On January 23, 2004, President Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo issued Executive Order No.265 (Defining the Approach and Institutional Mechanism for the Government’s Comprehensive Program on Combating Transnational Organized Crime) as another major step in the country’s continuing campaign against borderless crime.

EO 265 established the Office of the Special Envoy on Transnational Crime (OSETC) as “an oversight body to provide the critical link between and among local, national, regional and international agencies and organizations in forging agreements, concretizing cooperation and harmonizing action.”

Heading the OSETC is retired Police General Rex D Piad, who was designated by the President as Special Envoy on Transnational Crime (SETC) with the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.

As embodied in EO 265, the SETC is mandated to set policy directions and program design standards and advise the President on all matters regarding transnational crime. Likewise, he shall represent the Philippine government in regional and international fora on transnational crime and serve as a focal point for coordinating, integrating and evaluating the efforts of law enforcement and other government agencies involved in the campaign against transnational crime.

Comprehensive Programme to Combat Transnational Organized Crime. As the focal point on all matters involving the campaign against transnational crime, the OSETC is now spearheading the formulation of a Comprehensive Programme to Combat Transnational Crime (CPCTOC) which will serve as an instrument to guide relevant national and local bodies, especially the government, in helping ensure the synergy and efficacy of approaches and initiatives in combating transnational crime in the country.