COA_M2011-017

 

 

 

  Republic of the Philippines

COMMISSION ON AUDIT

Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City, Philippines

       

MEMORANDUM    No. : 2011-017 Date: September 1, 2011

To

: All COA Officials and Employees

SUBJECT : Revised Rules and Guidelines on Travels, Attendance and Leaves

In the interest of the service, the following rules and guidelines are hereby prescribed: I.

Official Travels, Daily Time Records, Leave Applications and Personal Travel Abroad 1.

Official travels refer to travels relating to the performance by an official or employee of the regular functions of her/his office outside of the designated official station, or travels as may be authorized or directed by the Chairperson, and whether or not eligible for traveling expenses. These shall be covered by a duly approved Office Order and Itinerary of Travel. The Office Order shall be issued by the approving authority concerned as indicated in the following Table. Official travels of audit personnel in the Regional Offices outside of designated official station but still within the same Region, shall be supported by a locator slip which may be transmitted thru e-mail/fax to the approving authority concerned.

2.

All official travels abroad shall be approved by the Chairperson as well as personal travel abroad regardless of duration.

3.

Official travels regardless of destination and duration, Daily Time Records, and Leave Applications, including personal travel abroad, shall be approved in accordance with the delineation indicated in the following table:

Approving/Signing Authorities of Official/Personal Travels, Daily Time Records (DTRs), and Leave Applications PERSONNEL APPROVING ITEMS FOR APPROVAL CONCERNED AUTHORITY 1. Foreign Travels, whether official or personal, regardless of duration. Required documents:

All

Chairperson

a. Commissioners; Assistant Commissioners; Regional Directors (if outside her/his regional jurisdiction); Chief Executive Staff of Chairperson; Commission Secretary; Heads of Internal Audit, International Audit, Public Information Office (PIO), Regional Coordination Office (RCO) and Professional Development Office (PDO)

Chairperson; signing authority may be delegated.

a. For official foreign travel, Office Order and Itinerary of Travel b. For personal foreign travel,  Travel Authority  Approved Application for Leave  COA Central Office Clearance (CCOC)  COA Regional Office Clearance (CROC)  Auditee Clearance  Medical Certificate from the attending physician in case of sick leave

2. Domestic travel NOT for training purposes. Required documents:  Locator Slip / Office Order to perform official functions outside of official station

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Approving/Signing Authorities of Official/Personal Travels, Daily Time Records (DTRs), and Leave Applications PERSONNEL APPROVING ITEMS FOR APPROVAL CONCERNED AUTHORITY 2. Domestic travel NOT for training purposes. Required documents:  Locator Slip / Office Order to perform official functions outside of official station

b. Executive staff of the Chairperson

Chairperson; signing authority may be delegated to Chief Executive Staff but command responsibility remains with the Chairperson

c. Commissioners’ Chief of Staff

Commissioner concerned

d. Executive staff of Commissioners

Commissioner concerned; signing authority may be delegated to Chief of Staff but command responsibility remains with the Commissioner

e. Executive staff of Assistant Commissioners

Asst. Commissioner concerned

f. Cluster Directors; Director IV/Officer-in-Charge (OIC); Head of Office

Commissioner I for accounting-related official travels Commissioner II for auditing/technical & information services-related official travels Asst. Commissioner, PFMS, for planning & financial mgtrelated official travels

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Approving/Signing Authorities of Official/Personal Travels, Daily Time Records (DTRs), and Leave Applications PERSONNEL APPROVING ITEMS FOR APPROVAL CONCERNED AUTHORITY 2. Domestic travel NOT for training purposes. Required documents:  Locator Slip / Office Order to perform official functions outside of official station

3. Domestic Travel for training purposes; Required documents:  Locator Slip / Office Order to attend domestic training/ seminars/symposia/ conventions/conferences conducted by the Commission or other gov’t agencies, including domestic scholarship grants

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f. Cluster Directors; Director IV/Officer-in-Charge (OIC); Head of Office

Asst. Commissioner, LSS, for legal servicesrelated official travels Asst. Commissioner, Administration, for administrative-related official travels

g. Director III and all others including Heads of Services (Divisions) under all offices of the Sectors/Regional Offices

Head of Office; Head of Audit Group/ Supervising Auditor in case of Audit Team Leaders and members/staff of Audit Group

a. Commissioners, whether as participant or resource person

Chairperson

b. All others, whether as participant or resource person

Commissioner II; favorable endorsement from PDO Head/ COA Scholarship Board required

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Approving/Signing Authorities of Official/Personal Travels, Daily Time Records (DTRs), and Leave Applications PERSONNEL APPROVING ITEMS FOR APPROVAL CONCERNED AUTHORITY 4. Domestic Travel for conferences, etc. Required documents:  Locator Slip / Office Order to attend conventions/ conferences/symposia and similar activities organized by private organizations or professional bodies, not primarily for training purposes (e.g., PICPA, GACPA, PICE)

5. Daily Time Record (DTR) / Bundy Card

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a. Commissioners, whether as participant, resource person or Officer of the organizing body

Chairperson

b. All others, whether as participant, resource person or Officer of the organizing body

Commissioner I; favorable endorsement of PDO Head required

a. Commissioners; Assistant Commissioners; Regional Directors; Chief Executive Staff of Chairperson; Commission Secretary; Heads of Internal Audit, International Audit, Public Information Office (PIO), Regional Coordination Office (RCO), and Professional Development Office (PDO)

Chairperson; signing authority may be delegated.

b. Executive staff of the Chairperson

Chairperson; signing authority may be delegated to Chief Executive Staff but command responsibility remains with the Chairperson

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Approving/Signing Authorities of Official/Personal Travels, Daily Time Records (DTRs), and Leave Applications PERSONNEL APPROVING ITEMS FOR APPROVAL CONCERNED AUTHORITY 5. Daily Time Record (DTR) / Bundy Card

6. Application for Leave  Regardless of duration and purpose

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c. Commissioners’ Chief of Staff

Commissioner concerned

d. Executive staff of the Commissioners

Commissioner concerned; signing authority may be delegated to Chief of Staff but command responsibility remains with the Commissioner

e. Executive staff of Assistant Commissioners; Cluster Directors; Director IV/Officer-in-Charge (OIC); Head of Office

Asst. Commissioner concerned

f. Director III and all others including Heads of Services (Divisions) under all offices of the Sectors/Regional Offices

Head of Office; Head of Audit Group/ Supervising Auditor in case of Audit Team Leaders and members/staff of Audit Group

a. Commissioners; Assistant Commissioners; Regional Directors; Chief Executive Staff of Chairperson; Commission Secretary; Heads of Internal Audit, International Audit, Public Information Office (PIO), Regional Coordination Office (RCO), and Professional Development Office (PDO)

Chairperson; signing authority may be delegated.

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Approving/Signing Authorities of Official/Personal Travels, Daily Time Records (DTRs), and Leave Applications PERSONNEL APPROVING ITEMS FOR APPROVAL CONCERNED AUTHORITY 6. Application for Leave  Regardless of duration and purpose





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NOT exceeding leave credits (without travel abroad)

Exceeding leave credits for NOT more than three (3) months (without travel abroad)

b. Executive staff of the Chairperson

Chairperson; signing authority may be delegated to Chief Executive Staff but command responsibility remains with the Chairperson

c. Commissioners’ Chief of Staff

Commissioner concerned

d. Executive staff of the Commissioners

Commissioner concerned; signing authority may be delegated to Chief of Staff but command responsibility remains with the Commissioner

e. Executive staff of Assistant Commissioners; Cluster Directors; Director IV/Officer-in-Charge (OIC); Head of Office

Asst. Commissioner, Administration

f. Director III and all others including Heads of Services (Divisions) under all offices of the Sectors/Regional Offices

Head of Office; Head of Audit Group/ Supervising Auditor in case of Audit Team Leaders and members/staff of Audit Group

h. Those in 6(e) above

Commissioner I for accounting units

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Approving/Signing Authorities of Official/Personal Travels, Daily Time Records (DTRs), and Leave Applications PERSONNEL APPROVING ITEMS FOR APPROVAL CONCERNED AUTHORITY 6. Application for Leave  Exceeding leave credits for NOT more than three (3) months (without travel abroad)

h. Those in 6(e) above

Commissioner II for audit/technical & information services units Asst. Commissioner, PFMS, for Planning & Financial Mgt Sector Asst. Commissioner, LSS, for Legal Services Sector Asst. Commissioner, Administration, for Administration Sector



Exceeding leave credits for more than three (3) months (without travel abroad)

7. Application for Leave for consultancy engagements

i. Those in 6(f) above

Cluster Director/ Director IV/ OIC

All

Chairperson

All

Chairperson

4. Within the month after the end of each quarter, the designated approving authorities in the foregoing Table shall submit to the Office of the Chairperson a report on the Travel Orders she/he issued for the quarter, showing the following information: a. Travel Order number and date b. Name(s), position, designation and official station of employee(s) authorized to travel c. Inclusive period of travel d. Destination e. Purpose of travel

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Within the same period, the designated approving authorities in the Table above for leave credits shall submit to the Office of the Chairperson a list of both approved and disapproved leaves showing the following information: a. Name(s), position, designation and official station of applicant b. Reason(s) for extended leave and approval or disapproval of the leave application 5.

Approval of leave of absence for 30 days or more without travel abroad shall be supported by a duly approved COA Central Office Clearance in case of Central Office/NCR personnel, and by a Regional Clearance in case of all other personnel.

6.

Applications for vacation leave not necessitating the required clearances shall be filed at least five (5) working days before the intended absence, while applications for leave of absence with requests for personal travel abroad, regardless of duration shall be filed one month before the scheduled leave/travel to give enough time for the processing and routing of the required clearances.

7.

Personnel who intend to render consultancy services outside of COA must file a leave applying their accumulated leave credits first. In the event that the period for their consultancy services exceeds their accumulated leave credits, they shall be required to file an application for leave without pay for a maximum of 30 days per year subject to the approval of the Chairperson.

II.

Working Hours and Record of Attendance 1.

All COA personnel shall render not less than eight (8) hours of work a day for five (5) days a week or a total of 40 hours a week, exclusive of lunch break. Flexible working hours allowed under COA Memorandum No. 2002-057 dated 4 October 2002 shall in no case be less than the herein prescribed number of working hours. Employees authorized by this Commission to follow the flexi-time work schedule or four-days-a-week work schedule of the agency where they are assigned are hereby reminded that regardless of their work schedule, all employees shall attend the flagraising ceremony on Mondays and the flag retreat on Fridays. In case the flexi-time or four-day week schedule of the audited agency provides for a day and time different from the regular schedules for the flag raising/retreat ceremonies, the COA personnel authorized to avail of such work schemes shall follow the audited agency’s flag ceremony and flag retreat schedules.

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2.

Within three (3) working days from the end of each month, all signed DTRs together with the approved leave application, locator slip, office order, reassignment order, travel order, medical certificate, clearances or other supporting documents as may be necessary shall be submitted to their respective approving authorities as indicated in the preceding Table.

3.

Within five (5) working days from the end of each month, the Regional Directors shall submit their signed DTRs by the fastest but economical means available to the Office of the Chairperson thru the Regional Coordinator. The Regional Director’s Locator Slip shall also be sent through email or fax to the Regional Coordinator

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before they are to leave the office. The approved or disapproved DTR and locator slip of the Regional Directors shall be immediately returned by the Regional Coordinator to the concerned Regional Directors also through fax or email for reference in the preparation of the Regional Office’s Monthly Report of Absences and Undertimes (MRAU). 4.

All records of attendance shall be summarized in the Monthly Report of Absences and Undertimes (MRAU) in the manner prescribed under Item III of this Memorandum.

5.

The Chiefs of Services / Divisions and Audit Group Supervising Auditors shall: a. Conduct random check on entries in the submitted DTRs against entries in the attendance logbook; b. Sign DTR/Bundy card certifying as to correctness of entries therein; c. Forward to their designated staff the signed DTRs/Bundy cards, together with leave applications, locator slips, office orders, reassignment orders, travel orders, medical certificates, clearances and other supporting documents within five (5) working days from the end of the month.

6.

Each Head of Office shall designate a responsible staff who shall: a. Check completeness of documents attached to the MRAU and ensure that: i. DTRs are signed by the personnel and the immediate supervisor; ii. Approved leave applications, locator slips, medical certificates, and clearances are attached, where applicable; iii. Office Orders, Reassignment Orders, Travel Orders are likewise attached, if applicable; b. Review the computation of the undertime and absences incurred; c. Maintain a record of leave credits, using the Table of Equivalents in Annex A and update the same regularly to log undertime, absences and approved leave applications; d. Report Leave Without Pay (LWOP) to the Regional Accountant, in case of employees covered by Regional Payroll, or to the Accounting Office-Planning Finance and Management Sector (PFMS) in case of employees covered by the Central Payroll Information System (CPIS) for salary deduction or billing; e. Send call-up letters/memos to employees with unsubmited DTRs; f. Prepare the MRAU discussed under Item III below, certify as to its correctness, and cause its approval by the Head of Office; g. Ensure submission of the reviewed/approved MRAU to the HRMO following the timeline prescribed under Item III.4 below;

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h. Be responsible for the safekeeping and filing of the DTRs, approved leave applications, locator slips, office orders, reassignment orders, travel orders, medical certificate, clearances and other documents supporting the MRAU and for their safekeeping, retrieval, retention, and coordination with the Records Management Services, GSO for their disposition following the approved Revised Records Disposition Schedule of the Commission; i. Reconcile on a periodic basis leave credit records maintained with those maintained by the Human Resource Welfare Services, HRMO. 7.

The Head of Office shall have the following responsibilities insofar as MRAU processing, leave administration and monitoring of attendance are concerned: a. Review and approve the MRAU and cause its submission to the HRMO within the timeline prescribed under item III.4 hereof; b. See to it that follow-up letters are sent to employees with unsubmitted DTRs; c. Ensure that letters are sent to personnel who are AWOL to inform/remind them of pertinent regulations; d. Ensure that notices concerning employees on LWOP are immediately sent to the Accounting Office/Regional Accountant to avoid salary overpayment; and e. See to it that the Office’s leave credit records are reconciled periodically with those maintained by Human Resource Welfare Services, HRMO.

8.

To provide all COA personnel with a reliable basis for the determination of their attendance records and leave credits earned, and assist supervisors in monitoring attendance of their respective staff, the HRMO Director shall: a. Cause the recording and updating of monthly leave credit records of all COA personnel based on the MRAUs received; and b. Provide the Heads of Office with a quarterly summary of leave credit balances of their respective personnel for guidance in approving leave applications and for reconciliation with leave credit records maintained by said Offices, within 10 working days from the end of the quarter.

9.

Action on the requests for manual entries shall be in accordance with the following: a. When the chronolog machine or the Bundy clock is out of order, the employee concerned shall fill out the Request for Manual Entry form on the same day that the machine malfunctioned or is undergoing repair or maintenance, or on the next working day, if the malfunction/repair happened when he was about to log out at the end of a working day. b. An employee may be allowed to have manual entry in her/his DTR, when, in the interest of the service, she/he is directed to perform work continuously so that no

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time is left for her/him to pause and register in the chronolog machine or punch her/his DTR in the Bundy clock. c. Request for manual entries shall be supported by the employee’s signature in the attendance logbook corresponding to the period covered by her/his request, and the request for manual entries shall be verified and approved by the Head of Services (Division) or Head of Office concerned. d. The immediate supervisor approving the request for manual entries shall carefully assess the veracity of the logbook entries. Logbook entries that are clearly later insertions, or are unreasonably or suspiciously delayed in being entered in the logbook shall be discouraged and, upon repetition, be disapproved outright. 10. The Audit Group Supervising Auditors, Heads of Services/Divisions, other personnel occupying Salary Grade 26 positions, holders of Attorney positions, and holders of other positions performing functions of an Attorney position assigned at the Legal Services Sector, Adjudication Services in the Audit Clusters and Legal Services in the COA Regional Offices shall be exempt from using the Bundy clock for recording their office attendance. However, they shall register their attendance in a logbook for the purpose and prepare their DTRs and approved Locator Slips, if any, to be attached to the MRAU under Item III. The exact time in coming in and going out of the office shall be reflected in both the logbook and the DTR, and the practice of simply indicating “FULL TIME SERVICE” in the DTR shall be discontinued and disallowed. 11. For personnel holding positions with Salary Grade 27 and above, timekeeping shall only be on their certification of full services rendered indicated in their DTRs.

III.

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Monthly Report of Absences and Undertimes (MRAU) 1.

All COA personnel shall accomplish/sign their respective DTRs for a given month within the first three (3) days of the following month, and submit the same, together with supporting documents, if applicable, to their respective supervisors for approval/signature. COA personnel without DTR for a given month without a valid justification shall be considered AWOL for that month, and this declaration of being AWOL shall be so stated in the MRAU. For such personnel, the MRAU shall indicate “NO SUBMITTED/APPROVED DTR, HENCE CONSIDERED AWOL” opposite their names. This notation or indication in the MRAU may be used as basis for reporting of the personnel concerned to the Accounting Office-PFMS for deletion from the payroll in accordance with Item IV of this Memorandum.

2.

The MRAU shall be certified correct by the designated staff under Item II.6 and approved by the Head of Office.

3.

The MRAU submitted to the approving official shall be supported with DTRs, and, if applicable, approved leave applications, locator slips, office orders, reassignment orders, travel orders, medical certificates, clearances, and/or other documents.

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4.

The MRAU as signed by the approving officer, and without any attachment/supporting document, shall be submitted to the HRMO Director in accordance with the following timelines: a. The Head of Office/Chief of Staff shall submit the MRAUs of the offices in the Central Office (except those covered under Item III.4.b below) within seven (7) working days after the end of each month. b. For audit clusters with component audit groups/audit teams in the National Capital Region, the Cluster Director shall submit the MRAUs within 10 working days from the end of each month. c. For Regional Offices, the Regional Directors/Directors-in-Charge shall submit their MRAUs within 20 working days from the end of each month.

5.

To ensure completeness and timeliness of the submitted MRAUs, the Head of Office who approves MRAU shall see to it that: a. It covers all personnel in all services/divisions, audit groups, audit teams and other component units under her/his supervision who are not yet separated from the service; b. It is submitted with complete documentation requirements to serve as basis for her/his action - DTRs, approved leave applications, locator slips, office orders, reassignment orders, travel orders, medical certificate, clearances and other applicable documents. In case of personnel without the required documents, the unsubmitted documents shall be specified in the MRAU opposite the name of the personnel concerned, and the covering transmittal memorandum shall state the reasons for their non-submission and the action taken by the Office. These supporting documents, however, shall not be attached to the MRAU for submission to the HRMO. c. It is submitted within the prescribed period. In case of Regional Offices, the fastest but economical means to submit the MRAU must be employed.

6.

The MRAU shall be the basis for recording leave credits in the leave cards to be maintained by the Offices and the Human Resource Welfare Services, HRMO.

7.

Within 30 working days after the end of each month, the HRMO Director shall submit to the Sector Heads and Chiefs of Staff, in case of offices in the COA Central Office, and to the Head of the Regional Coordination Office for regional offices, a report on the status of submission of the MRAUs, for their information/monitoring.

IV.

Notification of Absences without Approved Leave, Habitual Absenteeism without Sufficient Leave Credits and Non-Submission of DTRs 1.

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To avoid the incurrence of overpayment of salaries, it shall be the responsibility of those who have immediate supervision over the personnel concerned to notify

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immediately the HRMO, Administration Sector, and the Accounting Office-PFMS of the personnel concerned in the following circumstances: a. Habitual absences exceeding the allowable 2.5 day-monthly leave credits under the Leave Law for at least three (3) months in a semester or at last three (3) consecutive months during the year (per CSC Memorandum Circular No. 23, s. 1998); or b. Continuous absences covering a period of 30 or more calendar days without approved leave application (per CSC Memorandum Circular No. 12, s. 1994 and COA Memorandum No. 83-340) and with insufficient leave credits; or c. Approved leave of absence and/or personal travel abroad of personnel whose leave credit balance is insufficient to cover the period of leave of absence and/or travel; or d. One (1) month or 30 calendar days or longer of continued absence after expiration of an approved leave of absence; or e. Non-submission of DTR for a period of one (1) month or 30 calendar days or more.

V.

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Leave of Absence without Pay and Automatic Separation from the Service 1.

Leave of absence without pay NOT exceeding one (1) calendar year may be granted, in addition to the vacation and sick leave earned, in accordance with Sec. 57 of the Revised Omnibus Rules on Leave. Pursuant to the same Section of the Revised Omnibus Rules on Leave, leave of absence without pay in excess of one (1) month or 30 calendar days shall be supported with a COA Central Office Clearance, in addition to the Regional Clearance, in case of those assigned outside of the National Capital Region.

2.

If an official or employee who is on an approved leave of absence without pay fails to report for work at the expiration of one (1) calendar year from the date of such leave, he shall be considered automatically separated from the service, i.e., without the need of a prior notice, pursuant to Sec. 62 of the Revised Omnibus Rules on Leave.

3.

Three months before the expiration of the approved one-year leave of absence with pay, the HRMO Director shall inform in writing the employee concerned about the impending expiration of his leave and call his attention to the above-cited provision on automatic separation. If the employee concerned fails to report for work at the expiration of his one-year leave of absence without pay, the HRMO Director shall prepare a memorandum recommending to the COA Chairperson the employee’s automatic separation from the service. This formal letter, however, shall not be considered as a prerequisite for the automatic separation in accordance with Sec. 62 of the Revised Omnibus Rules on Leave.

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VI.

Administrative Sanctions 1.

Based on the report of the Head of Office concerned on an employee who has committed the offenses cited in Item IV.1 without valid justification, the HRMO Director shall advise, within the month before the final preparation of the payroll, the Accounting Office-PFMS, or the Regional Director, to effect the deletion of the name of the employee concerned from the payroll, furnishing a copy to the employee concerned and to the Head of the Office concerned.

2.

Non-compliance with the provisions under Items II, III.1 and IV hereof may be a ground for the institution of administrative action against the official or employee concerned pursuant to Section 67 of the Omnibus Rules on Leave (Rule XVI of the Omnibus Rules Implementing Book V of EO 29).

VII.

Repealing Clause Provisions of COA Memorandum No. 2010-027 dated October 26, 2010 and other previous COA issuances that are inconsistent herewith are deemed amended or superseded.

VIII. Effectivity The herein amendments take effect on September 1, 2011.

MA. GRACIA M. PULIDO TAN Chairperson

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