Civil Service coverage and services
- Section 1 amends Section 3 of Republic Act No. 2260 to include all branches, subdivisions, and instrumentalities of the Government, including government-owned or controlled corporations, in the Philippine Civil Service.
- Section 1 provides that appointments must generally be made according to merit and fitness, to be determined as far as practicable by competitive examination, except for positions that are policy-determining, primarily confidential, or highly technical in nature.
- Section 1 establishes three categories of positions in the civil service: competitive service, non-competitive service, and exempt service.
- Section 1 provides that the exempt service does not fall within the scope of the Act.
- Section 4 amends Section 6 to define the exempt service as consisting of:
- Elective officers;
- Members of the Commissioned and enlisted service of the Army, Navy and Air Force of the Philippines; and
- Persons employed on a contract basis not exceeding one year (renewable but not exceeding four continuous years) and those in government-owned or controlled corporations primarily performing proprietary functions with collective bargaining agreements, as well as temporary, emergency or casual laborers.
Competitive and non-competitive service
- Section 2 amends Section 4 to define the competitive service as positions requiring prior qualification or successful passing in an appropriate examination.
- Section 3 amends Section 5 to define the non-competitive service as composed of:
- Positions expressly declared by law to be non-competitive; and
- Positions that are policy-determining, primarily confidential, or highly technical in nature.
- Section 3 enumerates non-competitive positions, including (a) presidential appointees with consent of the Commission on Appointments, with named exceptions; (b) secretarial and office staff of key national officials and certain congressional offices; (c) secretarial staff of department heads and justices; (d) officers required and chosen by Congress under the Constitution; (e) academic personnel of the University of the Philippines and other government colleges offering collegiate-level courses (including business directors and registrars); (f) heads of departments created in city charters and secretaries of provincial, city, and municipal boards or councils and of provincial governors, city mayors, and municipal mayors; (g) permanent laborers, skilled or unskilled; (h) supplementary employees in the Senate and House; (i) officers for which law prescribes specific special qualifications; (j) confidential assistant, confidential agents, investigation agents, and special and secret service agents; and (k) commercial attaches.
- Section 10(f) imposes a limitation: no person appointed to a non-competitive position may perform duties properly belonging to any competitive service position.
Civil Service Commission organization and powers
- Section 5 amends Section 7 to establish a Civil Service Commission headed by the Commissioner of Civil Service.
- Section 5 provides that the Commissioner:
- Is appointed by the President with consent of the Commission on Appointments;
- Holds office for a term of nine years and may not be reappointed;
- Must have the qualifications of justices of the Court of Appeals and be sufficiently familiar with personnel administration principles and methods and known to be in sympathy with the merit system;
- May be removed only for cause and after investigation; and
- Is an ex-officio member of the Cabinet.
- Section 5 requires the Commission to keep records and minutes of business and official actions, which are public records open to public inspection at hours and under conditions set by the Commission.
- Section 5 creates a Deputy Commissioner of Civil Service appointed in the same manner as the Commissioner who assists the Commissioner and acts as head in the absence of the Commissioner.
- Section 5 authorizes the Commissioner to appoint an Executive Director who performs the duties of Secretary of the Commission and other functions assigned, with a salary of sixteen thousand eight hundred pesos a year.
- Section 5 establishes a Legal Affairs Department within the Commission, listing positions and annual salaries for its staff (including a Chief Civil Service Attorney, Assistant Chief Civil Service Attorneys, Supervising Civil Service Attorneys, Senior Civil Service Attorneys, Civil Service Attorneys I, II, III, Legal Aides, and docket/library/stenographic/records personnel), with each salary amount stated in the Act.
- Section 8 amends Section 16 to define the Commission’s key functions, including enforcing the merit system; supervising civil service examinations; prescribing and enforcing rules with presidential approval; keeping records of appointments; hearing appeals; deciding administrative cases within fixed periods; and issuing subpoena and subpoena duces tecum.
Regional offices and civil service legal personnel
- Section 6 amends Section 8 to authorize the Commissioner to establish regional offices at Dagupan City, Tuguegarao (Cagayan), Naga City, Iloilo City, Cebu City, Tacloban City, City of Cagayan de Oro, Davao City and Zamboanga City, and other places as public interest requires.
- Section 6 provides that heads of regional offices are appointed by the Commissioner from qualified employees residing in the region and exercise, within the region, the Commission function provided in Section 16(h) and other delegated functions.
- Section 6 grants a right to appeal the regional office head’s action to the Commission within thirty days from receipt of notice by the appealing party.
- Section 6 provides that each regional office head receives necessary office personnel appointed by the Commissioner according to civil service law and rules.
- Section 6 requires that each province and city have a civil service attorney and a stenographer, with stated annual salaries of six thousand pesos per annum (civil service attorney) and two thousand four hundred pesos per annum (stenographer).
- Section 6 provides civil service attorneys shall:
- Conduct investigations of administrative complaints and violations of civil service law and rules and regulations;
- Note and/or disapprove appointments of provincial, municipal, and city officials and employees within their territorial jurisdictions; and
- Perform other duties delegated by the Commissioner.
- Section 6 terminates the power of provincial and city treasurers to attest or approve appointments upon the approval of the amendatory Act.
Compensation and Commission functions
- Section 7 amends Section 15 to set the annual salaries of:
- Commissioner: twenty four thousand pesos; and
- Deputy Commissioner: eighteen thousand pesos per annum.
- Section 8 amends Section 16(e) to provide that rules prescribed by the Commission, once approved by the President, become effective thirty days after publication in the Official Gazette.
- Section 8 amends Section 16(h) to require the Commission to note and record appointments and promotions in the competitive service and to disapprove appointments where appointees lack corresponding eligibility within ninety days after submission.
- Section 8 amends Section 16(h) to provide immediate effect of appointments upon assumption of duties, entitling the appointee to salaries and benefits until final notice of disapproval, while preserving appointing authority liability under the law.
- Section 8 amends Section 16(h) to make Commission disapproval final unless an appeal is taken as provided by law.
- Section 8 amends Section 16(h) to provide that a salary increase for the same position does not require a new appointment, except that copies of the adjustment notice must be submitted to the Commission for record purposes.
- Section 8 amends Section 16(i) to require the Commission to decide within one hundred twenty days after submission all administrative cases against permanent officers and employees in the competitive service, including final authority on removal, separation, and suspension (except as provided by law) and matters on conduct, discipline, and efficiency, and to prescribe discipline standards.
- Section 8 amends Section 16(j) to require the Commission to hear and determine appeals within thirty days after submission, with decisions final unless appealed as provided by law.
- Section 8 amends Section 16(g) to authorize the Commission to issue subpoena and subpoena duces tecum requiring witness appearance and production of relevant books and papers.
Recruitment, selection, and examinations
- Section 9 amends Section 23 to open government employment opportunities to all qualified citizens and requires positive efforts to attract the best qualified.
- Section 9 provides that employees are selected based on fitness determined by the appointing authority and based on merit as provided in the Act.
- Section 9 provides that when a vacancy occurs in competitive service, the next-in-rank officer or employee in the same office who is competent and qualified and has the appropriate civil service eligibility is appointed, subject to preference rules and required written explanation for special reasons not to appoint.
- Section 9 requires that if special reasons exist not to appoint, the appointing official must state them in writing and inform the officer or employee, who must be given an opportunity to be heard by the Commission; the Commission decision is final unless appealed as provided by law.
- Section 9 provides that promotional appointees are not required to undergo further examination if the salary of the higher position is within the eligibility range or if they have satisfactorily discharged duties of the higher position in an acting capacity for at least five years.
- Section 9 provides that if the vacancy is not filled by promotion, it is filled by transfer, reinstatement, re-employment after reduction in force, or appointment of persons with appropriate civil service eligibility.
- Section 9 requires appr