Administrative Code of 1987/Book IV/Title I/Chapter 8

by Corazon Aquino

Layout 2

Chapter 8—Attaches and Representatives

Sec. 22. Attaches of the Department.—The Department Head shall designate attaches of the Department from the ranks of Foreign Service Officers and Foreign Service Staff Officers.

Sec. 23. Attaches of Other Departments.—The assignment abroad of personnel in any Department, Bureau or office of the Philippine government as attaches or representatives shall have the prior clearance of the Secretary of Foreign Affairs. The clearance shall include such matters as the actual need for opening particular types of attache services, and the specific places where these services will be made available.

Sec. 24. Appointment and Accreditation of Attaches.—(1) The authority to appoint attaches shall be vested in the Head of the Department or agency maintaining the attache service, who shall consult with the Secretary of Foreign Affairs on such appointments.

(2) A Department or agency shall have only one attache accredited to it by the receiving government, except military attaches.

(3) The designation of attaches shall apply only to those serving in diplomatic missions. Those assigned to consular establishments shall be designated as representatives.

Except in extraordinary cases, each foreign service establishment shall have only military, labor, revenue, tourism, information and commercial attaches.

In the event of the actual need for more than one attache, as determined by the department or agency in consultation with the Department of Foreign Affairs, the succeeding attache shall be accredited as assistant attache.

Sec. 25. Relationships Between the Chief of Mission and Attaches.—The Chief of Mission shall be responsible for the conduct of affairs of government at the diplomatic posts. All attaches and representatives of other departments, shall during their tour of duty, be under the immediate control and administrative supervision of the Chief of Mission where they are assigned. They shall be required to submit their reports to their agencies through the Chief of Mission and the Department of Foreign affairs, except when national security requires otherwise. They shall clear with the Chief of Mission all their public pronouncements at the diplomatic post, and all the documents and materials they send shall be transmitted through the diplomatic pouch.

The supremacy of the Chief of Mission for the conduct of foreign relations at the post is established. The Chief of Mission shall have the authority to discipline attaches within his Mission, including the authority to have them recalled, if necessary.

Sec. 26. Assimilated Ranks.—(1) Except as the President may appoint, no officer of the Philippine government stationed abroad, outside the Department of Foreign Affairs, shall be assigned assimilated ranks higher than Foreign Service Officer Class I.

(2) The assignment of assimilated rank to personnel of the Philippine government stationed abroad shall remain with the President who shall act on the basis of recommendations of the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Budget and Management.

(3) The assimilated ranks are for purposes of compensation only and shall not confer diplomatic rank for purposes of protocol. Civil attaches shall always rank after the lowest ranking Foreign Service officer in the post.

Sec. 27. Relationship Between the Consul-General or the Principal Officer at the Consulate and the Representative.—The relationship of the Consul-General or the Principal Officer at the post and the Representatives assigned to the said post shall be the same as the relationship between the Chief of Mission and the attaches.

Sec. 28. Uniform Rules for Attache Services.—A uniform set of rules and regulations shall govern attache and representative services. This shall be drafted by an Inter-Department Committee to be composed of the Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs as Chairman, and the Undersecretaries, or equivalent officials, of the Departments or agencies with attaches or representatives abroad, as members.