Legal basis and covered program
- Special Provision No. 1 of the FY 2018 GAA authorizes express lane fees and charges collected by the BI to augment salaries of BI personnel.
- Memorandum Order No. 24 directs the Department of Justice and the Department of Budget and Management to adopt the guidelines for implementing BI Special Provision No. 1 under the FY 2018 GAA.
- The Order ties express lane collections to the “Express Lane Fund (ELF)” for lawful allocation and remittance consistent with the FY 2018 GAA special provision.
- The Order incorporates operational references to Immigration Administrative Order (IAO) No. JHM-2018-002 and Immigration Administrative Circular (IAC) No. JHM-18-003 as conditions and determinants for entitlement and computation.
Express Lane Fund creation and deposit
- Express lane fees and charges collected by the BI must be deposited in a Special Trust Fund Account with a government bank.
- The deposited collections constitute the “Express Lane Fund (ELF)”.
ELF exclusive allocation rules
- The ELF must be used exclusively for three purposes under the following shares:
- 64% must be used to augment the salaries of BI’s organic personnel who render service beyond regular office hours.
- 25% must be used to pay the salaries of BI’s contractual personnel.
- 11% must be remitted to the National Treasury as income of the General Fund.
- The FY 2018 GAA entitlement for BI organic personnel is conditioned on the rendering of overtime services.
- The ELF must be made available for use under the FY 2018 GAA Special Provision, subject to the rules in Memorandum Order No. 24.
Augmentation entitlement, overtime service, and work-hour condition
- Augmentation pay entitlement for BI organic personnel is conditioned on compliance with Section 5 of Immigration Administrative Circular (IAC) No. JHM-18-003.
- Organic personnel must render service from 7:00 A.M. to 5:30 P.M., Monday to Friday, or the equivalent work hours for those working beyond 5:30 P.M. and/or Saturday, Sunday, and Holiday.
- BI must render service continuously through the work day/period without a lunch break, consistent with the entitlement condition under IAC No. JHM-18-003.
- Monthly augmentation pay for organic personnel who render services beyond office hours must be determined based on:
- the designation of personnel, and
- the amount of the monthly ELF collections, and
- the total number of organic personnel,
under Item I of Immigration Administrative Order (IAO) No. JHM-2018-002.
Cap on augmentation pay rates
- The augmentation pay rate is subject to a cap based on a benchmark position:
- The base pay of an Assistant Division Chief in the BI (Salary Grade 22), reduced by 20%, sets the cap or limitation on augmentation pay rates.
Release timing for January–May 2018
- Augmentation pay covering the months of January to May 2018 for entitled organic personnel must be immediately released.
- ELF availability for use is governed by the FY 2018 GAA special provision and the operational terms contained in Memorandum Order No. 24.
Excess collections and remittance to General Fund
- If ELF collections exceed the total augmentation pay requirements under these rules and the contractual salary requirements for the year, the excess must be remitted to the National Treasury as income of the General Fund.
Effectivity and duration limits
- Memorandum Order No. 24 takes effect immediately.
- The Order remains effective until the earlier of:
- 31 December 2018, or
- the passage of an Immigration Modernization Law, or
- the passage of a law that would increase the base pay rates of BI personnel,
whichever comes first.