To: Undersecretaries
Assistant Secretaries
Bureau Directors
Directors of Services/Centers and Heads of Units
Regional Directors
Schools Division/City Superintendents
Chiefs of Divisions
All Others Concerned

1. In line with safeguarding the welfare of the DepED officials and employees, this Office shall institutionalise the policy of extending financial assistance to the family of an official/employee who meets his/her accidental death while in the performance of his/her official functions. The following guidelines shall be observed in the implementation of this program:
   1. Coverage
      • This program shall cover officials and employees of DepED, regardless of employment status and public school teachers, whether nationally or locally funded, who meet their untimely and sudden death, whether due to an accident or illness, while in the actual performance of their official or related functions including their travel in connection with these functions. These shall also cover the period when the officials/employees are attending to tasks assigned to them such as participation in meetings, conferences, seminars, workshops, and other activities of the Department;
      • This program shall not include accidental death due to war or acts of war, strike, civil disorder, suicide, and murder/homicide resulting from the official’s/employee’s own provocation.
   2. Operational Mechanics
      1. In the case of officials and personnel of the division offices and schools, the School Division Superintendent shall report and certify the untimely demise of the official/employee/teacher covered by these guidelines. Such report/certification shall be submitted to the Central Office properly endorsed by the Regional Director.In the case of officials and personnel of the regional office, the regional Administrative Officer shall prepare and sign the report/certification to be properly endorsed by the Regional Director.
         In the case of the Central Office, the report/certification shall be made by the head of office concerned.The report/certification shall be supported by an incident report issued by police officials in case of death to an accident and/or a medical report or death certificate issued by hospital authorities.
      2. The certification together with the appropriate supporting documents must be submitted to the Office of the Undersecretary for Regional Operations through the Employees Welfare and Benefits Division (EWBD). Upon verification, the EWBD shall prepare the obligation request and voucher payable to the head of office concerned (Bureau/Service/Center Director or Chief of Division in the case of Central Office, Regional Director in the case of Regional Office and School Division Superintendent in the case of Division Office) in order to process payment.
      3. The amount of financial assistance shall be Fifty Thousand Pesos (PhP50,000.00) Only. This prescribed amount, however, does not preclude the Secretary to exercise his/her discretion to extend a higher amount of financial assistance when circumstances so warrant.
      4. Upon receipt of the financial assistance, the concerned office/regional office/division office shall ensure that the same is received by the bereaved family. For monitoring purposes, a report of disbursement together with the proper acknowledgement by the bereaved family shall be submitted to the EWBD.
   3. Fund Source
      • The financial assistance referred to in this proposal shall be charged against OSEC funds, the specific item of which shall be identified by the Budget Division, subject to the usual accounting and auditing rules and regulations.
2. The concerned Regional Office/Division Office is also enjoined to extend financial assistance to the bereaved family chargeable to their respective funds.
3. This Order shall take effect immediately.
4. Immediate dissemination of this Order is directed.

Reference:
None
Allotment: 1- -(D.O. 50-97)

To be indicated in the Perpetual Index under the following subjects:
BENEFITS
EMPLOYEES
OFFICIALS
POLICY

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