Legal bases and related references
- The Circular expressly cites Section 16 (c) (Expenditures) of the 2008 General Appropriations Act.
- The Circular expressly anchors foreign travel rules on Executive Order No. 298 dated March 23, 2004, which amends Executive Order No. 248 dated May 28, 1995 as amended by Executive Order No. 248-A dated August 14, 1995.
- The Circular requires adherence to Executive Order No. 459 dated September 1, 2005 on streamlining authority to travel by government officials and employees.
- The Circular requires observation of austerity measures under Administrative Order No. 103 dated August 31, 2004.
- The Circular also requires compliance with Chapter 5, COA Handbook on Government Expenditures.
- For uniformed personnel, the Circular references NAPOLCOM Memorandum Circular No. 96-012 dated October 17, 1996 and NAPOLCOM Memorandum Circular No. 95-025 dated December 8, 1995.
- The Circular amends PNP Memorandum Circular No. 2002-17 dated November 16, 2002 on Foreign Travel.
- The Circular cross-references leave documentation under PNP Memorandum Circular No. 2002-009 dated May 21, 2002 (Para 2A, VIII) and a delegation addendum via Chief, PNP Memorandum dated January 24, 2006.
Purpose and objectives
- The Circular prescribes policies, guidelines, and procedures governing foreign travel of all Philippine National Police personnel.
- The Circular institutionalizes a system for processing foreign travels.
- The Circular promotes fair, equitable, and judicious selection of candidates for foreign training, conferences, or meetings.
- The Circular ensures foreign attendance opportunities serve as incentive for better performance.
- The Circular extends opportunities to as many qualified personnel as possible to develop a pool of highly qualified and competent police personnel.
- The Circular provides guidance to PNP personnel traveling abroad on what to do before, during, and after travel.
Core definitions for foreign travel
- Foreign Travel is travel of PNP personnel abroad on official mission or personal business.
- A Foreign Travel Authority is the approved authority granted to travel on official time or personal business, indicating the specific purpose of travel, number of days required, prepared and detailed itinerary, and contact details while in the destination.
- Hotel/Lodging Rate is the daily hotel/lodging cost including prescribed taxes and service charges.
- Leave of Absence is the right to not report for work with or without pay, as provided by law and as the rules prescribe under Rule XVI of the Omnibus Rules Implementing Book V of the Administrative Code of 1987 (Executive Order No. 292).
- Official Time is the span of time to complete the official mission.
- Official Mission is an engagement using official time.
- Personal Business covers all activities outside the official mission.
- Personal Travel covers all travels outside official time.
- Pre-departure Briefing is a mandatory briefing given to personnel scheduled to go on foreign travel.
- PNP Personnel includes uniformed and non-uniformed members of the PNP in active service.
- Special cash advances are cash advances granted on explicit authority of the Head of Agency only to duly designated disbursing officers or employees for legally authorized purposes such as foreign travel expenditures.
- Travel Advisory refers to relevant country information provided to PNP personnel on personal travel.
- Travel Documents include travel authority, travel order, passport, and visa (among others).
- Travel Expenses are the authorized amounts for hotel/lodging rate, meals, and incidental expenses excluding transportation expense going to and from the destination country.
Policies and general restrictions
- The PNP honors international commitments by sending personnel to participate in various fora on law enforcement and similar activities.
- The PNP promotes bilateral and multi-lateral coordination and cooperation among law enforcement organizations.
- The PNP strictly adheres to existing laws, rules, and regulations governing foreign travel of government officials and employees.
- Except for the Chief, PPN, only one (1) member of the Command Group and a maximum of four (4) members of the Directorial Staff may travel at any one time.
- When government funds are involved, PNP personnel due to retire within one (1) year are not sent to foreign training/study grants, conferences, or international commitments unless representing their office and directed by the President through SILG/Secretary of the Interior and Local Government to participate as representatives of the Philippine government.
- Travel of similar nature for personnel due to retire within one (1) year may be allowed if the host organization or country shoulders the travel expenses.
- Travel expenses must strictly adhere to Executive Order No. 298 dated March 23, 2004 (amending Order No. 248-A dated August 14, 1995) on rules and new rates of allowances for official local and foreign travels.
- The PNP observes austerity measures under Administrative Order No. 103 dated August 31, 2004.
- Official transportation is economy class unless otherwise specified in the travel authority and approved by the President.
- No PNP personnel may travel abroad on official mission or personal business without an approved Foreign Travel Authority (FTA) or similar authority.
- After coordination with the Department of Foreign Affairs and immigration authorities, PNP personnel violating established foreign travel procedures are barred from leaving the country.
- The Secretary of the Interior and Local Government/Chairman, NAPOLCOM solely acts on all FTA applications of PNP personnel by approving, disapproving, or deferring them.
- Travel related to training, education, study grant, observation, tour, seminar, and similar purposes arising from personal invitations from foreign agencies or sponsored by host organizations, companies, universities, and other private agencies or individuals is treated as the personnel’s personal leave/undertaking and must not involve any government or PNP funds.
- When the personal invitation involves leave, the travel still proceeds on government expense only through leave with pay.
- Official mission travel is limited to the actual number of personnel needed/required for the trip.
- Leave spent abroad requires the recommendation of the C, PNP, duly approved by the Chairman, NAPOLCOM.
- Leave abroad must be supported with certificates of: (1) no money and property accountability; (2) no pending administrative and/or criminal case; and (3) an undertaking that the personnel is not a witness in a drug-related case.
- If the personnel is a witness in a drug-related case, the personnel must secure permission from the court.
- The Foreign Travel Evaluation Board (FTEB) and Directorate for Personnel and Records Management (DPRM) must submit travel details of PNP personnel to the Directorate for Intelligence (DI) one (1) week before the pre-departure briefing for coordination with the Department of Foreign Affairs and police attaches.
- The DI must conduct a pre-departure briefing at least three (3) days before departure to apprise personnel of customs and immigration laws, detailed security information, and other travel warnings (if applicable) to ensure safety and avoid problems on entry, during stay, and exit.
- The DI must provide a foreign travel advisory to all personnel traveling abroad on personal business or on leave to guide them on what to do before, during, and after travel.
Specific attendance rules and reporting
- Participation in foreign training or conferences is limited to one (1) foreign training or conference every two years, except for personnel designated as official PNP representatives in international bodies such as INTERPOL and ASEANAPOL.
- When several qualified candidates exist, priority is given to those who are forty five (45) years old and below, with the age bracket as the deciding factor.
- Invitations that nominate a specific personnel to attend a seminar, symposium, forum, or similar activity are highly discouraged.
- The DI assists PNP personnel authorized for foreign travel in acquiring necessary travel documents.
- The Directorate for Human Resource and Doctrine Development (DHRDD) requires submission of proposals and recommendations on the applications of newly acquired knowledge, skills, and expertise by personnel returning from at least three (3) months of study or training abroad.
- All PNP personnel returning from study or training abroad must abide by Section 2 of NAPOLCOM Memorandum Circular No. 96-012.
- PNP personnel returning from study/training abroad relative to police skills such as anti-terrorism, bomb disposal, criminalistics, and other specialized field must be assigned to unit(s) where the acquired skill/specialty is needed.
- At year-end, the PNP through DPRM submits to NAPOLCOM a complete report on all foreign travels of PNP personnel indicating:
- Name, rank, and current assignment;
- Nature and purpose of travel;
- Place and duration of travel; and
- Expenses incurred by the PNP for each travel (if any).
Foreign travel boards and screening committees
- A Foreign Travel Evaluation Board (FTEB) is created to select and recommend the best-qualified PNP personnel to be sent for official mission abroad.
- The FTEB is chaired by the Chief Directorial Staff, with the Director for Personnel and Records Management as Vice-Chairman.
- The FTEB includes as members the Directors of the D-Staff, Legal Service, and Health Service.
- The FTEB ensures only essential personnel participate in any official mission involving foreign travel, considering qualifications, expertise, position, and future utilization.
- Foreign Travel Screening Committees (FTSCs) are created to evaluate, screen, process, and assess candidates to participate in official missions abroad.
- FTSC classifications designate which FTSC chairs handle specific types of official foreign mission, including:
- TDPL: international conferences, symposia, fora (e.g., ASEANAPOL, INTERPOL, ASEANSOMTC, RP-US MDB, and Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation**), international commitments, UN peacekeeping deployment, secondment to foreign agencies, foreign donor invitations not training-related (e.g., UNDP, JICA, USAID, KOICA, Aus-Aid, and other foreign funding agencies), exchange visits between the PNP and foreign police agencies, posting and inspection of Police Attache posts, and intelligence exchange with foreign counterparts;
- TDI: foreign training, seminar, study grant, research, observation tour, and other related missions;
- TDHRDD: international sports, cultural, and religious activities;
- TDRD: international expositions and exhibitions;
- TDIDM: PNP personnel as witness to court cases and inquiries, and plant/factory visits abroad;
- TDL: conduct of post qualification test abroad to include pre-inspection of procured items prior to delivery.
Application, approvals, and travel steps
- Before travel, the required FTEB selection and FTSC evaluation support the approval of the proper approving authority for official missions abroad.
- Applications for FTA on official mission—conferences and conventions must be submitted to the Directorate for Plans at least thirty (30) days or earlier before departure for approval of the Chief, PNP, with:
- Invitation from the host/foreign country;
- Endorsement from the Chief of Office/Unit; and
- Personal Data Sheet.
- Applications for FTA on official mission—trainings, seminars, or study grants must be submitted to the DHRDD at least thirty (30) days before departure for deliberation and final deliberation of the FTEB and subsequent approval of the Chief, PNP, with:
- Endorsement from the Chief of Office/Unit;
- Personal Data Sheet;
- Commission on Human Rights Clearance; and
- Medical Certificate.
- For training invitations with less than thirty (30) days to process from receipt to departure, selection of nominees and recommendation for Chief, PNP approval are at the wise discretion of the DHRDD, selected from the pool of PNP personnel for foreign training to ensure PNP participation.
- The concerned FTSC, in coordination with the DI, must furnish a copy of travel details (including itinerary) to the Department of Foreign Affairs and at the Office of the Philippine Embassy of the destination country at least five (5) days before scheduled departure.
- Applications for FTA on personal business must be submitted to the DPRM, attention Personnel Service Section (PSS) of Morale and Welfare Division (MWD), at least thirty (30) days before the start of the intended leave, with:
- Endorsement from the Chief of Office/Unit;
- Basic letter request stating the number of days, reason for leave, and address while on leave;
- Duly accomplished CSC Form No. 6;
- Breakdown of leave credits from RMD, DPRM;
- NHQ IAS and Legal Service clearances;
- Unit clearances including:
- Certificate of non-pending case;
- Certificate of non-money/property accountability; and
- Undertaking that the personnel is not a witness in a drug-related case (or otherwise securing permission from the court as required).
- A request for foreign travel authority must be submitted to NHQ at least thirty (30) days before scheduled departure for approval of the Secretary of the Interior and Local Government/Chairman, NAPOLCOM as recommended by the C, PNP.
- The itinerary of travel must be included in the FTA application together with other supporting documents required for the purpose.
- After issuance of the FTA, DPRM issues orders stating the duration and address of the personnel while on leave abroad.
- During travel, upon arrival in the destination country, personnel on official mission must inform the Philippine Embassy or Consulate Office or Police Attache of the purpose, itinerary, and duration of travel, and must submit a copy of the FTA for reference.
- After travel, personnel must submit an after-mission report within thirty (30) days after arrival from foreign mission to the C, PNP, with a copy furnished to the secretariat of the FTEB.
- For international conferences, conventions, or symposia where the Philippines is represented by a delegation, the head of mission must submit an after mission report within thirty (30) days after travel to the President through the Secretary, DILG/Chairman, NAPOLCOM, endorsed by the Chief, PNP, with a copy furnished to DFA.
- Travel cash advances must be liquidated within sixty (60) days after return to the country as required under Executive Order No. 298; otherwise, payment of salary is suspended until compliance.
- Personnel needing immediate medical attention and other similar circumstances after travel are exempted from the thirty (30) day deadline for after mission report submission.
- After availing leave, subject PNP personnel must inform DPRM (MWD) of their return to the country within fifteen (15) days after the expiration of the leave; failure to do so is a ground for declaring them AWOL.
Enforcement, penalties, and classification
- PNP personnel who violate the general guidelines in Paragraph 6b and Paragraph 6c of the Circular are held administratively liable for “Grave Misconduct” and are penalized accordingly.
- Violations under the Grave Misconduct clause are without prejudice to criminal prosecution for violation of Republic Act No. 3019 (the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act) and other applicable special criminal laws.
- Any other violations of the general and specific guidelines in the Circular are classified as less grave offense.
Repeal and inconsistency rule
- All rules, regulations, and other issuances, or portions thereof, inconsistent with these guidelines are repealed or modified accordingly.