Implementation of Travel Guidelines for Officials and Employees as Contained in the DOF Employees' and Officials' Travel Guide

December 10, 2014 DOF DEPARTMENT ORDER NO. 101-14 SUBJECT : Implementation of Travel Guidelines for Officials and Employees as Contained in the DOF Employees' and Officials' Travel Guide SECTION 1. Principles of Official Travel. The following principles shall govern all official travels of DOF officials and employees. Approval of requests for Travel Authority concerning official travels shall be based on these principles. 1.1. In pursuit of the DOF mandates to realize its vision and mission especially its priority goals and objectives 1.1.1. Travels that are in compliance with international commitments and contractual obligations of the DOF; 1.1.2. Travels in relation to the various organizations/groups that the DOF engages with in pursuit of its mandate, such as but not limited to the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Association of Southeast Asian Nations, etc.; 1.1.3. Strategic meetings with senior officials, e.g. , Finance Secretary, President, etc.; 1.1.4. On-going preparations for major conferences to be hosted in the country; and 1.1.5. Provided that these travels do not take precedence over other strategic priorities of the Department ( e.g. , Congressional and Senate hearings). 1.2. Professional Development 1.2.1. Travels in the form of trainings, scholarships, fellowships and other activities directly in line with an applicant's professional development needs/plan; and 1.2.2. May or may not be in the form of observation tours, learning visits, etc.; such nature should either be directly aligned with/part of the applicant's professional development needs/plan or part of the contractual obligation/commitment of contractor/supplier for advancement in technological knowledge, systems, etc. 1.3. Enhancement of DOF's image in recognition that its officials and employees ultimately represent the Department especially during official travels 1.3.1. Travels to receive awards or other forms of distinction; 1.3.2. Travels to advocate specific and officially cleared positions of the Department on various significant issues; and 1.3.3. Travels to speak or deliver position papers on critical issues. SECTION 2. Eligibility to Travel. Under government rules and regulations, the following may be authorized to travel in an official capacity: 1. DOF officials 2. Heads of DOF-attached bureaus/agencies 3. Organic employees of DOF and attached bureaus/agencies In the case of the necessity for non-organic employees to travel in the exigency of public service, authority to travel may be granted on a case-to-case basis. cEaCTS Personal travels may be undertaken by any government employee provided all required documents have been submitted and all procedures undertaken. The management reserves the right to decline request for personal travel if the schedule is deemed to be contrary to a significant official undertaking. SECTION 3. General Travel Guidelines . Official Travel 3.1. Pre-Travel 3.1.1. Priority should always be given to attendance and participation in activities directly related to the strategic priorities of the DOF, e.g. , Congressional hearings, meetings with the President, etc., by concerned authorities over other meetings and all travels. 1 Travels in conflict with these may be declined or the concerned individual in travel may also be recalled by the Office of the Secretary. "In Senate and House hearings of priority bills and important legislative measures, the DOF should be represented by its Undersecretaries and concerned Heads of attached bureaus/agencies". 2 "For hearings of other bills (non-priority bills), the Assistant Secretary or at least the Director, and their equivalent position in concerned attached bureaus and agencies, should represent the DOF." 3 3.1.2. DOF officials who represent the Philippines or the Department as members of Philippine delegations to international conferences, conventions, special missions, Technical Working Group meetings or the like, where officials are supposed to present an official position, are required to clear official positions to be taken during said events on various critical issues. 3.1.3. No petty cash fund for miscellaneous expenses granted for specific purposes shall be utilized for travelling expenses. 3.1.4. No cash advances shall be granted to any official or employee unless and until proper liquidation of cash advance for previous travel have been made or the same is first settled. Neither shall reimbursement of travel expenses be allowed until the claimant's full liquidation of previous cash advances. 4 3.1.5. Untimely liquidation of cash advances granted for official travel may be considered as grounds for denial of travel request. 3.1.6. Travel applications for trips of a professional development nature, i.e. , trainings, seminars, short courses, shall always include the endorsement and approval of the Personnel Career Development Committee (PCDC). Applications without said endorsement and approval shall be evaluated by the PCDC for recommendation of approval/disapproval to the PDMSG Undersecretary. 3.1.7. All required clearances and sworn statements for personal travel applications are provided for in the attached Employees' and Officials' Travel Guide. 3.2. Post-Travel 3.2.1. The Secretary may authorize, subject to availability of funds, officials and employees to claim reimbursement of actual travel expenses incurred in the course of official local travel. In case of official foreign travel, claims for reimbursement of actual travel expenses in excess of the Daily Subsistence Allowance authorized shall be allowed only upon certification by the head of the agency subject to the approval of the President and in accordance with the existing accounting and auditing rules and regulations. TcDHSI 3.2.1.1. Only the actual required airplane, ship or bus fare, boarding pass, terminal fees, hotel or lodging bills and receipts shall be accepted and considered for reimbursement. A Certification or affidavit of loss shall not be considered as appropriate replacement. 3.2.1.2. No portion of the actual cost of travel expenses allowed shall cover the expenses of any of the staff accompanying an official and the expenses incurred for representation. 3.2.1.3. Officials and employees whose travel period is extended due to sickness shall not be entitled to reimbursement of actual expenses incurred from the onset of ailment up to the time of recovery inasmuch as no government service has been rendered, unless the illness was contracted in the course of the performance of his/her duty in the field as established by supporting medical documents. 3.2.1.4. Officials and employees whose travel period is cancelled or extended due to a fortuitous event shall be entitled to reimbursement of actual expenses incurred during the stay in the temporary station. 3.2.2. DOF officials who represent the Philippines or as member of Philippine delegations to international conferences, conventions or special missions as well as individuals travelling on official business with prior approval of the Office of the President may be allowed non-commutable representation expenses that may be incurred when justified by circumstances and in conformity with the generally accepted customs, usages and practices duly supported by bills or receipts. 3.2.3. A Post-Travel Report shall be submitted within seven (7) working days to the immediate supervisor and head of office upon return from official travel. The Report shall contain the following: 3.2.3.1. Summary of events; 3.2.3.2. Vital points raised, including but not limited to items that need future action and decision (for TWG meetings/Congressional hearings); 3.2.3.3. Clear photo capturing a highlight of the event (please provide caption) which may or may not be used by the Department as source material for news or photo release; 3.2.3.4. Action plan to apply learnings during the event (for trainings and seminars); and 3.2.3.5. Proposed schedule for echo seminar in DOF (for trainings and seminars; for confirmation of the Personnel Services Division). 3.2.4. In case of participation in an international conference or convention abroad in which the Philippines is represented by a delegation, a report of the delegation shall be submitted to the President of the Philippines through the department head concerned, copy furnished the DFA, not later than thirty (30) days after the closing of the conference or convention. Any member of the delegation may also submit a supplementary report. Personal Travel 3.3. Application for Travel Authority 3.3.1. Refer to the attached Employees' and Officials' Travel Guide for list of pertinent documents for travel application. DHaECI Group Delegations 3.4. A group delegation is defined as a group of 5 or more employees attending and requesting authority to travel for the same event. 3.5. Individual RTAFs per member of a delegation shall be consolidated and submitted together with necessary supporting documents and a cover letter indicating the specific role of each member of the delegation. 3.6. The approving authority reserves the right to disapprove authority to travel of members of a delegation if evident that he/she does not have a key role in the delegation or if the number of delegation members prejudice the regular operations of the office. 3.7. Only one Travel Authority will be issued for a group delegation. Circuitous Travel 3.5. * Circuitous travel is defined as the wilful taking of any route other than the one prescribed within the scope of the Travel Authority. 3.6. Application for Circuitous Travel 3.6.1. A letter of intent for circuitous travel, Leave Application form and supporting documents for Personal Travel must be attached with the Request for Travel Authority Form (RTAF) and other supporting documents when applying for Travel Authority. 3.6.2. The letter must clearly state the following information: reason for circuitous travel, place and period of travel. 3.6.3. While circuitous travel may be approved when it is in the best interest of the member's morale and welfare or for practical necessity, the supervising/recommending official reserves the right to deny application for circuitous travel when it comes in conflict with requesting party's pending deliverables in the workplace. SECTION 4. Responsibilities . 4.1. Supervising and endorsing authority's responsibility: 4.1.1. Be aware of current DOF travel policy; 4.1.2. Determine if travel is necessary and aligned with the DOF's principles for official travel (see Section 1); 4.1.3. Exercise prudence in endorsing travel requests especially applications for circuitous travel (see Section 3.4 for definition). 4.2. Travelling employee's responsibility: 4.2.1. Be aware of and comply with the current DOF travel policy; 4.2.2. Exercise care in determining appropriate and reasonable expenditures; 4.2.3. Submit complete travel application request with accurate supporting documents; 4.2.4. Obtain the necessary clearances especially when representing the DOF in meetings or other events where an official position is to be made; 4.2.5. Conduct oneself in a manner appropriate as an employee bearing the image of the DOF; 4.2.6. Submit all reports in a timely manner as prescribed in the DOF Travel Guide. SECTION 5. Application Process . Refer to the attached Employees' and Officials' Travel Guide for guidance on the application procedure. All applicants are strongly enjoined to observe the (at least) 10 working days prior to departure-deadline for submission of travel application (with supporting documents). A travel application filed less than 10 working days prior to departure will be strongly considered for disapproval. ICESTA SECTION 6. Approving Authority. All offices seeking travel approval from the Department of Finance are enjoined to submit at the start of every quarter an updated and actual Travel Plan (see Employees' and Officials' Travel Guide for Form) for said period, based on the Proposed Travel Budget submitted to the Central Financial Management Office, which shall be compiled by the Central Administration Office into the DOF Travel Plan and used as basis for approval of travel requests. Non-submission of an office may be considered as grounds for disapproval of travel applications from said office. All travel requests of officials and heads of attached bureaus/agencies shall be approved by the Office of the Secretary. Travel requests for employees shall be approved by the Undersecretary for Policy Development and Management Services or his duly authorized approving official. SECTION 7. Attachments. This Department Order contains the following attachments for reference: a. DOF Employees' and Officials' Travel Guide b. Request for Travel Authority Form c. Nomination Form for Local Travel d. Travel Plan SECTION 8. Repealing Clause . All Orders, memoranda, circulars or other issuances or parts thereof which are inconsistent with this Department Order are hereby deemed repealed and/or modified accordingly. SECTION 9. Effectivity. This Department Order shall take effect on January 1, 2015. (SGD.) CESAR V. PURISIMA Secretary Department of Finance Footnotes 1. Memo dated 11 March 2014 on Legislative Protocol. 2. Ibid. 3. Ibid. 4. Sec. 89, PD 1445, 11 June 1978.