CIRCULAR NO. 31-98, May 26, 1998

In line with the mandate of Administrative Order No. 392 enjoining “all
departments, bureaus, government-owned and/or controlled corporations,
government financial institutions, local government units and other agencies to
promote and encourage participation in the Philippine Centennial Exposition 1998
or Expo Pilipino, including its ‘Expo Pilipino Family Day’ Program”, all lower
court employees are hereby granted the privilege of visiting the Expo Filipino
on official time, at any time between Tune 6, 1998 to Tune 15, 1999, subject to
the following guidelines:

1. The leave of absence of lower court employees shall be scheduled to avoid
   depletion of work force and in order to avoid impairment in the delivery
   of
   public service;

2. All applications for leave should be filed seven (7) days in advance to
   enable the head of office to make the necessary arrangements or schedule
   pursuant to number 1 hereof;

3. Priority in scheduling the leave shall be given to those who have filed
   their respective applications first;

4. Employees taking this special leave should visit the Expo Pilipino at Clark
   and shall be required to submit their respective admission tickets;

5. A monthly report shall be submitted by each Clerk of Court to the Hon. Court
   Administrator, through the Officer-In-Charge of the Office of Administrative
   Services, regarding the following data:

a. How many of their respective staff members have gone on leave to visit the
Expo; and

b. The specific dates when these employees took their
respective leave of absence.

6. The admission tickets of those employees who took this special leave shall
   be attached to the report which should be submitted within the first five (5)
   days following the month covered by said report; and

7. Details of the “Expo Pilipino Family Day Program” shall be provided by the
   Office of Adininistrative Services, OCAd, as soon as these become
   available.

The provisions of the Civil Sendee Commission’s (CSC) Memorandum Circular
(MC) No. 17, s. 1998, dated 12 May 1998, are hereby adopted to form an integral
part of these guidelines.

In this regard, the Financial Management Office (FMO) is hereby directed to
make a study as regards the feasibility of implementing paragraph Number 2 of MC
No. 17, s. 1998, which provides as follows:

“At the discretion of the head of office, expenses for visits to the Expo may
be fully or partially subsidized by an office or agency subject to usual
accounting and auditing rules.”

The FMO is further directed to act on this matter with dispatch and to submit
its recommendation as soon possible.

For the information and guidance of all, copies of Administrative Order No.
392 and CSC Memorandum Circular No. 17, s. 1998, are attached hereto and marked
as Annexes “A” and “B”, respectively.

May __26__, 1998.