EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 291

: The government policy is to continuously look for the welfare of government officials and employees, recognizing their vital role in public service.
: Monetized leave credits of government officials and employees shall continue to be exempted from income tax.
: It abrogated previous Bureau of Internal Revenue rulings, including Section 2.78.1(A)(7), p. 27 of Revenue Regulation No. 2-98 dated April 17, 1998, which subjected monetized leave credits to income tax.
: The President found these rulings inconsistent with Republic Act No. 8424 (The Tax Reform Act of 1997) and the original intention behind granting such benefits.
: All heads of departments, agencies, and other concerned officials in the government bureaucracy are enjoined to implement the strict observance of this Order.
: The Executive Order took effect immediately upon issuance on September 27, 2000.
: The previous BIR rulings created confusion among government bodies on the taxability of monetized leave credits, discouraging officials and employees from applying for monetization despite emergency needs.
: The President cites Section 17, Article VII of the Philippine Constitution as the basis for abrogating the BIR rulings.