Magna Carta for S&T Personnel in Government

Policy and program intent

The State recognizes science and technology as essential to national development and progress.
The State’s policy is to provide a program of human resources development in science and technology to maintain the necessary reservoir of talent and manpower for total science and technology mastery.
The State shall establish, promote, and support programs such as science and engineering scholarship programs, improvement of science and engineering education, popularization of science and culture, and incentives for careers in science and technology.

Definitions and scope of S&T personnel

“Department” means the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) created under Executive Order No. 128.
“Scientific and Technological Activities (STA)” means all systematic activities closely concerned with the generation, advancement, dissemination, and application of scientific and technical knowledge in all fields of natural science and technology.
STA are classified into three groups: (1) Research and Experimental Development (R & D); (2) Scientific and Technological Services (STS); and (3) Scientific and Technical Education and Training (STET).
Scientific and technical personnel include S&T managers, supervisors and planners; members of the Scientific Career System; scientists, engineers and researchers; and DOST technicians and DOST S&T-related personnel.
S&T managers, supervisors and planners must be graduate degree holders, or have at least ten (10) years of managerial experience, or be performing executive, planning, and policy-making functions to carry out STA activities.

Classification and qualification standards

S&T Managers include those employed in R & D institutions or other STA-conducting organizations occupying positions of Secretary, Undersecretary, Assistant Secretary, Executive Director, Deputy Executive Director, Department Service Chief, and other equivalent positions identified by the Career Executive Service Board, with salary grades 27 to 31.
S&T Supervisors include those in R & D institutions or STA-conducting organizations occupying positions such as Associate Scientist, Assistant Scientist, Division Chief, Supervising Science Research Specialist, and other equivalent positions, with salary grades 22 to 26.
S&T Planners include those in planning positions such as Planning Officer IV and Project Development Officer IV, discharging supervisory functions, with salary grade 22.
Members of the Scientific Career System are those conferred the rank of scientist under Executive Order Nos. 784 and 901 dated 17 March 1982 and 19 July 1983, respectively.
Scientists, engineers, and researchers are at least undergraduate degree holders in natural science and engineering courses and involved in research and development or other scientific and technological activities, and “natural sciences” include (among others) astronomy, bacteriology, biochemistry, biology, botany, chemistry, computer sciences, entomology, geology, geophysics, mathematics, meteorology, mineralogy, nutrition, oceanography, physical geography, physics, and zoology.
Scientists, engineers, and researchers must spend at least fifty percent (50%) of official time in the conception and creation of new scientific knowledge, and engineering and technological principles, products, processes, methods, and systems.
DOST Technicians control, operate, and maintain technical and scientific equipment and perform related tasks connected with research and application of concepts and operational methods in engineering and natural sciences, with technical competencies acquired through a baccalaureate degree program, on-the-job learning, or completion of relevant technical-vocational education and training courses.
DOST S&T-related personnel are other DOST employees not covered by S&T managers/supervisors/planners, Scientific Career System ranks, or scientists/engineers/researchers, providing support functions including secretarial, clerical, financial, maintenance, science teaching and training, information dissemination, and other scientific and technological services.
DOST technicians and DOST S&T-related personnel must have either (a) at least 12 units in natural science, engineering and other related courses or (b) completed appropriate technical training enhancing skills from an institution including the DOST Technology Training Center duly recognized by the DOST Secretary, with the DOST Secretary determining the appropriate training requirements per position.

Exemptions from attrition and nepotism rules

Appointment of S&T personnel to positions of research assistant and upwards is not covered by the Attrition Law and Civil Service Commission (CSC) rule on nepotism, because of the highly technical nature of these positions.

Entitlement to benefits and exclusions on double benefits

S&T personnel occupying plantilla positions—whether permanent or temporary, full-time or part-time, and contractual, casual or emergency positions charged to lump-sum appropriations existing or later created—are entitled to the benefits, provided they conform with Section 5 of Republic Act No. 8439.
Despite Section 12 of Republic Act No. 6758, science and technology personnel defined under Section 5 of Republic Act No. 8439 receive: honorarium, share of royalties, hazard allowance, subsistence allowance, laundry allowance, housing and quarters allowance, longevity pay, and medical examination.
S&T personnel already receiving the same benefits under any other law must not avail of benefits under Republic Act No. 8439, unless they submit in writing their intention to withdraw previously received benefits and opt for the benefits herein provided.
Nothing in the Magna Carta implementing rules diminishes benefits being enjoyed by S&T personnel at the time of effectivity of Republic Act No. 8439.

Honorarium, royalties, and hazard allowance

Honorarium is paid to S&T personnel who rendered services beyond the established regular workload, where superior knowledge, expertise, or professional standing contributes to productivity and innovativeness, subject to rules set by the Department.
Honorarium applies to services beyond regular workload of S&T personnel including those whose expertise significantly contributes to S&T and R&D; those contributing through management/administration/support capacities to effective operation or management of S&T and R&D projects; those assigned to special inter-agency/department or inter-committee projects or not among regular functions; and those requested to organize, speak, lecture, or act as resource persons in seminars, workshops, conferences, symposia, trainings, and classroom sessions.
Funding for honorarium is included in the appropriations of the funding agency.
For foreign-funded projects, honorarium payments follow the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA)/Memorandum of Understanding (MOU); where honorarium rates are not specified, the rates in the implementing rules apply.
Honorarium rates to DOST personnel and DOST-assisted projects require approval of the Secretary upon recommendation of the agency head.
Honorarium rates for non-DOST funded S&T projects follow rates formulated by the funding agency, harmonized as much as possible with DOST rates.
“Share in royalties” is a share in proceeds of royalty payments arising from patents, copyrights, and other intellectual property rights.
Intellectual property rights include copyrights and related rights, servicemarks, geographic indications, industrial designs, patents, layout designs of integrated circuits, protection of undisclosed information, and innovations of inventions and utility models.
S&T personnel are entitled to share in royalties based on Department guidelines with a 60% to 40% allocation in favor of the Government and the personnel involved in the technology/activity produced or undertaken during regular performance of functions.
If a researcher works with a private company and the program of activities is mutually agreed, royalties are divided based on the equity share in the research project.
Hazard allowance applies to S&T personnel involved in hazardous undertakings or assigned in hazardous workplaces, at ten percent (10%) to thirty percent (30%) of monthly basic salary depending on the nature and extent of hazard.
Hazardous areas include difficult/distressed hardship posts; remote/depressed areas; work areas that are high danger zones to natural hazards; work areas posing risks from unavoidable exposure to radiation, communicable/contagious/infectious diseases, combustible/explosive dangerous/toxic chemicals and biologicals, harmful physical substances and devices, and other environmental hazards; risks involving unavoidable exposure to institutions of mental health, prison camps, and industrial service workshops; strife-torn or embattled areas where conflict exists; areas under a state of calamity or emergency; laboratories and clinics; and other areas considered critical.
Hazard allowance is based on actual presence in hazardous work areas and is co-terminous with assignment; entitlement is determined by the agency head.
S&T personnel on vacation, sick, maternity, or study leave are excluded from hazard allowance, except that personnel on study leave conducting laboratory research related to the course (certified by the school authority) and not covered by an insurance are entitled.
Personnel on secondment or full-time detail to another agency are not entitled unless personnel of the receiving agency are entitled.
Attendance at seminars, workshops, trainings, or similar activities does not confer hazard allowance unless the activities are held in certified hazardous areas.
Certification of hazardous work areas is done by the Secretary of the Department upon recommendation of the agency head, with possible reference to DBM National Budget Circular No. 451 dated March 14, 1996 for certification.
Personnel directly exposed to hazardous work areas receive hazard allowance of not less than thirty percent (30%) of monthly basic salary.
Personnel indirectly exposed receive not less than twenty percent (20%) of monthly basic salary; indirect exposure includes frequent interaction with directly exposed personnel.
Personnel in other concerned areas are entitled based on actual presence; a half-day service entitles to fifty percent (50%) of daily hazard allowance, and service of less than four (4) hours does not entitle.
In strife-torn or embattled areas, personnel continuously remaining in those areas receive one hundred percent (100%) of daily hazard allowance.
Funds for hazard allowance are included in agency appropriations.

Subsistence, laundry, housing, and longevity pay

Subsistence allowance is a full allowance equivalent to three (3) meals a day or One Hundred Fifty Pesos (P 150.00) per day.
For half-day service, subsistence allowance is fifty percent (50%) or Seventy-five Pesos (P 75.00), and services of less than four (4) hours do not entitle subsistence allowance.
Subsistence allowance is paid based on actual presence in the office or on official business.
Employees assigned outside regular work stations receive per diem under Executive Order No. 248 dated May 25, 1995, prescribing rules, regulations, and new rates of allowances for official local and foreign travels, instead of subsistence allowance, and scholarship stipends are in lieu of subsistence allowance.
Laundry allowance is Three Hundred Pesos (P 300.00) per month for S&T personnel who wear the prescribed uniform during office hours; personnel exempted under existing regulations from wearing uniforms are entitled to the allowance.
Housing and quarters allowance applies to S&T personnel on duty beyond office hours in laboratories, R&D centers, and other government facilities.
Employees receive free living quarters within the government facility if their residence is outside the fifty (50) kilometer radius from the official station.
Board and lodging fees or costs are borne by the concerned agencies.
Housing and quarters allowance availability depends on facility availability.
Longevity pay is a monthly amount equal to five percent (5%) of monthly basic salary for every five (5) years of continuous and meritorious service as determined by the Secretary.
“Continuous and meritorious” service means service without gap and with a very satisfactory performance rating for the last two (2) semesters immediately preceding entitlement.
If an employee does not perform meritoriously during a specific year, the employee is not entitled to longevity pay for that period.
Longevity pay covers entire S&T government service from original appointment, subject to approval of the DOST Secretary upon recommendation of the agency head.
Longevity pay previously received is deducted on a staggered basis within a period of six (6) months.

Medical examination and health insurance

S&T personnel must receive a compulsory free medical examination once a year and immunizations as warranted during tenure.
Medical examinations include: complete physical examination, routine laboratory, Chest X-ray and ECG, psychometric examination, dental examination, and other indicated examinations.
S&T personnel must be provided a health insurance package covering the listed services, including hospital room and board, doctor’s fee, surgeon’s fee, and other related expenses based on the insurance package adopted by DOST.

Scholarships, grants, and scholarship obligations

S&T personnel in public and private sector are entitled to scholarship and grant benefits for pursuing undergraduate, graduate, post-graduate, or training courses in accordance with a scholarship program implemented by DOST.
Grantees may study in the Philippines or abroad subject to strict measures ensuring return to render a service obligation.
Recipients of undergraduate scholarships must render government service for the equivalent number of years availed; if no government positions are available, they may work in the private sector.
Scholarships may be full-time or part-time and privileges include tuition fee, book allowance, transportation allowance, monthly stipend, dissertation grants, insurance, and payment of regular salary and other benefits.
Government S&T scholars and training grantees receive a temporary waiver of CSC eligibilities for at least two (2) years.
Government scholar graduates and training grantees receive preferential access to financial grants from any government agency/financial institution authorized to extend grants and loans with easy terms for science and technology projects aligned with national development thrusts.
Government scholar graduates and training grantees may be hired in government service on a temporary basis for two (2) years while waiting for results of CSC examinations or Professional Regulation Commission professional licensure examinations.
Grants and loans require that the accumulated training duration is at least six (6) months and aligned with expertise.
Applications for grants or loans are evaluated by DOST and the government agency/financial institution and must be used to establish an S&T project or commercialize technologies.

Consultancy and secondment to private sector

S&T personnel are allowed to render consultancy services to the private sector and receive honorarium paid by the private entity over and above their government salaries during the consultancy period, without double compensation, if the consultancy does not jeopardize or adversely affect the mother agency’s operations or activities, includes full disclosure of terms and remuneration and is subject to the approval of the Secretary of the department concerned.
Consultancy services require that the S&T personnel have a permanent appointment; contractual and casual personnel with salaries charged to lump-sum appropriations may accept consultancy services on a selective basis as determined by the agency head.
An S&T personnel may provide consultancy work in any private entity for a maximum of thirty two (32) hours per month, and may accept a maximum of three (3) projects at any one time.
Consultancy contracts must be fully disclosed to the mother agency under a tripartite contract among the hiring institution, the mother agency, and the S&T personnel.
S&T personnel cannot render consultancy services to an institution where they have direct oversight functions or where they are responsible for evaluation and screening of projects funded by grants from their agencies.
DOST and the Institute/Agency must receive a share of ten percent (10%) of the total consultancy fee; accumulated funds are treated as trust receipts under existing laws and used to support S&T activities as approved by the agency head, and other agencies may adopt the same policy.
For foreign consultancy, the maximum is two (2) months per year; extensions require filing a leave of absence not to exceed one (1) year, inclusive of the two-month consultancy period, subject to agency head approval.
Regularly employed government S&T personnel may be seconded to private entities where services are needed, provided the secondment does not exceed one (1) year, does not hamper or adversely affect the mother agency, and is approved by the head of the agency.
During secondment, the private entity bears the salary of the seconded S&T personnel.
The secondment period is included in computing length of service for retirement purposes.
S&T personnel do not earn leave credits during secondment.
Secondment does not affect security of tenure or result in loss of seniority rights.
Personnel with at least four (4) years of continuous and actual service may be seconded to private entities requiring their expertise for not more than twelve (12) months.
After secondment, personnel must serve DOST or the concerned agency for four (4) years before another secondment may be granted, subject to recommendation of the agency head and approval of the Secretary concerned.
During secondment, the personnel receive salary from the private entity and are not entitled to benefits under Republic Act No. 8439.
The secondment arrangement requires a tripartite contract among the S&T personnel, the Secretary of the concerned department, and the private entity with full disclosure of terms and conditions.
The mother agency receives a share of a minimum of five percent (5%) of total compensation received from the private entity; accumulated funds are treated as trust receipts and used to support S&T activities as approved by the head of the agency.
If the grantee continues the secondment, the grantee must resign from government service if there are no scholarship/service/financial obligations to the mother agency, and the secondment period immediately preceding resignation is not counted in computing years of service in government.

Rehiring retired S&T personnel

Retired S&T personnel under any existing law may be rehired on a contractual basis without refunding the unexpired portion of the gratuity and accumulated leave benefits received from government if the governing board or head of a research agency judges that they possess technical qualifications and capability to undertake specific scientific research activities and no qualified science and technology expert is available to undertake the activities.
Rehired retired S&T personnel must be mentally, emotionally, and physically fit as supported by a medical certificate.

Science and technology awards; committee

A Science and Technology Awards Committee is established to confer annually science and technology awards for outstanding achievements/excellence or original contributions to science and technology.
The Committee promulgates guidelines implementing the award section and specifies award categories and the financial reward amounts for each category.
The Committee considers the existing awards system administered by DOST councils and agencies.

Congressional Commission on Science and Technology

A Congressional Commission on Science and Technology (S and T COM) is created to review and assess the state of Philippine S&T human resources development, the state of computerization and information technology in the Philippine economy and society, and implementation of Republic Act No. 8439.
The Commission undertakes its review at least once every five (5) years.
The Commission consists of five (5) members from the House of Representatives and five (5) members from the Senate.
The Commission is co-chaired by the chairpersons of the Committee on Science and Technology of both Houses of Congress.

Career system, salary scale, retirement grade, HRDC, reporting

A science and technology career system for government science and technology personnel, patterned after the Scientific Career System (SCS), is formulated by a committee created by the DOST Secretary in coordination with the Civil Service Commission (CSC) and other necessary agencies.
The salary scale to be developed pursuant to Section 6 of Republic Act No. 8439 takes effect on the date of effectivity of the law once approved by the President after consultation with DBM and the CSC.
Upon retirement, S&T personnel are automatically granted one (1) salary grade higher than their basic salary at the same step in the current salary grade.
Retirement benefits are computed based on the highest salary received.
The Human Resource Development Council (HRDC) created under Republic Act No. 8248 formulates rules and regulations and implements scholarship programs provided in Rule III, and DOST scholarship programs, including those of councils and agencies, are submitted to the HRDC.
The DOST Secretary submits to the S and T COM an annual report on the status of implementation of the Magna Carta.

Implementation timing and effectivity rule

The implementing rules take effect fifteen (15) days after publication, completing the transition from adoption to enforceability.