It has been observed that request for travel authority and entitlement to travel expenses and allowances relative to to the trips abroad, and travel tax exemption, are being submitted to the Office of the President (OP) barely a few days before the date of departure, or even after departure, with incomplete documentation. This hampers the smooth work flow and results to the clogging of documents in this Office. To enable this Office to facilitate the processing of these requests, and to objectively and properly evaluate them, all concerned are hereby enjoined to strictly observe the following regulations:

(1) Submit to the Malaca ang Records Office, the requests with complete documentation, at least ten (10) working days prior to the scheduled date of departure. The destination(s), duration of travel, purposes(s), and justification(s) should be clearly spelled out. Facsimile copies or requests will not be processed.

(2) Requests for travel authority, as well as entitlement to travel expenses and allowances, shall include the supporting documents which are enumerated in Annex œA  for Heads of Departments, and HEads of GOCCs and GFIs and of Agencies Under or Attached to OP; and in Annex œB  for Undersecretaries, Assistant Secretaries, Directors, and Officials  of equivalent ranks, and other Government Personnel. Request for tax exemption for private individuals, groups, or organizations, shall include supporting documents which are detailed in Annex œC .

No representation allowance will be granted to officials who will travel abroad for speaking engagements, and for training/study, and shall in no case exceed One Thousand US Dollars (US$1,000.00) per travel. Except for long-haul, or flights beyond four (4) hours, airfares shall be limited to restricted economy class.

The daily subsistence allowance (DSA) to cover accommodation, meals, and incidental expenses, shall be based on the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) rate. The DSA rates are specified by UNDP monthly.

Private individuals and consultants are not issued travel authorities and shall not be entitled to government funding when they go abroad.

In extreme unavoidable cases when ten (10) working-day lead time requirement cannot be complied with, the reason(s) or justification(s) for the late submission should be stated in the requests.

Non-compliance with any of the requirements shall be sufficient ground for denial or non-processing of the said requests.

Any official or employee authorized to travel abroad, to attend conferences/seminars/conventions/training, conduct investigations/examinations, or undertake missions, shall submit a report, with recommendation(s), to the Head of Office/Agency, within one (1) month after the return to the official station. In case of the participation of a delegation in conferences/conventions abroad, a report of the delegation shall be submitted to OP through the Secretary of Foreign Affairs not later than one (1) month after the closing of the conference/convention.

This Memorandum Circular shall take effect immediately.

 

	By Authority of the President:
	(Sgd.) PAQUITO N. OCHOA, JR.
	Executive Secretary

Manila, 19 November 2010