MALACAÑAN PALACE
MANILA

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES

[ Executive Order No. 101, June 15, 1993 ]

REVISING THE COMPENSATION PLAN OF THE FOREIGN SERVICE OF THE PHILIPPINES

WHEREAS, Presidential Decree No. 1285 establishes the system of compensation standards and policies for personnel of the Philippine Government who are stationed abroad;

WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 495 establishes the rules and regulations implemented by Letter of Implementation No. 63 to be observed in the payment of compensation for personnel of the National Government who are stationed abroad;

WHEREAS, the latest adjustment of indices on overseas and living quarters allowances was made on 27 August 1981, or almost twelve (12) years ago;

WHEREAS, Executive Order No. 394 was issued on 15 February 1990 only as an interim measure to adjust the basis annual rates of overseas and living quarters allowances;

WHEREAS, Republic Act No. 7157, otherwise known as the Philippines Foreign Service Act of 1991, was passed to strengthen the capability of the Philippine Foreign Service and provide reasonable salaries, allowances and other benefits to Foreign Service personnel;

WHEREAS, the cost of living abroad has increased due to drastic changes in foreign currency conversion rates as well as extraordinary and necessary expenses not otherwise compensated for but which are incurred by officers and employees in the foreign service;

WHEREAS, it is necessary to provide government personnel assigned abroad with a fairly adequate means within the governments financial capability to enable them to live in a manner befitting their representative capacities so as to ably represent the country with distinction and dignity and to uphold the prestige of the Republic;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FIDEL V. RAMOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby approve the following rates, rules and regulations to be observed in the payment of compensation to personnel of the National Government to the Philippine Foreign Service.

Section 1.0 OVERSEAS ALLOWANCE

1.1 The basic annual rates of overseas allowance provided for under Section 1 of Executive Order No. 394 for all Philippine government personnel stationed abroad shall be amended as follows:

RANK RATE
IN US DOLLARS
Chief of Mission From To
Head of Diplomatic Mission 21,375 43,391
Others, including Consul General 18,988 37,731
Career Minister 15,624 32,809

Foreign Service Officer

Class I 13,547 28,530
Class II 12,042 25,936
Class III 9,923 23,578
Class IV 8,697 21,435

Foreign Service Staff Officer

Class I – 21,435
Class II 8,225 20,414
Class III 7,461 19,442
Class IV 6,580 18,516

Foreign Service Staff Employee

Class I 6,113 16,833
Class II 5,310 18,031
Class III 4,631 15,268

1.2 The overseas allowance indices provided for under Executive Order No. 723 are hereby revised and the newly opened posts are given an index as follows:

PERCENTAGE
COUNTRY/POST FROM TO
Argentina Buenos Aires 235 116
Australia Canberra 180 106
Melbourne 180 106
Sydney 180 106
Austria Vienna 240 130
Bahrain Manama 235 113
Bangladesh Dhaka 170 90
Belgium Brussels 220 128
Brazil Brasilia 160 93
Brunei Bandar Seri Begawan
90
Canada Montreal 160 95
Ottawa 160 95
Toronto 160 95
Vancouver 160 95
Winnipeg 160 95
Chile Santiago 180 93
China Beijing 150 92
C.N.M.I. Saipan
102
Cuba Havana 190 112
Egypt Cairo 150 92
France Paris 245 128
Gabon Libreville 270 140
Germany Berlin 245 128
Bonn 245 128
Hamburg 245 128
Greece Athens 200 112
Hong Kong Hong Kong 160 98
Hungary Budapest
89
India New Delhi 140 84
Indonesia Jakarta 180 101
Menado 120 67
Iran Tehran 170 100
Iraq Baghdad 190 113
Israel Tel-Aviv 180 130
Italy Rome 190 136
Japan Kobe 270 162
Tokyo 270 162
Jordan Amman 245 113
Kenya Nairobi 170 93
Kuwait Kuwait 245 113
Libya Tripoli 270 113
Malaysia Kuala Lumpur 160 91
Mexico Mexico City 140 93
Micronesia Pohnpei
102
Morocco Rabat 210 115
Myanmar Yangon 140 82
Netherlands The Hague 260 128
New Zealand Wellington 160 110
Nigeria Lagos 250 130
Oman Muscat
113
Pakistan Islamabad 150 89
Papua New Guinea Port Moresby 180 102
Peru Lima 100 93
Poland Warsaw 150 89
Qatar Doha
113
Romania Bucharest 150 89
Russia Moscow 200 130
Saudi Arabia Jeddah 245 113
Riyadh 245 113
Senegal Dakar 230 131
Singapore Singapore 160 98
South Korea Seoul 200 108
Spain Barcelona
128
Madrid 190 128
Sri Lanka Colombo 140 82
Sweden Stockholm 240 142
Switzerland Berne 270 142
Geneva 270 142
Thailand Bangkok 160 91
Turkey Ankara
113
U.A.E. Abu Dhabi 245 113
United Kingdom London 240 136
U.S.A. Agana 155 102
Chicago 180 97
Honolulu 175 110
Los Angeles 160 95
New Orleans 160 93
New York 175 100
San Diego
93
San Francisco 160 93
Seattle 160 96
Washington, D.C. 175 96
Vatican Holy See 190 136
Vietnam Hanoi 140 84
Yugoslavia Belgrade 170 92

1.3 Overseas allowance indices may be adjusted whenever the following conditions exist, and certified accordingly by the Secretary:

a) That the cost of living at post abroad is proportionately so high that an allowance is necessary to enable an officer or employee at such post to carry out his work efficiently;

b) That extraordinary and necessary expenses not otherwise compensated for are incurred by an officer or employee of the Foreign Service incident to his assignment in the post; and

c) That an allowance is necessary to assist an officer or employee of the Foreign Service who is compelled to stay in his post of assignment in spite of dangerous, notably unhealthy or excessively adverse living conditions prevailing at his post or for the convenience of the government to meet the additional expenses of maintaining an assignment.

1.4 Hardship posts as determined by the Secretary shall receive an additional five per cent (5%) increase in their overseas allowance to meet other expenses brought about by dangerous, unhealthy or excessive adverse living condition prevailing at the post.

1.5 Husband and wife who are assigned in the same post shall be entitled to a separate allowance with index corresponding to their respective ranks.

Section 2.0 LIVING QUARTERS ALLOWANCE

2.1 The basic annual rates of living quarters allowance provided for under Section 2 of Executive Order No. 394 for all Philippine Government personnel stationed abroad shall be amended as follows:

RANK RATE
IN US DOLLARS
WITH
Family		 WITHOUT
Family
From To From To

Chief of Mission

Head of Diplomatic Mission 12,941 33,984 10,345 27,777
Others, including Consul General 10,482 28,318 8,621 23,146
Career Minister 7,644 24,625 6,513 20,130

Foreign Service Officer

Class I 6,786 22,389 5,734 18,296
Class II 6,422 20,352 5,404 16,636
Class III 5,538 18,503 4,602 15,124
Class IV 5,031 16,820 4,142 13,747

Foreign Service Staff Officer

Class I - 16,820 - 13,747
Class II 4,740 15,920 3,922 13,094
Class III 4,463 14,563 3,661 12,470
Class IV 4,209 13,869 3,425 11,875

Foreign Service Staff Employee

Class I 3,926 12,579 3,056 10,771
Class II 3,926 12,579 3,056 10,771
Class III 3,926 12,579 3,056 10,771
Class I 3,926 12,579 3,056 10,771

2.2 The living quarters allowance indices provided for under Executive Order No. 723 are hereby revised and the newly opened posts are also given an index as follows:

PERCENTAGE
COUNTRY/POST FROM TO
Argentina Buenos Aires 250 85
Australia Canberra 180 95
Melbourne 180 100
Sydney 180 100
Austria Vienna 220 120
Bahrain Manama 250 98
Bangladesh Dhaka 110 55
Belgium Brussels 220 120
Brazil Brasilia 230 105
Brunei Bandar Seri Begawan
85
Canada Montreal 170 100
Ottawa 170 100
Toronto 170 102
Vancouver 170 100
Winnipeg
100
Chile Santiago 150 85
China Beijing 150 90
C.N.M.I. Saipan
100
Cuba Havana 160 90
Egypt Cairo 190 90
France Paris 230 120
Gabon Libreville 190 120
Germany Berlin 240 120
Bonn 240 120
Hamburg 240 120
Greece Athens 220 102
Hongkong Hongkong 270 110
Hungary Budapest
95
India New Delhi 130 60
Indonesia Jakarta 170 95
Menado 110 60
Iran Tehran 250 90
Iraq Baghdad 250 110
Israel Tel-Aviv 190 120
Italy Rome 200 120
Japan Kobe 270 145
Tokyo 270 145
Jordan Amman 350 98
Kenya Nairobi 170 78
Kuwait Kuwait City 350 98
Libya Tripoli 350 98
Malaysia Kuala Lumpur 155 85
Mexico Mexico City 200 110
Micronesia Pohnpei
100
Morocco Rabat 220 95
Myanmar Yangon 100 60
Netherlands The Hague 220 110
New Zealand Wellington 170 112
Nigeria Lagos 160 70
Oman Muscat
98
Pakistan Islamabad 130 60
Papua New Guinea Port Moresby 160 110
Peru Lima
78
Poland Warsaw 160 85
Qatar Doha
98
Romania Bucharest 160 95
Russia Moscow 200 95
Saudi Arabia Jeddah 350 95
Riyadh 350 95
Senegal Dakar 250 120
Singapore Singapore 200 100
South Korea Seoul 160 120
Spain Madrid 200 120
Barcelona
120
Sri Lanka Colombo 120 60
Sweden Stockholm 220 120
Switzerland Berne 240 120
Geneva 240 120
Thailand Bangkok 125 85
Turkey Ankara
100
U.A.E. Abu Dhabi 350 98
United Kingdom London 240 120
U.S.A. Agana 160 100
Chicago 200 100
Honolulu 190 110
Houston 190 90
Los Angeles 190 95
New Orleans 185 90
New York 200 100
San Diego
90
San Francisco 190 95
Seattle 190 95
Washington, D.C. 200 100
Vatican Holy See 190 120
Vietnam Hanoi 130 60
Yugoslavia Belgrade 180 95

2.3 The granting of living quarters allowance shall be in accordance with the provisions of Section 65 of R.A. 7157 and the subsequent sections and that nobody shall suffer a reduction as a result of this adjustment; PROVIDED, That there shall be a minimum increase of $240 per annum.

2.4 For purposes of this allowance, personnel who are married and living at the post of assignment with the spouse or at least one (1) dependent child shall be considered with family, while those who are single, widow/widower or legally separated shall be without family. A widow/widower or legally separated person with at least one (1) dependent child at the post shall be considered with family. Unmarried children who are mentally or physically handicapped as attested to by a medical certificate, incapable of supporting themselves, and living with the officer or employee abroad shall be considered, for this purpose, regardless of age, as dependents. Payment of the allowance shall be made strictly on the basis of actual status of the post.

2.5 In the case of husband and wife who are both assigned in one (1) post, only the spouse with the higher rank shall be entitled to the allowance with index and, for purposes of family status under Section 2.4, hereof, the other spouse shall be considered as dependent.

2.6 In case, where, because of acute housing shortage, prohibitive rental cost or other circumstances, two (2) or more Foreign Service personnel are constrained to rent one (1) apartment or housing unit jointly, the claimants shall be entitled to their respective allowances; Provided, That the head of post shall certify in the claim voucher that their individual allowance is insufficient to cover the rental of one (1) apartment or housing unit at the post.

2.7 In posts where there is a standard practice among landlords to require advance rental or deposit equivalent to at least six (6) months to one (1) year rental of the unit, payment of advance living quarters allowance sufficient to cover the required amount may be authorized: Provided, That the advance rental shall be paid directly to the landlord by the post: Provided, further, That the claimant shall submit to the Home Office a copy of the pertinent contract of lease duly certified by the head of the post: Provided, finally, That, in case of recall, reassignment or for any other reason, the unexpired portion of the amount paid shall be duly refunded to the post.

2.8 In places where the new lessees are invariably required at the outset to pay key money for goodwill and in places where lessees are required by the host government to rent a house or apartment unit through an agent and pay the corresponding real agents fee or commission upon signing of the lease contract, including renewal thereof, payment of the above may be authorized, chargeable against the account of the Department: Provided, That the head of post shall certify in the pertinent cash voucher that such payments are customary at the post and not refunded by the owner to the lessee.

2.9 In lieu of commutable living quarters allowance, payment of actual rental of quarters occupied by the head of post may be authorized, subject to availability of funds and as may be warranted by the housing situation in the post of assignment. Payment of the utilities and other related expenses shall, however, be for the personal account of the head of post concerned.

Section 3.0 POST ALLOWANCE

3.1 The allowance shall be granted in accordance with the provisions of Section 69 of R.A. 7157.

Section 4.0 REPRESENTATION ALLOWANCE

4.1 The allowance shall be granted in accordance with the provisions of Section 70 of R.A. 7157.

4.2 Philippine Foreign Service establishments are categorized into high, medium and low cost posts, as follows:

A. High Cost Posts

Barcelona, Berlin, Berne, Bonn, Brussels, Dakar, Geneva, Hamburg, Honolulu, Kobe, Lagos, Libreville, London, Madrid, Moscow, Paris, Rome, Seoul, Stockholm, Tel-Aviv, The Hague, Tokyo, Holy See and Vienna.

B. Medium Cost Posts

Abu Dhabi, Agana, Amman, Ankara, Athens, Baghdad, Buenos Aires, Canberra, Chicago, Doha, Havana, Hongkong, Jeddah, Kuwait, Manama, Melbourne, Muscat, New York, Pohnpei, Port Moresby, Rabat, Riyadh, Saipan, Santiago, Singapore, Sydney, Teheran, Tripoli.

C. Low Cost Posts

Bandar, Seri Begawan, Bangkok, Beijing, Belgrade, Brasilia, Bucharest, Budapest, Cairo, Colombo, Dhaka, Hanoi, Houston, Islamabad, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Lima, Los Angeles, Menado, Mexico City, Montreal, Nairobi, New Delhi, New Orleans, Ottawa, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver, Warsaw, Washington, Winnipeg, and Yangon.

Section 5.0 ADJUSTMENTS OF RATES

5.1 The allowances prescribed hereto for overseas and living quarters may be adjusted once a year by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs and the Secretary of Budget and Management, upon approval of the Office of the President, to respond to sudden Foreign exchange rate fluctuations and in price levels as a stop-gap measure and pending the establishment of new and revised rates, subject to the availability of funds.

5.2 In the case of newly opened post not included in this Executive Order, the index of the closest post shall apply pending approval of an appropriate index for that particular post.

Section 6.0 EXEMPTION FROM TAXATION

6.1 All allowances, per diem, benefits and the like received by officers and employees of the Foreign Service in consideration of their service while on assignment abroad, except their basic salaries, shall be exempt from Philippine income tax.

Section 7.0 FUNDING REQUIREMENTS

7.1 The amount needed to cover the adjustments of foreign service compensations of personnel stationed abroad shall be taken from the appropriations for allowances and from whatever savings realized by the department or agency concerned during FY 1993. Thereafter, such amounts as may be necessary shall be included in the budget proposal of the department or by the agency concerned.

Section 8.0 SUPPLEMENTARY RULES AND REGULATIONS

8.1 The supplementary rules and regulations to implement this Executive Order shall be issued by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs.1aшphi1

Section 9.0 SEPARABILITY CLAUSE

9.1 If any section or any part of this Executive Order shall be declared unconstitutional by competent authority, the remaining sections or parts thereof shall not thereby be affected.

Section 10.0 REPEALING CLAUSE

10.1 All Orders, Letters of Implementation, rules and regulations or parts thereof which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Executive Order are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Section 11.0 EFFECTIVITY DATE

11.1 This Order shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila this 15th day of June in the year of Our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety-three.

(Sgd.) FIDEL V. RAMOS
President of the Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.) ANTONIO T. CARPIO
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel


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