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GATO, Vicente S. Re: Query; Hiring of Non-winning
Election Candidates on Job Order Basis
x---------------------------------------------------------------x
RESOLUTION NO. 02-0012 Honorable Vicente S. Gato,
Province of Batanes, requests clarification on the issue of
whether a non-winning candidate in an election may be
subsequently hired on job order bases. The request of
Governor Gato reads, as follows: This is to seek the legal
opinion of the Civil Service Commission if the Provincial
Government of Batanes is allowed to hire, on job Order
basis, the services of candidates who lost in the recent
elections. It is embodied in the Compendium on Local
Autonomy and Local Government that the prohibition on
the hiring of losing candidates does not cover casual or
consultancy employment per DILG Opinion No. 69-1993,
however, this query is being forwarded to obtain you
opinion/advise in aid of policy decision-making in view of
the fact that the above-cited DILG opinion can not be
considered for audit. Pertinent to the instant query is
Section 4, Rule XIII, Omnibus Rules on Appointment and
Other personnel Actions (CSC Memorandum Circular No.
40, s. 1998, as amended) which provides, as follows:
Section 4. A person who lost in an election (except
Barangay election) shall not be PRO version Are you a
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eligible for appointment or reemployment to any office in
the government or any governmentowned or controlled
corporation within one year following such election.
This same prohibition is clearly spelled out in the 1987
Constitution, as well as in the Local Government Code of
1991, as follows: SEC. 6. No candidate who has lost in
any election shall, within one year after such election, be
appointed to any office in the Government or any
government-owned or controlled corporation or in any of
its subsidiaries. (Section 6, Article IX-B, 1987
Constitution) Section 94. Appointment of Elective and
Appointive Local Officials; Candidates Who Lost in an
Election. x x x (b) Except for losing candidates in
barangay elections no candidate who lost in any election
shall, within one (1) year after such election, be
appointed to any office in the Government or any
government-owned or controlled corporations or in a any
of their subsidiaries. (Section 94. Local Government
Code of 1991) It is clear from the foregoing that a non-
winning candidate in an election, except barangay
elections, is precluded from being appointed or re-
employed in the government or in any government-
owned or controlled corporation for a period of one (1)
year from the date of the recently-concluded election.
The rationale behind this prohibition is the extirpation of
the spoils system, considering that the foregoing
provisions are directed against the so-called political
lameducks. The issue now to be resolved is whether job
order services in the government may be considered as
included within the purview of an appointive office, as to
come within the one-year prohibition under CSC
Memorandum Circular No. 40, s. 1998. 1 2 PRO version
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pdfcrowd.com In an intimately related case (MELENDEZ,
Amador O., CSC Resolution No. 01-1606 dated October
4, 2001), the Commission has occasion to rule on the
issue of whether a non-winning candidate in an election
may be appointed to a consultant position within one-
year from the date of such recently-concluded election.
In said Resolution, the Commission ratiocinated that the
purpose of the prohibition is not defeated when a non-
winning election candidate is hired as consultant
considering that the services of a consultant are not
directly delivered to the people who rejected him-her but
more to the person who hires him/her. The pertinent
portions of said Resolution read, as follows: After a
careful evaluation of the records, the Commission funds

the hiring as consultant of a non-winning candidate in an
election beyond the purview of the one-year prohibition
provided under CSC Memorandum Circular No. 40, s.
1998 . . . x x x It logically follows that consultants do
not hold a public appointive office within the
contemplation of Civil Service Law and Rules. Further,
since the services of a consultant are not directly
delivered to the people who rejected him/her in an
election but more to the person who hires him/her, it is
the stand of the Commission that the rationale behind
the prohibition will not be defeated by hiring said
defeated candidates as consultants.
________________________________ 1 BERNAS, Joaquin G.,
SJ., The 1987 Philippine Constitution, A Reviewer-Primer,
1997 Ed., p. 354. 2 DE LEON and DE LEON, The Law on
Public Officers and Election, 1994 Ed., p. 45 PRO version
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pdfcrowd.com The foregoing ruling may similarly be
applied to non-winning candidates hired on job-order
basis, considering that the reason behind the prohibition
will not be defeated through such mode of hiring. In like
manner as services of consultants, services rendered on
job-order basis are not delivered directly to the people
who rejected such defeated candidate but more to the
specific agency/unit in need of the particular services
offered by such defeated candidate. More importantly,
under CSC Memorandum Circular No. 38, s. 1993 (now
reproduced under Rule XI, Omnibus Rules on
Appointment and Other Personnel Actions/CSC
Memorandum Circular No. 40, s. 1998), services
rendered under contracts of services and job orders are
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not considered government services; and contracts do
not have to be submitted to the CSC for approval; the
employees involved in the contract or job orders do not
enjoy the benefits enjoyed by government employees
such as PERA, COLA and RATA; no employeremployee
relationship exists; and they are not covered by civil
service law. 3 From all the foregoing, it logically follows
that those employed on job order basis do not hold a
public appointive office within the contemplation of Civil
Service law and rules. Accordingly, candidates who ran
and lost in the recently-concluded May 14, 2001
elections, may be hired on job order basis in the
provincial government of Batanes; and the same does
not violate the rule prohibiting appointments of losing
candidates in an election within one-year from the date
of such election. PRO version Are you a developer? Try
out the HTML to PDF API pdfcrowd.com WHEREFORE, the
Commission hereby rules that the hiring on job order
basis of non-winning candidates in an election may be
allowed, considering that job order contract is not an
appointment within the contemplation of Civil Service
Law and rules. Quezon City, January 3, 2002 (Signed)
KARINA CONSTANTINO-DAVID Chairman (Signed)
(Signed) JOSE F. ERESTAIN, JR. J. WALDEMAR V.
VALMORES Commissioner Commissioner Attested by:
(Signed) ARIEL G. RONQUILO Director III, CPS
___________________________ 3 CSC Resolution No. 98-
2895 dated November 10, 1998. PRO version Are you a
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