Question & AnswerQ&A (Republic Act No. 2260)
Republic Act No. 2260 is officially known as the Civil Service Act of 1959.
The primary purpose is to ensure appointments in the public service according to merit and fitness, and to provide a progressive personnel administration system to maintain an honest, efficient, progressive, and courteous civil service in the Philippines.
All branches, subdivisions, and instrumentalities of the government including government-owned or controlled corporations, except positions which are policy-determining, primarily confidential, or highly technical, are embraced and appointments are based on merit and fitness by competitive examination.
The three categories are competitive or classified service, non-competitive or unclassified service, and exempt service.
The exempt service includes elective officers, members of the commissioned and enlisted services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, and persons employed on a contract basis.
A citizen of the Philippines, at least 35 years old, familiar with personnel administration principles and methods, sympathetic to the merit system, and having at least five years of responsible, progressive executive experience.
The Commissioner assists the President on personnel management, enforces the merit system, supervises civil service examinations, fosters personnel policies, makes annual reports, prescribes rules, conducts investigations, approves appointments, reviews removals and disciplinary actions, hears appeals, and performs other central personnel agency functions.
Recruitment is open to all qualified citizens; employees are selected based on their fitness for the position. Vacancies in competitive service are preferably filled by promotion of the next most qualified employee or by certification from the register of eligibles. Qualification by appropriate examination is generally required.
Appointments may be permanent, provisional, or temporary. Permanent appointments follow a probationary period; provisional appointments are issued when no eligibles are available; temporary appointments are for limited periods not exceeding six months.
Penalties include removal, demotion, suspension without pay for up to one year, or fines not exceeding six months' salary. Only one penalty shall be imposed for each case, and penalty imposition must follow due process.
Civil service employees, whether competitive or non-competitive, shall not engage directly or indirectly in partisan political activities or electioneering except to vote. They may express views on political issues but not actively participate in political campaigns.
Appointments made in favor of relatives within the third degree of consanguinity or affinity by appointing or recommending authorities are prohibited, except in certain exempt cases such as confidential capacity, teachers, physicians, and armed forces members, and provided full reports are made to the Civil Service Commissioner.
They shall be liable personally for the pay of such unlawfully employed persons, and the employees themselves are not entitled to government pay. The disbursing officials may also be held personally liable for unauthorized payments.
The examination fee shall not exceed two pesos for each candidate. Disapproved applicants are entitled to a refund.
Employees in government functions are prohibited from striking for changes in terms and conditions of employment. However, they may belong to labor organizations that do not impose strike obligations. This limitation does not apply to employees in proprietary functions, including government corporations.