
The Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) is a government owned and controlled corporation with an original charter under Presidential Decree (P.D.) No. 205, as amended by P.D. No. 1061, and further amended by Executive Order No. 288.
Our mandate under Presidential Decree No. 205
Under P.D. No. 205, the DAP is mandated to:
Generate pioneering, value-adding, synergistic ideas, concepts, principles, techniques and technologies addressing development problems of local, national and international significance.
Capacitate individuals and development stakeholder organizations in government, the private sector, civil society, academe, and international organizations to perform their respective roles and mandates in development more efficiently and effectively.
Promote partnerships and facilitate the integration of policies, plans, programs, and systems towards a holistic perspective, through the conduct of training, education, policy/action-oriented researches, consulting/technical assistance, and publications in good governance and productivity improvement.
Attachment to NEDA
With the issuance of Executive Order No. 45 s. 2023 on October 25, 2023, the DAP is now attached to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) for policy coordination, strengthening its programs, research, and alignment with the national socioeconomic agenda.
Beginnings
The Development Academy of the Philippines started with the story of two men who got together on a rainy afternoon in Tagaytay City.
- February 1, 1973Conversation in Tagaytay City
Freshly retired Education Secretary Onofre D. Corpuz and then Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) Chairman Leonides S. Virata motored to Tagaytay City after a fiesta lunch in Silang, Cavite. Chairman Virata showed Dr. Corpuz the site of the DBP training facility started by the latter's predecessor, Gregorio S. Licaros. Since Chairman Virata did not want the training center to be exclusively for DBP, he asked Dr. Corpuz for ideas on how best to maximize the use of the facility.
- Early 1973Idea for a development academy for the civilian bureaucracy
It was five months after the declaration of Martial Law. If the military had the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) as their school for their officers, there ought to be a development-oriented academy for the civilian bureaucracy. There was thinking and talk about development, the need for a generation of leaders with new development perspectives, and the need for new technologies to support development programs. Dr. Corpuz suggested the creation of an institution to provide all these. The idea captured the interest of Chairman Virata and both agreed to work for its realization.
- Concept, organization and programs developed
Dr. Corpuz assembled a team of young professionals, headed by Horacio “Boy” R. Morales, who held lengthy discussions in his office at the Mirasol Building in front of the Philippine General Hospital where they came up with the concept, organization and programs of what later became the DAP. Chairman Virata, on the other hand, discussed the idea and convinced the heads of government financial institutions (GFIs) about the soundness of the venture.
- May 11, 1973Memorandum of Agreement signed by government financial institutions
DBP Chairman Leonides S. Virata, National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Director-General Gerardo P. Sicat, Social Security System (SSS) Administrator Gilberto Teodoro, Central Bank of the Philippines Governor Gregorio S. Licaros, Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) President and General-Manager Roman Cruz, Jr., and Philippine National Bank (PNB) President Panfilo O. Domingo signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) wherein they agreed to establish the Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) as their joint project.
- June 7, 1973Presidential Decree No. 205 issued
The proponents of the establishment of the DAP went to see the President of the Philippines who, after having seen the value of the idea, signed and issued Presidential Decree No. 205 formally creating the DAP.
- June 23, 1973Inauguration in Tagaytay City
The President of the Philippines traveled to the newly constructed training facility in Tagaytay City to formally inaugurate what is now the Development Academy of the Philippines.