Providing for the Reorganization of the Field Offices of the Office of Consular Affairs of the Department of Foreign Affairs

October 20, 2017

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 45

PROVIDING FOR THE REORGANIZATION OF THE FIELD OFFICES OF THE OFFICE OF CONSULAR AFFAIRS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

WHEREAS, it is the policy of the Philippine Government to bring public services closer to the Filipino;

WHEREAS, during the last ten (10) years, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) has experienced an unprecedented surge in passport applications, with fourteen (14) million Filipinos currently holding valid passports;

WHEREAS, in accordance with this Administration's goal of promoting a people-centered, clean, efficient and effective governance, including seamless service delivery, there is a need to open additional consular offices in strategic places to ensure faster processing of passports and minimize inconvenience to the DFA's clientele;

WHEREAS, Executive Order (EO) No. 292 (s. 1987), or the Administrative Code of 1987, provides for the mandate of the DFA Office of Consular Affairs (OCA) to efficiently and effectively deliver passport, visa and authentication services;

WHEREAS, Republic Act No. 8239, or the Philippine Passport Act of 1996, grants the Secretary of Foreign Affairs (SFA) or any of his authorized consular officers the authority to issue passports to qualified Filipino citizens;

WHEREAS, EO No. 253 (s. 1995) upgraded the ten (10) existing Field Offices of DFA-OCA, then known as Passport Extension Offices, into Regional Consular Offices (RCOs), and EO No. 748 (s. 2008) created six (6) more RCOs to ensure that consular services were made available to more people in areas outside the National Capital Region (NCR);

WHEREAS, the DFA, desirous of providing consular services to the widest possible area, has established more Field Offices consisting of Satellite Offices (SOs) within the NCR and RCOs in other parts of the country;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution and existing laws, do hereby order:

SECTION 1. DFA Consular Offices. — The Field Offices of the DFA-OCA shall be reorganized to form the DFA Consular Offices (DFA COs). The DFA COs shall perform the following functions:

a. Issue passports to Filipino nationals;

b. Provide authentication services; AaCTcI

c. Issue verification for consular record documents and accept applications for delayed registration of report of birth, marriage or death abroad and other civil registry documents in coordination with relevant Philippine Foreign Service Posts;

d. Provide assistance-to-nationals (ATN) services to Filipinos; and

e. Perform such other functions as may be assigned by the DFA-OCA, in accordance with existing laws, rules and regulations.

All DFA COs shall be under the supervision of the Assistant Secretary for the DFA-OCA. Each DFA CO shall be headed by a Foreign Service Officer (FSO), Foreign Service Staff Officer (FSSO), or other qualified competent personnel duly designated by the SFA.

SECTION 2. DFA Consular Offices. — The current SOs and RCOs shall be renamed as DFA COs. Each DFA CO shall be individually referred to as "DFA Consular Office [name of city/municipality/location]." The DFA COs are as follows.

1. DFA CO NCR-East at Mandaluyong City;

2. DFA CO NCR-Central at Pasig City;

3. DFA CO NCR-West at Manila;

4. DFA CO NCR-South at Muntinlupa City;

5. DFA CO NCR-Northeast at Quezon City;

6. DFA CO NCR-North at Novaliches;

7. DFA CO Angeles at Angeles City;

8. DFA CO Bacolod at Bacolod City;

9. DFA CO Baguio at Baguio City;

10. DFA CO Butuan at Butuan City;

11. DFA CO Cagayan de Oro at Cagayan de Oro City;

12. DFA CO Calasiao at Calasiao, Pangasinan;

13. DFA CO Mandaue at Mandaue City, Cebu;

14. DFA CO Cotabato at Cotabato City;

15. DFA CO Davao at Davao City;

16. DFA CO Dumaguete at Dumaguete City;

17. DFA CO General Santos at General Santos City;

18. DFA CO Iloilo at Iloilo City;

19. DFA CO La Union at San Fernando City, La Union;

20. DFA CO Legazpi at Legazpi City;

21. DFA CO Lipa at Lipa City;

22. DFA CO Lucena at Lucena City;

23. DFA CO Pampanga at San Fernando City, Pampanga;

24. DFA CO Puerto Princesa at Puerto Princesa City;

25. DFA CO Tacloban at Tacloban City;

26. DFA CO Tuguegarao at Tuguegarao City; and

27. DFA CO Zamboanga at Zamboanga City.

SECTION 3. Additional DFA Consular Offices. — Other DFA COs may be subsequently created, provided all the following criteria are met:

a. When the projected number of clientele of the proposed DFA CO is seventy-five thousand (75,000) or more, if outside NCR, or three hundred thousand (300,000) or more, if within NCR, in any given year;

b. When the projected number of passports, authenticated documents or consular records to be accepted, issued and released annually by the proposed DFA CO for the first year is one hundred thousand (100,000) or more; and

c. When the projected amount of consular collection of the proposed DFA CO is at least seventy-one million two hundred fifty thousand Philippine pesos (PhP71,250,000.00) in any given year.

The SFA may propose the establishment of additional COs by submitting a cost-benefit analysis to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for review and recommendation to the Office of the President. The opening of more DFA COs shall be subject to the approval of the President and the availability of funds, as recommended by the DBM. The creation of DFA COs that do not strictly comply with the above stated criteria may nonetheless be approved, provided that the DFA submits sufficient justification with the concurrence of the DBM.

SECTION 4. Closure of Existing DFA Consular Offices. — The SFA is authorized to close existing DFA COs whenever any of the following circumstances is present:

a. When the demand for consular services from the DFA CO becomes chronically low or has experienced a fifty percent (50%) decline over the last five (5) years;

b. When a newly opened DFA CO in a nearby city or province can adequately serve the clients of the existing office;

c. Whenever warranted by the prevailing circumstances in the area where the existing DFA CO is located, for security reasons, or due to natural or man-made calamities; or

d. Other analogous circumstances that warrant closure of the office.

The SFA shall give written notice to the DBM and the Office of the President within thirty (30) days from the closure of any existing DFA CO.

SECTION 5. Personnel. — Home-based plantilla positions for the DFA COs shall be created in coordination with the DBM.

SECTION 6. Housing Benefits of Heads of DFA Consular Offices. — Heads of DFA COs who are assigned or transferred to an area other than their domicile and do not have their own houses or rooms in that area shall be provided with quarters at government expense, subject to the limits prescribed by the DBM and other existing laws, rules and regulations, including National Budget Circular No. 456 (s. 1996).

Those who prefer other dwelling areas shall pay the difference in case the prevailing rental in their chosen areas is higher than the ceiling prescribed by the DBM and other existing laws, rules and regulations.

When there are existing government-owned/leased residential quarters at the time and in the place of assignment, the Head of the DFA CO may opt to stay in other preferred dwelling areas but at his/her own expense. EcTCAD

SECTION 7. Transport of Personal Effects at Government Expense. — The Heads of DFA COs covered by the preceding section shall be entitled to bring, by any available means of transportation, such personal effects as may be considered necessary in the performance of official duties, not to exceed 500 kilograms, at the expense of the DFA. Any excess shall be for the personal account of the concerned Head of the DFA CO.

SECTION 8. Representation and Transportation Allowances. — All Heads of DFA COs shall be entitled to monthly commutable representation and transportation allowances which shall not exceed the ceiling provided in relevant laws, rules and regulations.

SECTION 9. Funding Source. — All expenditures of DFA COs shall be chargeable to the annual appropriations of the DFA and the Passport Revolving Fund created under RA No. 8239.

In case of insufficiency of funds, such amount needed for the creation of new positions may be charged against the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund. Thereafter, such amount needed shall be included in the budget of the DFA under the General Appropriations Act.

SECTION 10. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — The SFA may issue such rules and regulations as may be necessary to implement this Order; provided, that all provisions and guidelines that have organizational, staffing and financial implications shall properly be coordinated with the DBM.

SECTION 11. Repeal. — All issuances, orders, rules, and regulations or parts thereof, which are inconsistent with any of the provisions of this Order, are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SECTION 12. Separability. — Should any provision of this Order be declared invalid or unconstitutional, the other provisions unaffected thereby shall remain valid and subsisting.

SECTION 13. Effectivity. — This Executive Order shall take effect fifteen (15) days after publication in a newspaper of general circulation.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 20th day of October, in the year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and Seventeen.