[ EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 18, September 16, 1946 ]
ESTABLISHING THE ORGANIZATION AND OPERATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND OF THE FOREIGN SERVICE OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES AND FIXING THE EMOLUMENTS, PRIVILEGES AND ALLOWANCES OF THE OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES THEREOF.
By virtue of the authority vested in me by Commonwealth Act No. 732, approved July 3, 1946, I, MANUEL ROXAS, President of the Philippines, do hereby establish the organization and operation of the Department of Foreign Affairs and of the foreign service of the Republic of the Philippines and fix the emoluments, privileges and allowances of the officers and employees thereof.
1. The Department of Foreign Affairs shall have responsibility for the coordination and execution of the foreign policies of the Republic of the Philippines and the conduct of its foreign relations and shall perform such other functions as may be assigned to it by law or by the President relating to the conduct of the foreign relations of the Republic of the Philippines.
2. The Secretary of Foreign Affairs shall be responsible to the President for formulating and carrying into effect the foreign policy of the Republic of the Philippines; for the conduct of its foreign relations; for the negotiation of treaties, conventions, and other agreements of similar force; for the administration abroad of the citizenship, immigration, and navigation laws of the Philippines; for the protection of the rights and interests of Filipino citizens and juridical persons abroad; for the sending abroad of ambassadors, ministers and other diplomatic officers and consuls, and the reception in the Philippines of like officers or friendly States; and in general, the performance of all functions concerning the relations of the Republic of the Philippines with other States and with other international organizations of which the Republic of the Philippines is a member, or in which it is interested. To assure that foreign policy shall best serve the national interests, the Secretary shall establish effective liaison with other departments of the Government, which shall render technical assistance and otherwise cooperate fully. The Secretary shall prescribe a uniform schedule of fees for services rendered the public by the Department and the Foreign Service and all such fees be deposited and credited to the National Treasury.
3. The Secretary shall exercise over-all direction, supervision and administration of the activities of the Department and the Foreign Service. He shall be assisted by a Staff Committee composed of the Undersecretary and the counselors of three offices.
4. The Undersecretary shall be responsible to the Secretary for the general coordination of the functions and activities of the Department and the operation of the Foreign Service. His Office shall contain a Division of Coordination and Review, a Division of Protocol and a Board of Foreign Affairs Service Personnel, Examinations and Review.
5. The Counselors shall be the heads of the three Offices and shall be responsible to the Secretary through the Undersecretary.
6. The Counselor of the Office of Political and Economic Affairs shall be responsible for the coordination and conduct of foreign relations with other States and the coordination and conduct of the political and economic interests of the Philippines in its relations with other States. The Office shall be composed of a Division of American Affairs, a Division of European and African Affairs, a Division of Asian and Pacific Affairs, and a Division of Commercial and Monetary Policy and Trade Promotion.
7. The Counselor of the Office of legal Affairs, International Organizations and Conferences shall be responsible for research and the rendering of legal opinions, for cultural and intelligence activities, and for the coordination and conduct of the foreign relations of the Philippines with international bodies and conferences. The Office shall be composed of a Division of United Nations Affairs and International Conferences, a Division of Legal Affairs, Treaties, Research and Publication, and a Division of Cultural Activities and Exchange.
8. The Counselor of the Office of Administration, Budget and Controls shall be responsible for the administration of the Department of Foreign Affairs and of the foreign service and for the preparation of the budget and the allocation of and accounting for appropriations of the Department, and for the administration of the laws of the Philippines as they affect Philippine citizens and juridical persons abroad and for the protection of their rights and interests. The Office shall be composed of two branches. The Branch of Administration and Budget shall be composed of a Division of Management, Personnel, Welfare, Supplies and Maintenance, a Division of Accounts, a Division of Foreign Service Administration, and a Division of Communications, Files and Records. The Branch of Controls and Citizenship Services shall be composed of a Division of Passports and Citizenship, a Division of Visas and Immigration, and a Division of Invoice, Notarial, Shipping and Miscellaneous Services.
9. The Secretary may establish, with the approval of the President, such other Offices or Divisions as experience proves desirable for efficiency.
10. Annual salaries are fixed as follows: The Secretary, P12,000; the Undersecretary, P9,000; the Counselors of Offices, P8,400; one Aide and Press Officer to the Secretary, P7,200; Chief of Division, P6,000; Assistant Chiefs of Division, P5,000; Drafting and Research Officers, P4,500; Cryptographic Expert, P4,500.
11. Ambassadors, ministers, other chiefs of missions and Philippine Members of or delegates to international bodies shall be appointed by the President with the consent of the Commission on Appointments and shall serve at his pleasure. They shall receive salaries according to the classification of posts as determined by the Secretary and approved by the President, as follows:
| Class I |
P24,000 |
| Class II |
20,000 |
| Class III |
17,500 |
| Class IV |
15,000 |
12. There shall be a single foreign service. The personnel of the Foreign Service shall consist of foreign affairs officers appointed by the President upon the recommendation of the Secretary of Foreign Affairs and with the consent of the Commission on Appointments in the cases required by the Constitution. Consular agents, clerical and miscellaneous employees shall be appointed pursuant to existing regulations. Foreign affairs officers shall be native-born Philippine citizens or foreign-born Philippine citizens whose parents were Philippine citizens at the time of their birth.
13. Appointments to Philippine Diplomatic or consular offices shall be made from among foreign affairs officers and no others, except that this restriction shall not apply to chiefs of mission, nor to consular agents.
14. Except as hereafter stated, foreign affairs officers shall be appointed after impartial competitive examinations and shall be promoted by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs under such uniform rules and regulations as he shall prescribe with the approval of the President. Foreign affairs officers whether serving abroad as diplomatic or consular officers or in the Philippines within the Department of Foreign Affairs, shall be classified and shall receive basic salaries as follows:
| Class I |
P9,000 |
to P10,000 |
| Class II |
6,500 |
8,500 |
| Class III |
5,000 |
6,000 |
| Class IV |
3,000 |
4,500 |
except that when assigned and residing outside the Philippines, they shall receive supplemental salaries of 50 per cent of their basic salaries. When serving as chiefs or ad interim chiefs of mission, foreign affairs officers shall receive the full allowances of the chief of mission but shall not be given any increase in basic salary.
15. Original appointment of foreign affairs officers to one of the four classes and appointment from one class to another shall be made by the President on recommendation of the Secretary. At the end of each fiscal year in the class, officers shall receive an increase in basic salary of P500 provided that the Board of Foreign Affairs Service personnel, Examinations and Review, on the basis of efficiency reports submitted to it, shall have determined the officers to be worthy of a grade of "good" or higher. No officers shall be promoted from one class to another until he shall have served at least one year at each salary grade within the class, and have a certified rating of "very good" or higher for the year preceding promotion. Positions in the Foreign Service with offices abroad are hereby declared primarily confidential and highly technical in nature.
16. Foreign affairs officers of Class I shall serve as Counselors or First Secretaries, or Consuls General or both; of Class II as First or Second Secretaries, or Consuls or both; of Class III as Second Secretaries, or Consuls or Vice Consuls, or both; of Class IV as Third Secretaries or Vice Consuls or both, or in positions of corresponding importance in the Department of Foreign Affairs. Officers may be named Commercial Attaches, Agricultural or other Attaches, or given an "Acting" rank. Officers of Class I may be given by the President the personal rank of Ambassador or Minister. Any Foreign Affairs Officer, who shall have served four years in the Department of Foreign Affairs, shall thereafter be assigned abroad for at least four years before subsequent assignment to the Department of Foreign Affairs, except that this restriction shall not apply to a foreign affairs officer serving as Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs. The assignment of foreign affairs officers shall be made by direction of the Secretary of Foreign Affairs with the approval of the President.
17. Personnel who have completed the foreign service training courses prescribed by the former Office of Foreign Relations or the Department of Foreign Affairs, are eligible, without examination, for appointment as foreign affairs officers in any of the four classes, as shall be determined by the Secretary and approved by the President, provided that appointments to class I shall be at the lowest salary of the class. During the present fiscal year only, foreign affairs officers, not exceed 16, within any of the four classes, may be appointed without regard to the examination requirement under paragraph 14 thereof.
18. Further appointments as foreign affairs officers shall be made in Classes III and IV only, after examination and appointment as previously prescribed.7!ᕼdMᗄ7
19. Whenever deemed necessary by the President, and under such regulations as he may prescribe, military, naval, and air advisers or attaches and technical assistants from any of the other departments of the government may be designated to serve in missions abroad for periods of not the exceed four years. Such appointees shall receive salary from their own departments but shall be accorded by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, and, where necessary, commissioned, to assimilated ranks with foreign affairs officers and receive from the Department of Foreign Affairs the allowances and privileges corresponding to the status and rank. When so assigned, such persons are responsible to the chief of mission and the Department of Foreign Affairs.
20. The Board of Foreign Affairs Service Personnel, Examinations and Review, to be composed of five members appointed by the President, is hereby created; two on recommendation of the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, one, on recommendation of the Commissioner of Civil Service and one, on recommendation of the President of the University of the Philippines. The Board shall be non-political in character and its members shall be public-spirited persons of unquestioned ability. They shall serve for four fiscal years and may be reappointed. The members of the Board shall serve without salary or other consideration in lieu thereof but when in session shall receive such necessary traveling expenses and per diems as the Secretary, with the approval of the President, shall direct. The Board shall elect its own chairman and conduct its business under its own rules. The Secretary of Foreign Affairs is empowered to pay an annual salary, as determined by him, to the necessary confidential assistants to the Board, and to provide and assign office space and equipment to the Board. The files and records of the Board shall at all times be open to the President, the Secretary, the Undersecretary, and members of the Board and their confidential assistants and no others, except that on written application by any foreign affairs officer, and with the approval of the Secretary, a summary transcript of his efficiency report shall be supplied him.
21. The Board shall receive applications for the Foreign Affairs Service examination, and shall nominate candidates between the ages of 23 and 40, inclusive, who are physically fit and who in their opinion may, by reason of academic training or practical experience, or both, be qualified to take the examination. They shall prepare, conduct, and grade the written examinations and certify to the Secretary for oral examinations those candidates who have attained a mark of 75 per cent or higher. In conjunction with the Secretary, they shall prepare, conduct and grade the oral examinations on the bases of personality, general knowledge and aptitude for Foreign Affairs Service. Any candidate who has received a mark of not less than 75 per cent in both the written and oral examinations and a complete grade of not less than 80 per cent shall be certified to the President as eligible for appointment as a foreign affairs officer. The Secretary shall appoint, as the exigencies of the service require, foreign affairs officers from the five eligible having the highest marks. The Board shall conduct examinations, and review and definitively establish the efficiency ratings of foreign affairs officers at least once each fiscal year at such time as the Secretary shall prescribe.
22. An efficiency report, as shall be prescribed by the Secretary, shall be submitted to the Board in April of each year by the Head of each office abroad on subordinate foreign affairs officers and by the chiefs of missions on the heads of offices and by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs on officers assigned to the Department. Efficiency reports shall be rated "unsatisfactory," "satisfactory," "good," "very good," and "excellent." The Board shall certify all ratings to the Secretary not later than June 1 st each year. Officers rated by the Board "unsatisfactory," or "satisfactory" shall be notified by the Board wherein they are deficient. Those rated "unsatisfactory" shall be warned that a subsequent consecutive similar rating may result in their separation from the Foreign Affairs Service.
23. Foreign Affairs officers of more than three years standing who have been graded "excellent" by the Board may be assigned by the Secretary for special study not to exceed one year, with full salary and such necessary allowances as may be prescribed by the Secretary.
24. Under such regulations as the Secretary shall prescribe and the President approve, transportation and traveling and subsistence expenses shall be provided for Ambassadors, Ministers, other chiefs of mission, members of and delegates to international bodies, foreign affairs officers, and other employees of the foreign service, and their respective families when traveling under official orders of the Secretary, and their personal and household effects in reasonable quantities shall be packed, transported to final destination and unpacked at government expenses.
25. The Secretary shall so arrange the assignments of foreign affairs officers as to give them the widest and most valuable practical experience and officers below Class I shall not serve longer than four years at any one post.
26. Under such regulations as the Secretary shall prescribe and the President approve, Ambassadors, Ministers, chiefs of missions, members of and delegates to international bodies, and foreign affairs officers shall be provided with appropriate residential quarters or allowances in lieu thereof, with allowances for representation purposes, and with post allowances to meet unusual and necessary expenditures due to the nature of their assignments and functions. In the computation of living quarters allowances and post allowances, due weight shall be given to rank, duties, and family status. Said allowances shall be accounted for in such manner as the Secretary may prescribe. Allowances prescribed above shall not be considered in the nature of salary or additional income.
27. Under such regulations as the Secretary shall prescribe, officers and other foreign service personnel abroad shall be granted with full pay, subject to the exigencies of the service, 30 days vacation leave each fiscal year plus 30 days sick leave, when necessary, each fiscal year. Foreign affairs officers assigned to the Department of Foreign Affairs shall receive leave in accordance with existing regulations. Any portion of vacation leave and sick leave not taken in any year shall, in the case of officers and other foreign service personnel abroad, accumulate up to 120 days vacation leave and 240 days sick leave and may be granted in whole or in part any time by the Secretary after consideration of a request therefore. The Secretary may order to the Philippines on leave any officer and his family who shall have been stationed abroad for three consecutive years and the necessary transit time shall not be counted as leave. Such officer may be requires to serve in any capacity under the Secretary's orders while in the Philippines but such period shall not be counted as leave.
28. Foreign affairs officers may be separated by the President, upon the recommendation of the Secretary, without compensation, at any time within their first five years of service if the Board of Foreign Affairs Service Personnel, Examination and Review shall have certified to the Secretary that their efficiency records have been "unsatisfactory" for any two consecutive years of the said period. Foreign affairs officers may also be separated at any time for proven misconduct, conviction of an offense involving moral turpitude, or inefficiency in the service after having been warned by the Board as provided in paragraph 22.
29. No Ambassador, Minister, chief of mission, member of or delegate to an international body, Foreign Affairs officer or Philippine employee of the Department of Foreign Affairs or the Foreign Affairs Service shall accept, display or wear any decoration, medal, or honor, except those received as a member of the armed forces of the Republic of the Philippines, or the armed forces of the United States of America prior to July 4, 1946; nor shall any of the above-mentioned persons while holding office receive any emolument from any foreign government or engage in business in the country to which accredited or in which residing; nor shall any of the above-mentioned persons act as an attorney, merchant, broker, factor or other trader, or agent thereof, while holding office; nor shall any foreign affairs officer have any remunerative investment in the country to which accredited or in which residing; except that this shall not apply to investments in the Philippines or those in any other country of assignment to or residence acquired previous to knowledge of assignment to or presumed residence in said country. No uniform shall be prescribed for or worn by any member of the personnel of the Department of Foreign Affairs or the Foreign Service other than the one to which he is entitled as an active or reserve member of the armed or protective forces of the Republic of the Philippines.
30. The Secretary shall promulgate such supplementary rules and regulations as may be necessary to implement this Executive Order.
Done at the City of Manila, this 16th day of September, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and forty-six, and of the Independence of the Philippines, the first.
