THE Palace has released new guidelines covering foreign trips of officials and employees in executive offices, after President Rodrigo Duterte declared that he would fire those who are found to have traveled abroad excessively.
In a memo dated Jan.3, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea said official trips can only be approved by the heads of agencies if they meet the following criteria:
The purpose of the trip is strictly within the mandate of the requesting official or personnel;
The projected expenses of the trip are not excessive; and
The trip is expected to bring substantial benefit to the country.
Unfortunately, the memo does not say what amount is considered excessive, nor does it specify how to quantify the “substantial benefit” to the country.
Just as importantly, the memo fails to state how many trips in a year can be considered excessive. Is there a rule of thumb? For example, are 12 foreign trips in a year—that’s one a month—excessive?
The administrator of the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina), who was fired for excessive travel, said his 21 trips in a year and a half was not excessive, saying these were part of his job. Marina, he insisted, is an international organization and that part of his job was to attend meetings of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) headquartered in London. The Philippines, he said, as part of the executive council, had to attend 16 meetings annually.
He also said the meetings were necessary and beneficial for the country, as Marina was safeguarding the country’s position as the major provider of seafarers.
The chairman of the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), meanwhile, has brushed off accusations that she bypassed the Office of the President by granting travel authorities to herself for the eight trips she took in 2017. CHED chairman Patricia Licuanan says these accusations from one congressman are simply untrue, and she has the documents to prove it.
This would be easy enough to verify with the Office of the President, but again, where does one draw the line and say this is one trip too many?
Was it crucial to her job for the CHED chairman to participate in Philippine Information Day and visit French universities in Paris, France?
Another issue, in the case of the CHED chairman, is whether it is right that public officials travel on Business Class, particularly when the government is trying to cut costs, and when even the President flies Economy.
The executive order issued on Jan. 3 is a step in the right direction, but it doesn’t go far enough. Without specificity and hard and fast rules, discretion—or indiscretion—will always rear its ugly head.