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Mario: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the 2018 Ms. Civil Service Commission.
We have five smart, hardworking, and beautiful candidates from different branches, subdivisions,
instrumentalities, and agencies of the Government, including government-owned and controlled
corporations with original charters vying for the much-coveted title. They were the candidates who
successfully hurdled our pre-pageant besting over 50 candidates. To clarify ,as declared in Juco
vs. NLRC, the phrase “with original charters” means that the GOCCs refer to corporations
chartered by special law, as distinguished from corporations organized under the Corporation
Code. Furthermore, in NASECO vs. NLRC, the Court clarified that Civil Service does not include
government-owned or controlled corporations which are organized as subsidiaries of
government-owned or controlled corporations under the general corporation law.
Since some of our candidates are employed in GOCCs with special charters, then they are
covered under the Civil Service as opposed to employees of GOCCs organized under the
Corporation Code who are covered by the provisions of the Labor Code.
Before we introduce them, let me just give a brief background of the Commission.
The Civil Service Commission or CSC is the central personnel agency of the Government
designated to set standards and to enforce the laws and rules governing the selection, utilization,
training, and discipline of civil servants. The Commission is composed of a Chairman and two
commissioners appointed by the President with the consent of the Commission on Appointments
for a term of seven years without reappointment and may be removed only by impeachment.
Ladies and gentlemen, without further ado, please join me in welcoming our five top contenders
of the night! (Pasok candidates)
Intro
Ms. DFP: I am Kristina Cabugao, representing Duty Free Philippines! When I am on leave, I’m
out exploring the world, but I am proud to say, it’s more fun in the Philippines!
Ms. PAGCOR: I am Chelsea Dauz, representing the Philippine Amusement and Gaming
Corporation or PAGCOR! I am a gamer at heart, but I will never play with your heart. In PAGCOR,
we believe in creating opportunities beyond gaming.
Ms. NEA: I am Charlotte Casinillo, representing the National Electrification Administration or NEA!
A proud probinsyana from Biliran, but I give life to the city life like how NEA energizes the
countryside and electrifies the future.
Ms. SBMA – I am Krystal Fetalvero representing the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority or SBMA!
My greatest skill is balancing life, work, and play, just like my Subic Bay!
Ms. DPWH: Good evening, everyone! I am Lotti Villaroman, representing the Department of
Public Works and Highways or DPWH! DPWH ensures the right project, right cost, right quality,
right on time, right people. Therefore, I am right and I shall win tonight! Thank you!
Pre-Q and A
1. Why did you join the pageant, Ms. DPWH? – I joined because I want to build, build, build my
resume. Thank you!
2. Are you a permanent employee, Ms. SBMA? – Yes, I am, because I met all the requirements
for the position to which I am being appointed, including the appropriate eligibility prescribed.
3. Ms. NEA, when did you take your civil service exam? – Actually, I did not take any exam,
because I am an accountant, and because by special law, the board and bar examinations
are considered civil service examinations for purposes of appointment to positions in the
career service.
4. Ms. PAGCOR, how about you? – I did not take a civil exam also since I graduated with
honors, and under the law, an appropriate civil service eligibility is also granted to summa cum
laude, magna cum laude, and cum laude graduates of four-year degree courses under certain
conditions.
5. Ms. Duty Free, I am aware that you are a permanent appointee. May we know how long
you’ve been in the service? – Yes, I was appointed just last January this year. However, I’m
still in probationary period of six months during which I will undergo a thorough character
investigation. This means that I may be dropped from the service for unsatisfactory conduct
or want of capacity. However, this still may be appealed to the Commission.
Mario: (Adlib, thanks, etc.) Ladies and gentlemen, I think they are ready for more challenging
questions from our judges.
Q&A
FIRST ROUND
1. How are positions in the civil service classified? (Ms. SBMA)
– Positions in the civil service are classified into the career service and the non-career service.
Career service is characterized by 1) By entrance based on merit and fitness to be determined
as far as practicable by competitive examinations, or based on highly technical qualifications, 2)
opportunity for advancement to higher career positions; and 3) security of tenure. Meanwhile,
non-career service is characterized by 1) entrance on bases other than those of usual tests of
merit and fitness utilized for the career service; and 2) tenure which is limited to a period specified
by law, or which is co-terminous with the of the appointing authority or subject to his pleasure, or
which is limited to the duration of a particular project for which purpose employment was made.
ANS: Under this rule, the person next in rank shall be given preference in promotion when the
position immediately above his is vacated. However, the law also permits the vacancy to be filled
by transfer of present employees, reinstatement, re-employment, or appointment of persons with
the appropriate civil service eligibility. In such a case, the appointing authority is required to specify
the “special reason or reasons” for not appointing the officer next-in-rank.
Follow-up: So does that mean the concept of NIR import any mandatory or peremptory
requirement that the person NIR must be appointed to the vacancy?
ANS: No. The Supreme Court ruled in Pineda v. Claudio that in the event of a vacancy, the
officer next in rank must, as far as practicable and as the appointing authority sees fit in his best
judgment and estimation, be promoted, otherwise the vacancy may be filled either by transfer,
reinstatement, reemployment or certification — not necessarily in that order — and that it is only
in cases of promotion, where an employee other than the ranking one is appointed, is the
appointing power under duty to give "special reason or reasons" for his action to the Civil Service
Commissioner, as provided in Section 23, third paragraph, of the Civil Service Act. Thus, the
appointing authority has the discretion to fill the vacancy under the NIR rule or by any other
method authorized by law.
9. Q: Let us say that your employment contract provides that your employment is subject to the
condition that you shall not join or shall relinquish your membership in the employee’s
organization. Is this valid?
ANS: No. As held in the case of TUPAS v. NHC, the right to unionize or to form organizations is
now explicitly recognized and granted to employees in both the governmental and the private
sectors. The Bill of Rights provides that "the right of the people, including those employed in the
public and private sectors, to form unions, associations or societies for purposes not contrary to
law shall not be abridged."
Specifically with respect to government employees, the right to unionize is recognized in
Paragraph (5), Section 2, Article IX B which provides that "(t)he right to self-organization shall not
be denied to government employees. It was also clarified in this case that even employees of
GOCCs without original charters may avail themselves of the right to self-organization under the
Labor Code.
Follow-up: So we have already established that civil servants are now given the right to organize,
can they stage strikes especially if the employer fails to act on the demands of the employee’s
union?
ANS: No. In SSSEA v. CA, the Supreme Court explicitly declared that government employees
are prohibited from striking by express provision of Memorandum Circular No. 6 and as implied
in EO No. 180. The rationale behind this rule is that since the terms and conditions of government
employment are fixed by law, government workers cannot use the same weapons employed by
workers in the private sector to secure concessions from their employers.
Relations between private employers and their employees rest on an essentially voluntary basis.
Subject to the minimum requirements of wage laws and other labor and welfare legislation, the
terms and conditions of employment in the unionized private sector are settled through the
process of collective bargaining. In government employment, however, it is the legislature and,
where properly given delegated power, the administrative heads of government which fix the
terms and conditions of employment. And this is effected through statutes or administrative
circulars, rules and regulations, not through CBAs.