WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 129 establishes the rules and regulations governing official travel abroad of officers and employees of the Government both national and local, including government owned or controlled corporations;

WHEREAS, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, in the pursuit of the goals and objectives of his Ministry, directs and authorizes official travels abroad of officers and employees of the Foreign Service who are already abroad to undertake a mission or attend an International Conference or meeting;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the power vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby order:

Sec. 1. Section 14, Title II of Executive Order No. 129 is hereby amended to read as follows:

œSec. 14. Approval of the President. - All official travels abroad other than those embraced in Title I shall be subject to the approval of the President of the Philippines. Heads of departments and chiefs of Bureaus, offices and agencies are hereby enjoined to purpose or recommend only those trips which are urgent and extremely necessary, will involve the minimum in expenditure, and expected to bring immediate benefit to the country, Travels and assignments under this Title shall include the following purposes.

(a) To attend conferences or seminars sponsored by foreign governments or international government organizations to which the Philippine Government is committed or invited to send representatives or participants;

(b) To attend conferences or seminars sponsored by private organizations, whether international or not, invitations to which have been sent through their respective governments to the Philippine Government;

(c) To conduct examination or investigation of Philippine Government agencies or affairs;

(d) To undertake any other official mission which cannot be assigned to any other Philippine Government official or officials already abroad.

Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section, the following travels and assignments of officers and employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, may be authorized by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, in the exercise of his discretion, without the necessity of securing the prior approval of the President;

(a) To assume duties in the particular foreign service post to which the officer or employee is assigned in pursuance of an approved Assignment Order;

(b) To conduct examination or investigation of administrative and financial affairs in the foreign service involving the officers and employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;

(c) In the case of officers and employees posted abroad, to attend conferences or seminars sponsored by foreign governments or international organizations to which the Philippine Government is committed or invited to send representatives or participants but which do not require the presentation of Full Powers of the President of the Republic of the Philippines, and to service the delegations of the Philippine Government to international conferences.

Sec. 2. All travels made prior to the effectivity of this Order the nature of which may be authorized pursuant to Section 14 of Executive Order No. 129, as herein amended, shall be deemed to have been duly authorized, provided that the trips were made upon written instructions issued by the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Sec. 3. All orders, rules, and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with this Executive Order are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Sec. 4. This Order shall take effect upon approval.

Done in the City of Manila, this 12th day of October, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-nine.


By the President:

(SGD.) JACOBO C. CLAVE
Presidential Executive Assistant