EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 560 - AMENDING EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 495, ENTITLED “ESTABLISHING THE RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE FOREIGN SERVICE COMPENSATION DECREE OF 1978”

WHEREAS, Letter of Implementation No. 100 adjusts the salaries of the personnel of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Foreign Service to allow them to cope with the tremendous rise in the cost of living resulting from the recent international energy crisis;

WHEREAS, the administration of the new salary scheme requires the reallocation of positions to the appropriate salary grade;

WHEREAS, there is a need to limit the granting of the home office adjustment allowance authorized under Section 1 (e) Part A, Title VI of Republic Act No. 708 as inserted by Sec. 4 of Republic Act No. 4112, for a period of not exceeding one year and only to the personnel of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who have served abroad for at least four years.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby order:  

Section 1. Section s 1 and 2, Part I of Executive Order No. 495 are hereby amended to read as follows:

“Section 1. Salary Rules. —

“(a) A person appointed to the class of Foreign Service Officers, Counselors, or Chiefs of Missions shall receive a salary at that one of the rates provided for that class, which the Minister of Foreign Affairs shall take into consideration his age, qualification and experience, determine to be appropriate; Provided, that the salary allowed for a person appointed to the class of Foreign Service Officers shall not exceed the third step of the grade to which class is allocated.

“(b) A person appointed to the class of Foreign Service Staff Officer or Employees shall receive a salary at the minimum rate for the class to which he is appointed.

“(c) An employee may be allowed a salary rate higher than the minimum of the grade allocation of the position in case he had previously received a higher salary in the government service: Provided, that such salary rate is within the grade allocation of the position and: Provided, further, that there is sufficient appropriation for that particular position.

“(d) An employee promoted to a higher class and whose present salary is over the maximum rate of the grade allocation of the position to which he is being promoted, may be allowed to continue to receive his present salary at the higher position. 

“(e) An employee promoted from one class to another having an overlapping salary grade may be adjusted to the step next above that at which he was paid in the lower class if an appropriation has been provided therefor. 

“(f) Subject to certification by the Minister of Foreign Affairs that the employee’s service are satisfactory the salary of an employee may be adjusted to the second step after one year at the first step, to the third step after one year at the second step, to the fourth step after one year at the third step, to the fifth step after two years at the fourth step, to the sixth step after two years at the fifth step, to the seventh step after two years at the sixth step, and to the eight step after two years at the seventh step, Provided, that there is sufficient appropriation in the particular position of the employee concerned.

“(g) Voluntary demotion shall be made without loss of salary except where the current salary is higher than the maximum of the class to which demoted and provided that there is sufficient appropriation for the particular position.

“(h) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other rules, no employee shall receive a salary than the salary step immediately below the salary of his immediate supervisor.”

Sec. 2. Salary Increases and Home Office Adjustment Allowance. —

“(a) The home office adjustment allowance currently enjoyed by the personnel of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs shall be reduced by fifty per cent of their salary increases authorized in Letter of Implementation No. 100.  

“(b) Whenever a national government salary increase is granted based on periodic salary surveys conducted by the Office of Compensation and Position Classification of the Ministry of the Budget, positions in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Service personnel may be granted across-the-board or in-step salary increases upon recommendation of the Minister of the Budget and the approval of the President:

Provided, that fifty per cent of the salary increase shall be taken from the home office adjustment allowance of the employee concerned.

“(c) An employee who is promoted to a position in a higher class prior to the granting of the salary increase authorized in Letter of Implementation No. 100 shall be entitled to the salary authorized for that position or his basic salary plus his home office adjustment allowance in the lower class, whichever is higher.

“(d) An employee who is appointed in the home office after the issuance of this Order and prior to their assignment abroad shall not be entitled to home office adjustment allowance.

Sec. 3. A new provision is hereby inserted after Sec. 2 of Part I to be known as Sec. 3, as follows:

“Sec. 3. Revision of the Salary Scheme. — If the results of the periodic nation-wide salary survey require the revision of the Salary Scheme to keep them up-to-date, the same may be revised upon recommendation of the Minister of the Budget and approval of the President.

Sec. 4. Section s 3, 4 and 5 of Part I are hereby renumbered as Section s 4, 5 and 6.  

Sec. 5. A new provision is hereby inserted after Section 16, Part II to be known as Section 17, as follows:

“Sec. 17. Notwithstanding any other rule, no personnel of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who are recalled to the home office shall be entitled to per diems and all other allowances referred to above, except the granting to those who have served abroad for a period of at least four years fifty per cent of the basic living quarters allowance authorized under Letter of Implementation No. 63, for a period not exceeding one year.”

Sec. 6. All orders, rules and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with this Executive Order are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

Sec. 7. Effectivity. — This Order shall take effect May 1, 1979.

Done in the City of Manila, this 12th day of September, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-nine.