GOVERNMENT officials and employees planning to travel abroad no longer need to present a travel permit from their department heads to immigration personnel at airports, Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced Tuesday.
In a memorandum, the BI said local government units (LGU) personnel need only to present a copy of their approved leave application to the immigration officers in airports and seaports in the country.
The new BI rule, however, does not apply to provincial governors and mayors of highly urbanized and chartered cities, said the BI.
The BI said LGU officials still have to secure a travel authority from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary for local government when going abroad, "regardless of the nature, purpose, and duration of their travel."
The new BI rules further said that immigration officers will only require the presentation of travel authority from departing local officials and DILG employees if their trip is on official time or business.
It added, however, that if the duration of the leave of absence of said officials is less than three months, an approved leave application will suffice.
The memorandum issued by the BI is pursuant to the memorandum circular issued by the then Interior and Local Government Secretary Ismael Sueno last February that revised the guidelines on travel authority.
The BI said the new policy is now being implemented by the immigration in all international airports and seaports in the country. (SunStar Philippines)