Restatement of General Circular No. 88-A, s. 1964, as amended Re Traveling Expenses within the Philippines

January 17, 1974 REVENUE MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR NO. 04-74 TO : All Internal Revenue Officials, Employees and others concerned For the information and proper guidance of all those concerned, there is quoted hereunder General Circular No. 127 of the Acting Chairman, Commission on Audit, dated November 27, 1973, which is self-explanatory: "GENERAL CIRCULAR NO. 127 "TO : All Heads of Departments; Chiefs of Bureaus and Offices; Provincial Governors and City Mayors; Managing Heads of Government-Owned or Controlled Corporations and Self-Governing Boards, Agencies and Commissions; Corporation, Provincial, City and National Auditors; and Others Concerned. "SUBJECT : Restatement, with amendments, of General Circular No. 88-A, dated August 28, 1964, regarding traveling expenses within the Philippines, pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 344, dated November 26, 1973, "AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NUMBERED THREE THOUSAND EIGHT HUNDRED FORTY SEVEN ENTITLED 'AN ACT TO REGULATE PAYMENT OF EXPENSES OF GOVERNMENT OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES WHEN ON OFFICIAL TRAVEL WITHIN THE PHILIPPINES". "1. PURPOSE: "This Circular is issued to amend/revoke General Circular No. 88-A of this Office, dated August 28, 1964, as amended and to provide the necessary rules and regulations for the implementation of Republic Act No. 3847, as amended by Presidential Decree No. 344, dated November 26, 1973. "2. SCOPE: "The provisions of Presidential Decree No. 344, shall apply to travel on official business within the Philippines of officers and employees of the national and local governments, as well as government-owned or controlled corporations and self-governing boards, agencies and commissions. "3. PERMANENT OFFICIAL STATION: "For purposes of this Circular the term 'permanent official station' shall be construed to mean the place where the office or regular place of business of the officer or employee concerned is permanently located. Agency heads shall specify in writing the permanent official stations of personnel assigned to offices, branches, units or field parties in localities away from the central offices of their respective agencies. "4. ALLOWABLE EXPENSES: "Section 1 of R.A. 3847, as amended by Presidential Decree No. 344, authorizes the payment only of: (1) transportation, (2) per diems, (3) a daily allowance, and (4) representation expenses, for travel on official business outside of the permanent official station. Except these, therefore, no other items of expense shall be allowed under this Circular. "5. TRANSPORTATION: "Agency heads shall determine the mode and class of transportation to be taken which shall be the most advantageous to the government from the standpoint of economy and efficiency. As a general rule, only the ordinary public conveyances or customary modes of transportation shall be used. The use of taxis and charter trips or special hires of PU and garage cars, launches, motorboats, sailboats, bancas and all forms of animal transports as well as other extraordinary means of transportation shall not be allowed unless justified by the circumstances. "The amount of transportation allowable shall be the actual fare at the prevailing rates of the authorized transportation from the permanent official station to the destination or place of work or assignment in the field and back, plus other expenses such as, transportation and porterage from office or residence to points of embarkation and from points of debarkation to office or temporary residence in the place of assignment in the field, and return. It shall not include local transportation and other expenses after arrival in the office or temporary residence in the place of assignments in the field which are contemplated to be covered by the daily allowance defined in Section 7 of this Circular. "Officers and employees who go on official travel in privately-owned motor vehicles may be allowed the equivalent of the fare for the mode and class of transportation which the agency head may authorize for the officer or employee concerned, from the permanent official station to the destination and back. "6. PER DIEMS: "In lieu of actual expenses for subsistence and lodging, per diems shall be paid in accordance with the following schedule: "Rate of Per Diem for Officers and Employees Receiving a Monthly Salary of: ____________________ Minimum Maximum (Below P600) (P600 & Above) "Greater Manila Area "(Manila, Quezon City, Caloocan City, Pasay City, Makati, Mandaluyong, San Juan, Pasig, Paraaque, Marikina) "Baguio City, Tagaytay City, Bacolod, Iloilo, Davao, Cebu and other First Class Cities P30 P35 "Other Chartered Cities. P30 25 P35 P3 0 "Places other than Cities 20 25 "For purposes of determining the rate of per diems of those whose salaries are paid on the daily basis, their rates of pay per day shall be multiplied by 21 to approximate their monthly salaries. "A full per diem shall be allowed only in cases of absence from the permanent official station on official business for one full day, In cases where such absence is for less than a full day, only the corresponding fractional part of the per diem shall be allowed. For this purpose, a per diem shall be divided equally into four units corresponding to breakfast, lunch, dinner and lodging. Each of these units of per diem shall be determined in accordance with the following rules: "Breakfast When leaving the permanent official station before or returning thereto after 7:00 A.M. "Lunch When leaving the permanent official station before or returning thereto after 12:00 noon. "Dinner When leaving the permanent official station before or returning thereto after 7:00 P.M. "Lodging When leaving the permanent official station before or returning thereto after 12:00 midnight. "The per diems prescribed in this Section or the corresponding units thereof shall not, however, be allowed in cases where the fare paid for transportation includes meals and quarters en route or where meals and lodging are paid for or furnished by the Government. Likewise, an officer or employee who is required to travel on official business outside of his permanent official station may claim only straight per diem to cover his board and lodging and not part per diem and part actual expenses. "7. DAILY ALLOWANCE: "In addition to the transportation and per diems contemplated in Sections 5 and 6 of this Circular, a flat allowance of P10.00 a daily in all chartered cities and P5.00 in all other places shall be paid for each full day of stay in the place or places of assignment or work outside the permanent official station, regardless of the salary of the officer or employee concerned. This allowance shall be in lieu of local transportation and other incidental expenses in the field and shall accrue from the time of arrival at, up to the time of departure from, the place of work or temporary residence in the field. Therefore taxi, jeepney or bus fares, banca, horse or carabao hires and expenses for similar modes of transportation, as well as all other expenses incident to the stay and conduct of official business in the place or places of work in the field, shall not be allowed. "A full day's allowance shall be paid for each full day of stay in the place or places of work in the field. A full day shall be construed to mean 24 hours starting from 12:01 A.M. Where the stay is for less than a full day, only one-half day's allowance shall be paid. "Officers and employees receiving commutable transportation allowance shall elect between the proportionate daily rate of such commutable allowances and the daily allowance prescribed in this Section, but in no case shall they be paid both while away on official business from their permanent official stations. Those traveling in privately owned motor vehicles who do not receive transportation allowances shall be entitled to the daily allowance prescribed herein. "The daily allowance as provided in Presidential Decree No. 344, is intended to cover incidental transportation and other expenses in the place or places of work in the field. Therefore, it may not be granted where government transportation facilities are provided or where by the nature of the official business, such incidental transportation and other expenses are not necessary and will not thereby be incurred. Agency heads shall determine whether the daily allowance provided in this paragraph shall be granted in each particular instance. "8 REPRESENTATION EXPENSES: "Subject to existing rules and regulations, heads and board members of government-owned or controlled corporations as well as other self-governing boards, agencies and commissions of the National Government; undersecretaries of departments, bureau directors, assistant directors, heads of special teams or missions or other officials of equal rank, may be allowed representation expenses only when absolutely necessary for purposes essential to the achievement of the objectives of the travel and only upon previous authority of the department head concerned. "In no case, however, shall representation expenses, which shall be supported by receipts, be in excess of P250.00 for travels made in any one month. The representation expenses that may be granted in this connection shall be in addition to the monthly commutable representation expenses authorized the officials concerned, if there be any, pursuant to specific provisions of law or to specific resolutions of the governing boards or council in cases of government-owned or controlled corporations, agencies or commissions, provinces and cities. "Department secretaries, when undertaking similar local travel, shall likewise be entitled to the representation expenses herein provided subject to the same conditions and in the same manner prescribed above. "The amount needed in this connection should be granted before the start of the trip in the form of a cash advance specifically for representation expenses. Immediately upon return to station but not beyond fifteen (15) days thereafter, the expense receipts should be submitted and the cash advance liquidated, otherwise, the corresponding amount granted shall be deducted from the salary of the person concerned in the next succeeding pay day. "9 MANNER OF PAYMENT: "Before starting on an official trip the officer or employee concerned shall prepare a detailed itinerary on the form shown in Appendix A hereof. The itinerary shall in all cases be approved by the agency head or his duly authorized representative. Where the travel will last more than 30 days but not exceeding three months, it shall be further approved by the Department Head concerned and by the President if the travel will exceed three months. "The itinerary of travel shall be serially numbered. Three copies shall be prepared. The original shall be attached to the voucher where the payment of the corresponding expenses is made. One copy shall be kept in a central file in the head office of the agency and another copy shall be retained by the officer or employee concerned. However, in cases of employees in fully decentralized offices in provinces, cities or municipalities with complete cash, accounting and auditing services, the copy intended for the central file in the head office of the agency shall be retained in the local file. "The cost of transportation, if not furnished by the Government, and per diems and daily allowances shall be determined on the basis of the previously approved itinerary and paid to the officer or employee in advance of the trip. The use of Government Transportation Order, General Form No. 59(A), is hereby abolished except in emergency cases. The traveling expense voucher, General Form No. 8(A), shall continue to be used supported by the itinerary of travel approved by the agency head and the written approval of the Department Head concerned and/or President, when required. "Agency heads should as much as possible see to it that the departmental or presidential approval, as the case may be, is secured beforehand in order to avoid inconveniences. However, where the travel exceeds 30 days and due to unforeseen circumstances such approval cannot be obtained in advance and delay would be detrimental to the public service, payment of per diems and daily allowances shall be limited to the first 30 days upon approval of the agency head. The balance shall be paid only upon approval of the Department Head concerned or the President, as the case may be. "Except for reimbursement of representation expenses, payments made in accordance with this Circular shall not be construed as cash advances but as direct charges to the appropriations or allotments. Therefore, the granting of all forms of cash advances for travel, except for representation expenses incident to such travel, is prohibited. "10. ADJUSTMENTS: "Where a trip is cancelled, the amount paid in advance if any, shall be refunded in full. In cases where the trip is cut short or terminated in advance of the itinerary, the excess payment shall likewise be refunded. These refunds shall be made immediately upon cancellation or termination of the trip and it shall be the duty primarily of agency heads to see to it that such refunds are enforced promptly. "When a trip exceeds the approved itinerary, the additional per diems and daily allowances due shall be paid upon satisfaction of the following requirements: "(1) The officer or employee concerned shall submit a written justification satisfactory to the agency head and an additional itinerary for the overstay in the field or extension of the trip. "(2) Where the whole travel exceeds 30 days, approval of the Department Head or President, as the case may be, shall first be secured before the additional payment shall be made. "11 SAFEGUARDS: "Agency heads shall be primarily responsible for seeing to it that the privileges granted by the Decree as implemented by this Circular are not abused. As an aid to them in discharging this responsibility, the following minimum requirements shall be strictly observed: "(1) The copies of itineraries of travel shall be filed systematically and be made available for audit by representatives of the Commission on Audit. "(2) The officer or employee concerned shall as usual secure the customary certificate of appearance" or equivalent evidence of the trip, if practicable, and preserve the used tickets for the transportation availed of in accordance with paragraph 5 of this Circular. These documents shall be submitted immediately upon completion of the trip to the supervisor concerned who shall invalidate them with any appropriate notation to preclude their subsequent use. "(3) Upon completion of the trip, the officer or employee concerned and his immediate superior shall accomplish the Certificate of Travel Completed in Appendix B hereof. This certificate together with the certificate of appearance or equivalent and the used transportation tickets shall be attached to the copy of the itinerary of travel on file. "To supplement these uniform precautionary measures, each agency shall develop its own rules and regulations designed to provide such additional safeguards as are best suited to its particular conditions. These supplementary rules and regulations shall be circularized within the agency concerned and a copy thereof furnished the Chairman, Commission on Audit for his information and appraisal. "12. AVAILABILITY OF FUND: "The expenses authorized herein shall be subject to availability of funds duly released/approved for the purpose. "13. AUDIT "Corporation, national, provincial and city auditors shall, in addition to other established audit procedures, observe additional steps in the post-audit of traveling expense vouchers designed to enforce faithful compliance with the provisions of this Circular. These additional procedures will be issued by the Commission on Audit in separate instructions to its personnel. "The requirements in paragraphs 11 (2) and (3) hereof, for the submission of the customary certificate of appearance, used transportation tickets and the certificate of travel upon completion of the trip, is intended to provide minimum evidences of the actual travel. Unless therefore these requirements are complied with, the corresponding voucher shall not be allowed in post-audit and the burden of proof shall be upon the employee concerned to show by the production of other documentary evidence satisfactory to the Auditor, that the travel was actually made. A voucher thus suspended in post-audit shall become a disallowance after 90 days in accordance with Section 49 of the Revised Administrative Code. Excess payments shall become immediately due and demandable from the officer or employee concerned, and the provisions of Section 624 of the Revised Administrative Code may be resorted to if necessary. "14. REPEALING PROVISIONS: "This Circular revokes General Circular No. 88-A, dated August 28, 1964, and amends or revokes all other previous regulations of the General Auditing Office (now Commission on Audit) or portions thereof that are inconsistent herewith. "15. EFFECTIVITY "This Circular shall take effect November 26, 1973. cdta "(SGD.) ISMAEL MATHAY, SR. Acting Chairman" MISAEL P. VERA Commissioner of Internal Revenue TAN-1601-593-5 APPENDIX A ITINERARY OF TRAVEL APPENDIX B ____________________ Agency CERTIFIED OF TRAVEL COMPLETED __________________ ________________ (Agency) Station __________________ ________________ Date I certify that I have completed the travel authorized in Itinerary of Travel No. _________, dated ____________, under conditions indicated below. [ ] Strictly in accordance with the approved itinerary. [ ] Cut short as explained below. Excess payment in the amount of P________ was refunded on O.R. No. ________, dated _____________. [ ] Extended as explained below. Additional itinerary was submitted. [ ] Other deviations as explained below. Explanations or justifications: ________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Evidences of travel attached hereto: ___________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ Respectfully submitted: _______________________ (Officer or Employee) On evidence and information of which I have knowledge, the travel was actually undertaken. cdta _______________________ (Supervisor)