[ ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER NO. 177, June 29, 1990 ]

DIRECTING THE CONTINUED ADOPTION OF ECONOMY MEASURES IN GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS FOR CY 1990



Pursuant to the powers vested in me by law, I, CORAZON C. AQUINO, President of the Philippines, do hereby order:

SECTION 1. All government agencies, including local government units and government owned or controlled corporations, are hereby enjoined to adopt and implement the following economy measures for the remaining period of the fiscal year (FY) 1990:
  1. Deferment of new construction and renovation of office buildings or building annexes, except those that are ongoing or those already contracted as of the effectivity of this Administrative Order, and those covered by bilateral or multilateral agreements.

  2. Deferment of acquisition of land or land improvements, except infrastructure projects, projects to support tourism development and projects necessary to fulfill international commitments.

  3. Disallowance of all official travels abroad, except travels which are fully funded by a donor agency other than the Philippine government, or which involve attendance in meetings required to carry out international commitments (e.g., ASEAN, GATT), or attendance in government trade and loan negotiations.

  4. Discontinuance of all in-house publications which are addressed to employees of the agencies.

  5. Abolition of positions which have remained vacant for over two (2) years as of the effectivity of this Administrative Order.

  6. Limiting the filling of positions to only 25% of vacant positions in the central office after compliance with Item (5) above, except for agencies created or reorganized in 1990.

  7. Suspension of gift givings, donations and contributions, as well as holding of athletic, cultural and sports activities, official entertainments and public relations activities funded from agency appropriations.

  8. Disallowance of paid media advertisements except those concerned with the issuance of agency guidelines, rules and regulations, public biddings, as well as those concerned with informational and public service campaigns.

  9. Limiting of disbursements of office supplies and materials as well as water and illumination to their 1989 actual levels.

  10. Deferment of the purchase of management and staff vehicles.

  11. Deferment of the purchase of office equipment, furniture and fixtures except those required in the development of information systems.

  12. Discontinuance of the hiring of all consultants and contractuals except those needed in the implementation of foreign-assisted projects.

  13. Disallowance of overtime payment in excess of forty (40) hours per month except as may be authorized by the Department Secretary or the head of agency concerned pursuant to the provisions of Memorandum Order No. 228, series of 1989.
SEC. 2. Expenditures funded from the Agrarian Reform Fund, those covered by the National Reconciliation and Development Program, and those released directly to local government units shall be exempted from the provisions of this Administrative Order.

SEC. 3. The internal guidelines to implement the foregoing economy measures shall be issued by the agency head. A report on the estimated savings to be generated from such measures shall be submitted to the Office of the President through the Department of Budget and Management, on or before July 15, 1990.

SEC. 4. The Department of Budget and Management shall monitor the compliance of the agencies with this Administrative Order and report to the Office of the President on such compliance and on total savings generated from these economy measures.

SEC. 5. National Emergency Memorandum Order No. 24, S. of 1990, is hereby deemed superseded.

SEC. 6. This Administrative Order shall take effect immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 29th day of June, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and ninety.

(Sgd.) CORAZON C. AQUINO
President of the Philippines

By the President:
(Sgd.) CATALINO MACARAIG, JR.
Executive Secretary