WHEREAS, Department Order (D.O.) Nos. DO2020-04-0006, DO2020-11-0012, and DO2021-04-0005 prescribes the guidelines on the provision of communication expense for eligible Officials and Employees of the Department of Energy (DOE), and requires said officials and personnel to have an open line of communication at all times in order to comply with the President's SONA DIRECTIVE 2017-0010 mandating all national government agencies to process requests from the public within 15 working days;

WHEREAS, in line with the cost-saving measures of the government and consistent with the Department's objective to optimize communication services at the least cost, and in order to comply with Commission on Audit (COA) Circular No. 2012-003 dated 29 October 2012 on "Updated Guidelines for the Prevention and Disallowance of Irregular, Unnecessary, Excessive, Extravagant and Unconscionable Expenditures", it is imperative to streamline the process of providing cellular/communication expense to eligible officials/employees of the DOE;