Republika ng Pilipinas

KAGAWARAN NG KATARUNGAN Department of Justice

Manila VNA-DC-13116

DEPARTMENT CIRCULAR NO. I) fiLl To The Undersecretaries/Assistant Secretaries

Heads of Concerned Attached Agencies The Prosecutor General/ Prosecution Staff of the Office

of the Secretary The Chief State Counsel/State Counsels Chiefs of Service and Staff Staff of the Office of the Secretary Regional/Provincial/City Prosecutors All Concerned

Subject GUIDELINES GOVERNING THE CONDUCT OF FLAG

CEREMONY

Date 13 October 2016

Republic Act No. 8491, otherwise known as the "Flag and Heraldic Code of the

Philippines" requires all government offices to observe flag-raising ceremony every

Monday morning and the flag-lowering ceremony every Friday afternoon. CSC

Memorandum Circular No. 19, series of 2012, enjoins all agency heads to establish

internal guidelines to strictly monitor the attendance of their personnel in the flag

ceremonies and ensure strict compliance.

To observe the compulsory compliance by all officers and personnel of the Department

to the above directives, the herein guidelines governing the conduct of flag ceremony

are hereby adopted.

1.0 Coverage

These guidelines shall be observed by all officers and personnel of the Department

including job order and contractual personnel. These shall be implemented at the DO]

Proper, at the DO] attached agencies which are under the administrative supervision of

the Secretary of Justice and at the regional, provincial and city prosecution offices.

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2.0 Schedule of Flag Ceremonies

As an expression of nationalism and as a constant reminder for officers and personnel to be exemplary public servants, the Department shall have a flag-raising ceremony according to the following schedule:

2.1. At the D03 Proper: the flag-raising shall be conducted at exactly 8:30AM of every Monday or the next working day if Monday is declared a holiday and a flag-lowering ceremony at exactly 4:00PM of every Friday or the last working day of the week if Friday is declared a holiday.

2.2. The DOJ attached agencies, regional, provincial and city prosecution offices shall fix their own time for the conduct of the flag ceremonies.

3.0 Activities

Every flag ceremony shall have at least the following activities:

3.1. Singing of the "Li/pang Hinfrang" as the Philippine flag is raised/lowered.

3.2 Recitation of "Panunumpa sa Watawat"

3.3 Singing of the "DOJ March"

Other activities befitting the conduct of the flag ceremony may be included.

4.0 Hosting

4.1. At the DOJ Proper:

4.1.1 the over-all coordination of the Flag Raising Ceremony shall be handled by the Administrative Service;

4.1.2 the hosting of the ceremony shall be rotated, monthly, among the various services/offices of the Department; and

4.1.3 the host service/office shall be responsible for coordinating with other services/offices relative to logistics, information to be shared and other arrangements needed for the conduct of the ceremony.

4.2 The DO) attached agencies, regional, provincial and city prosecution offices shall adopt its own internal guidelines relative to hosting.

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5.0 Attendance and Monitoring

All officers and staff, regardless of official work schedule, shall attend every flag raising ceremony.

5.1 The Administrative Service and heads of agencies and offices shall formulate a system to ensure compulsory participation and strict monitoring of attendance to flag ceremonies.

5.2 All Heads of service, agencies and offices are responsible in ensuring attendance of their respective staff during flag ceremonies.

5.3 On flag ceremony days, existing work arrangements (like flexi-time) are deemed suspended.

5.4 A record of attendance to the flag eremony shall be kept and maintained by the Administrative Service and heads of agencies and offices. At the DO) Proper, the Personnel Section shall prepare the attendance sheet on flag ceremony days. All officers and personnel attending the flag ceremony shall register and sign the attendance sheet from 8:15AM to 8:30AM. Thereafter, the said attendance sheet shall be submitted to the Office of Undersecretary Raymund L. Mecate.

5.5 The Administrative Service and heads of agencies and offices shall notify any personnel who incurred three (3) consecutive absences.

5.6 Any personnel who failed to attend three (3) consecutive flag ceremonies shall submit a written explanation to his/her immediate superior and to the Administrative Service, for personnel at the DO) proper.

5.7 Attendance in flag ceremonies shall be considered in the grant of awards and incentives to employees.

6.0 Sanctions

6.1. Appropriate sanctions shall be imposed to discourage habitual absences in Flag Ceremonies.

6.2 "Habitual absence" is defined as follows:

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6.2.1 Missing the flag ceremony for three (3) consecutive times without justifiable reason; or

6.2.2 Missing an accumulated total of six (6) flag ceremonies for three (3) consecutive months without justifiable reason.

6.3. The sanction shall be in accordance to the Civil Service Commission (CSC) prescribed actions relative to "Violation of Reasonable Office Rules and Regulations" as provided for under the Revised Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service (Rule 10, Schedule of Penalties, Section 46F), to wit:

First Offense Written Warning Second Offense Reprimand Third Offense Suspension of one (1) day to thirty (30)

days (depending upon the mitigating and aggravating circumstances, if any)

Fourth Offense Dismissal from the service (for organic or regular personnel) or Termination or Non-renewal of Service Agreement (for non-organic personnel)

7.0 Exclusion

Absence from the Flag Ceremony due to Official Business or Leave of Absence shall not be counted relative to the determination of "habitual absence" as defined in Section 6.2, provided that a copy of the duly approved official business or Application for Leave of Absence is presented to the Adminisrative Service or head of ageny/office.

8.0 Effectivity

This Circular supersedes all Department issuances inconsistent herewith, shall take effect immediately and shall remain in force until further orders.

VITALIANO . AGYilIRT]ustice Secre

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Department

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