How much DTE can you claim on a one-day travel — 50% or 100%?

Section 5c of Executive Order No. 77 provides that the allowable daily travel expenses (DTE) for travel beyond the 50-kilometer radius from the permanent official station shall be as follows:

100% DTE for the day of arrival at point of destination (regardless of time) and succeeding day/s thereof on official business.

50% DTE for the day of departure for permanent official station (regardless of time) if other than date of arrival.

Below is the screenshot of the said provision.

Point of discussion: Considering the above provision, how much DTE can be claimed for a one-day official travel beyond 50-kilometer radius from the permanent official station— 100% or 50%?

Our Opinion:

A one-day official travel may mean, the employee traveled to the point of destination (place of meeting/seminar, etc) and went back to the place of official station on the same day.

In our opinion, the employee is entitled to 100% DTE, not 50%. Here’s why.

If we look closely to the wordings used in the EO, it says the employee is entitled to 100% DTE for the day of arrival at point of destination (regardless of time) and succeeding day/s thereof on official business.

On the other hand, the employee is entitled to 50% DTE for the day of departure for permanent official station (regardless of time) if other than date of arrival. The 50% DTE presupposes two or more days of travel (since the day of departure is other than the day of arrival). This means that 50% DTE is given if the day of departure is other than the day of arrival.

Hence, for a one-day travel, the employee may be given 100% DTE.

What do think? Do you agree with our opinion? Give us your thoughts.

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