QuestionsQuestions (Commonwealth Act No. 402)
CA 402 applies to all officers and employees of the National Government included in the classified and unclassified civil service, except: (a) elective officers and officers whose compensation is fixed in the Constitution; (b) officers chosen by the National Assembly in accordance with the Constitution; (c) employees stationed outside the territorial limits of the Philippines; (d) specified UP officials and teaching staff; (e) commissioned and enlisted members in active service of the Philippine Army; (f) persons in military, naval, or civil service of the United States appointed/detailed to perform duties in the Commonwealth Government; and (g) employees declared by the President as primarily confidential or highly technical.
A “class” is a position/group sufficiently similar in duties and responsibilities so that the same minimum requirements (education, experience, knowledge, ability), the same fitness tests, and the same compensation rate apply with equity. A “grade” is a horizontal division prescribing approximately the same level of compensation and comparable basic qualifications, with differences based on importance, difficulty, responsibility, and value of work. A “group” is a vertical division of a service covering positions in the same line/profession/vocation/specialization.
“Compensation” means any salary, wage, fee, allowance, or other emoluments accruing or paid to an employee occupying a position.
CA 402 creates a board known as the “Salary Board.” It consists of the Commissioner of Civil Service as Chairman, with the Commissioner of the Budget and the Auditor General as members.
Except for special groups in Section 5, positions covered by the Act are classified into ten grades (Grade 1 to Grade 10), each with prescribed annual compensation rates.
Section 3 establishes the schedule of grades and their corresponding annual rates of compensation, and describes Grade 1 through Grade 10 by reference to duties, scope of judgment, supervision level, and level of responsibility/technical difficulty.
Grade 1 includes positions serving as heads of a very large/very important unit under administrative direction with very wide latitude for independent judgment; planning/organizing investigations or original research in specialized professional/scientific/technical fields; or performing the most important, difficult, and responsible specialized work requiring exceptionally high order of training and experience.
CA 402 establishes seven services: (I) Administrative Service (10 grades); (II) Professional and Scientific Service (8 grades); (III) Educational Service (9 grades); (IV) Navigation Service (10 grades); (V) Vigilance Service (10 grades); (VI) Subprofessional Service (7 grades, highest Grade 4 lowest Grade 10); and (VII) Craft and Labor Service (7 grades, highest Grade 4 lowest Grade 10).
Special groups are positions not subject to classification by the Board. The text provides examples: the Executive Group and the Judicial Group, each with specified offices/titles and annual compensation rates.
If appointed to act as justice of the peace of a district composed of two or more municipalities, he is entitled to the salary of the largest municipality plus 75% of the salary of the other municipality/municipalities. If designated temporarily in addition to his own, he gets full salary of his municipality/district plus 75% for each municipality where temporarily designated. In both cases, the aggregate salary cannot exceed PHP 2,400 per annum.
The reasonable value (as determined by the Board) of quarters, subsistence, laundry, domestic service, and other facilities furnished per law is deducted from compensation. Exemptions include: no deduction for subsistence and rental of quarters for light keepers in remote/isolated places and for marine officers/petty officers/crews on board assigned vessels; no deduction for rental of quarters in barracks/outposts/guardhouses/prisons/hospitals/dormitories and similar structures when required by duty; and no deduction for laundry for hospital employees required to wear uniform (as the Board determines).
Compensation differentials may be allowed for certain cases at rates fixed by the Board, following the schedules. Differentials in different schedules are cumulative, but the aggregate differentials cannot exceed 25% of basic compensation.
Employees not in the Vigilance Service or Navigation Service who are assigned for not less than three consecutive months to work earlier than 6:00 AM or later than 8:00 PM are entitled to a differential up to 10% of basic compensation, but not exceeding PHP 240 per annum.
No employee may receive compensation for personal benefit, directly or indirectly, in any form (salary, per diem, fee, honorarium, gift, subsistence, or travel allowance) from private persons for services rendered in his official capacity.
The Board must classify all existing positions on the date the Act takes effect and all positions created thereafter based on statements by Department Heads. It must also fix the date when initial allocations take effect in each bureau/office, which shall not be later than January 1, 1940 unless extended by the President.
If below the minimum rate of the allocated grade, increase to minimum. If within the grade range and exactly at one of the rates fixed, no change. If within the range but not at one of the fixed rates, increase to the next higher rate. If above the range, no reduction while occupying the same position.