The Department of Trade and Industry (, abbreviated as DTI) is the executive department of the Philippine government tasked as the main economic catalyst that enables innovative, competitive, job generating, inclusive business, and empowers consumers. It acts as a catalyst for intensified private sector activity in order to accelerate and sustain economic growth through comprehensive industrial growth strategy, progressive and socially responsible trade liberalization and deregulation programs and policymaking designed for the expansion and diversification of Philippine trade – both domestic and foreign. Department Order No. 19-18, s. 2019, laid out the organizational structure of the department into the following functional groups: Competitiveness and Innovation Group (CIG); Consumer Protection Group (CPG); Industry Development and Trade Policy Group (IDTPG); Management Services Group (MSG); Regional Operations Group (ROG); and the Trade Promotions Group (TPG). Its hierarchical organization include 27 foreign trade service posts, 17 regional offices (including Negros Island Region), 87 provincial/city/area offices, 12 bureaus, 4 attached agencies, 7 attached corporations, and 8 services offices. The department is headed by a Secretary (equivalent to Minister) and assisted by Undersecretaries (equivalent to Deputy Minister) which take charge of certain sub-department each, and Assistant Secretaries which serve as specialized assistants of the Secretary. History Department of Commerce and Police On September 6, 1901, the Philippine Commission established the Department of Commerce (and Police) of the Insular Government. William Cameron Forbes future Governor-General of the Philippines served as its commissioner from 1904 through 1908. Department of Commerce and Industry (DCI) After World War II, President Manuel Roxas issued Executive Order (EO) No. 94 on October 4, 1947, creating the Department of Commerce and Industry (DCI). Cornelio Balmaceda, a much sought-after professor of economics and director of the Bureau of Commerce (BOC), was appointed acting secretary of the newly created Department of Commerce and Industry. Prior to EO 94, the Bureau of Commerce was tasked to develop and promote the country's trade and industry, under the overall supervision of the Department of Agriculture and Commerce, as stipulated by Act 4007 by the Philippine Legislature, enacted on December 5, 1932. By 1972, the DCI had grown into a big organization with 10 regular bureaus and 22 agencies under its direct supervision. The DCI was mandated to promote, develop, expand, regulate and control of foreign and domestic trade and industry, as well as tourism. To have closer supervision and to ensure more effective delivery of services, President Ferdinand