1. Each DFA CO shall be headed by a Foreign Service Officer (FSO), Foreign Service Staff Officer (FSSO), or other qualified and competent personnel designated by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs. All the remaining staff items at COs are to be filled only by Home-Based personnel (HBP);
2. The designated Head shall undergo training at the Office of Consular Affairs (OCA) prior to the assumption of duty as Head of the Consular Office;
3. The assignment of a foreign service personnel at any Consular Office shall be for a period of three (3) years commencing on the date of his / her assumption of duty at the CO;
4. No foreign service personnel shall serve for more than three (3) consecutive years in the Consular Office; and
5. After completion of three (3) years of service in the Consular Office, the foreign service personnel shall be reassigned to OCA or be deployed to a foreign service post.