Legal basis and cited prior issuances
- Executive Order No. 459 is issued by the President pursuant to powers vested in her by law and cites Section 31(2), Chapter 10, Title III, Book III of EO 292 (Administrative Code of 1987) recognizing the President’s continuing authority over functions within the Office of the President.
- Executive Order No. 459 references EO No. 6 (March 12, 1986), as amended by Memorandum Order No. 26 (July 31, 1986), which provided procedures for requests for authority to travel abroad.
- Executive Order No. 459 references Memorandum Circular No. 18 (October 27, 1992), which clarified existing rules and regulations on travel abroad.
- Executive Order No. 459 preserves and cross-references austerity measures under Administrative Order No. 103 (August 31, 2004).
- Executive Order No. 459 cross-references travel-related exceptions under EO 248 (May 29, 1995), as amended by EO 246-A (August 14, 1995), and EO 298 (March 4, 2004), which prescribe rules and new rates of allowances for official local and foreign of government personnel and related guidelines for travel abroad.
Policy purpose and streamlining intent
- Executive Order No. 459 streamlines the procedure in the disposition of requests for authority to travel abroad to promote administrative efficiency.
- Executive Order No. 459 enables the Office of the President to attend to governance matters.
- Executive Order No. 459 retains the general structure of authority approval for travel abroad while adjusting who approves which categories of officials and employees.
Who must seek approval where
- Section 1 requires the following to seek approval from the Office of the President for authority to travel abroad:
- Members of the Cabinet and officials of equivalent rank.
- Heads of government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs) and government financing institutions (GFIs) under or attached to the Office of the President.
- Heads of agencies under or attached to the Office of the President.
- Section 2 requires all other government officials and employees seeking authority to travel abroad to seek approval from their respective heads of agencies, regardless of the length of travel and the number of delegates concerned.
- For Section 2, heads of agencies refer to the Department Secretaries and their equivalents.
- Section 2 allocates approval for GOCCs and GFIs as follows:
- Officials and employees of GOCCs and GFIs attached to the Office of the President seek approval from the heads of these GOCCs and GFIs.
- Officials and employees of GOCCs and GFIs not attached to the Office of the President seek approval from the Department head to which they are attached.
- Section 2 assigns approval for local chief executives:
- Provincial Governors and Mayors of highly urbanized cities or independent component cities seek approval from the Secretary of the Interior and Local Government.
- Section 2 assigns approval for education officials and employees:
- Heads of state universities and colleges seek approval from the Chairman of the Commission on Higher Education.
- All other officials and employees of state universities and colleges seek approval from their respective heads.
- Heads of technical and vocational schools seek approval from the Chairman of the Technical Education and Skill Development Authority.
- All other officials and employees of technical and vocational schools seek approval from their respective heads.
- Section 2 requires officials and employees of agencies under or attached to the Office of the President to seek approval from the head of these agencies.
- Section 2 preserves the Office of the President’s ability to impose additional requirements:
- Approval rules under Section 2 do not preclude the Office of the President from requiring any officials and employees to secure authority to travel abroad from the Office of the President.
Quarterly reporting duty to Office of the President
- Section 4 requires all persons empowered to approve travels abroad to submit a quarterly report to the Office of the President of all approved and authorized travel abroad of their respective official and employees.
- Section 4 requires the quarterly report to indicate:
- the names of the travelers;
- the destinations;
- the duration;
- the nature and purpose of the travel; and
- the cost of travel.
Travel budget approval limit and authorization
- Section 5 authorizes all those empowered to approve travels abroad to approve up to seventy-five percent (75%) of their allocated travel budget.
- Section 5 requires securing Office of the President authorization for approval that exceeds seventy-five percent (75%) of the allocated travel budget, to utilize the balance.
Continuing rules, exceptions, and repeal clause
- Section 6 keeps in full force and effect the existing travel-related rules, allowances, and guidelines, except as otherwise modified under EO 248 (May 29, 1995), as amended by EO 246-A (August 14, 1995) and EO 298 (March 4, 2004).
- Section 3 keeps Administrative Order No. 103 (August 31, 2004) on continued adoption of austerity measures in full force and effect.
- Section 7 repeals, amends, or modifies inconsistent issuances, orders, rules, and regulations, including any portion that conflicts with Executive Order No. 459.
Summary of compliance mechanics established
- Approval for authority to travel abroad must follow the hierarchy in Sections 1 and 2 based on rank and agency attachment under or attached to the Office of the President.
- Approval authorities must report approved travel abroad to the Office of the President on a quarterly basis and must include the specified travel and cost details.
- Approval authorities must apply the 75% budget limit and must secure Office of the President authorization for any utilization beyond seventy-five percent (75%) of the allocated travel budget.