PROVIDING FOR TRAVELLING AND INCIDENTAL EXPENSES OF PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS RELATIVE TO THE PROSECUTION OF CASES WHERE THE GOVERNMENT IS A PARTY LITIGANT

WHEREAS, experience has shown that some of the witnesses involved in
government cases are private individuals or are government
officials/personnel who have already retired or left the government
service during the pendency of such cases or even before the filing of
necessary charges against erring officials/employees;

WHEREAS, the issue as to who will shoulder the travelling and other
incidental expenses of these private individuals or of retired/resigned
witnesses (who, in the meantime, have also become private citizens)
relative to the prosecution of the cases comes to the fore;

WHEREAS, there is a need to provide guidelines for the provision of
travelling and incidental expenses of these individuals whose testimony
in court is material and indispensable.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH EJERCITO ESTRADA, President of the Republic
of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do
hereby order:

SECTION 1. Coverage . — This Executive
Order shall apply to all private individuals including retired
government personnel or those who have left the government service for
other reasons but whose testimony in court is material and indispensable
for the prosecution of cases where the Government is a party litigant.

SEC. 2. Travelling and Incidental Expenses of Private Individuals as Witnesses for the Government.
— Necessary travel expenses, including actual and necessary expenses
for subsistence may be allowed for witnesses for the Government whose
testimony in the courts of justice is considered material and
indispensable in the trial of any case, whether administrative, civil or
criminal. These shall be charged against the funds of the Ombudsman or
of the agency concerned for former agency personnel, or of the
Commission on Audit in the case of former COA employees.

A person required by the Ombudsman to provide information shall be
paid the same fees and travel allowances as are extended to witnesses
whose attendance has been required in the trial courts. (Sec. 32, R.A.
No. 6770, The Ombudsman Act of 1989).

In order to assure the appearance of the witness, the public
prosecutor or attorney concerned shall previously apply therefor in
writing to the court concerned. It having been shown that the testimony
of the witness is material, said court shall order the issuance of
summons.

SEC. 3. Funding Requirements . — For the
current year, funds to cover the transportation and incidental expenses
referred to in the preceding section shall be sourced from agency
savings or, upon request, augmented by the Department of Budget and
Management. Thereafter, funding requirements shall be included in the
regular appropriation of the agencies concerned.

SEC. 4. Repealing Clause . — All circulars,
orders, memoranda, rules, regulations, and issuances or portions thereof
which are inconsistent with this Executive Order are hereby repealed or
modified accordingly.

SEC. 5. Effectivity. — This Executive Order
shall take effect thirty (30) days following its complete publication in
at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation in the Philippines

Adopted: 14 Aug 2000

By the President:

(Sgd.) RONALDO B. ZAMORA
Executive Secretary