1.0 COVERAGE

1.1	All government personnel whether under regular, temporary or casual status, and contractual personnel whose employment are in the nature of a regular employee, who have rendered at least a total of four (4) months of service including leaves of absence with pay in the government from January 1 to May 15, 1994 shall have the option to receive the benefit herein authorized.
1.2	Government personnel with pending cases, whether or not they are under preventive suspension, those on leave without pay and those absent without official leave (AWOL) shall not be entitled to the option herein authorized.

2.0 RULES AND REGULATIONS

2.1	The government personnel covered by this Order shall have the option to receive an advance of one-half (1/2) of the amount of the Christmas Bonus and Cash Gift for CY 1994 under RA No. 6686 as an interest-free loan. Said loan shall be payable and deductible from the full amount of the Christmas Bonus and Cash Gift for CY 1994 accruing to the official or employee concerned during the current budget year.
2.2	An official or employee whose government service is terminated by whatever cause after May 15, 1994 but before the actual grant of the benefits herein authorized shall no longer be allowed to exercise said option.
2.3	Officials/employees who availed of the option herein authorized and who resigned and/or are separated from government service for whatever cause before October 31, 1994 shall be required to pay the amounts received.
	For this purpose, the head of the office/agency concerned and such other officials/employees who took part in the grant of the loan shall cause the deduction of the above from any benefits, including the last salary due the official/employee whose government service ends before October 31, 1994.
2.4	An official or employee who is on full-time or part-time detail with another government office/agency or special project may exercise his option under this Order from his mother agency. In the case of personnel paid from project funds, the loan shall be drawn from the same source where he draws his salary. No one shall exercise the option under this Order from more than one source.
2.5	Officials and employees who are employed on a part-time basis are entitled to the loan provided herein corresponding to the basic salary he is actually receiving and a pro-rata amount of the P1,000.00 Cash Gift. Those, who by the nature of their employment, are on part-time service with two (2) different agencies, where part-time service in one agency is equivalent to one-half day service, shall be entitled to an amount for the corresponding service in each agency, provided that the total loan shall not exceed the equivalent amount provided in this Order.
2.6	The loan under this Order of an official/employee who has transferred from one agency to another shall be granted by his new Office.

3.0 RELEASE OF FUNDS

3.1	The Department of Budget and Management is hereby directed to release the necessary funds to concerned government offices out of the amounts provided for the year-end benefits in R.A. No. 7663, the 1994 General Appropriations Act.
3.2	Agencies, however, may use whatever cash is available from their Common Funds for the purpose herein authorized without waiting for the receipt of the Advice of Allotment and Notice of Cash Allocation for the purpose.

4.0 FUNDING SOURCE

4.1	In the case of the personnel of regular government offices and agencies, the amounts required shall be taken from the approved appropriations for the purpose under the General Appropriations Act for CY 1994.
4.2	In the case of government-owned and/or controlled corporations (GOCCs) and government financial institutions (GFIs), the amounts required shall be sourced fully from their corporate funds.
4.3	In the case of local government units (LGUs), the amounts required shall be sourced fully from their respective local funds.

5.0 RESPONSIBILITY OF THE HEAD OF AGENCY

The heads of concerned government offices/agencies shall be held responsible and personally liable for any grant of loan herein authorized not in accordance with the provisions of this Order, without prejudice, however, to the refund of any excess payment by the employee concerned.

6.0 INTEREST-FREE

The loan herein authorized to be granted shall not bear any interest.

7.0 PROHIBITION AGAINST PAYMENT OF ADDITIONAL BENEFITS

Agencies are hereby precluded from granting additional benefits other than those authorized under this Order. Consequently, all administrative authorizations to grant any or other forms of benefits or other similar compensation in CY 1994 partaking the nature of Christmas bonus and cash gift that are inconsistent with the declared policy on the matter shall be rendered nugatory and unenforceable.

8.0 CASES NOT COVERED

Cases not covered by the provisions of this Order shall be submitted to the Secretary of Budget and Management for appropriate evaluation and resolution.

9.0 EFFECTIVITY

This Order shall take effect immediately.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 8^th day of June, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Ninety-Four.

(Sgd.) FIDEL V. RAMOS
President of the Philippines

By the President:
(Sgd.) TEOFISTO T. GUINGONA, JR.
Executive Secretary