DELA ROSA'S BILL SEEKS TO PROVIDE SECURITY OF TENURE FOR CONTRACTUAL CIVIL SERVANTS

SENATOR RONALD 'BATO' DELA ROSA is seeking to provide security of tenure for all hard-working and dedicated casual and contractual employees of the government. In his Senate Bill No. 235 entitled "An Act Providing for Security of Tenure for All Casual and Contractual Employee of the Government Who Have Rendered the Prescribed Years of Service in the National Government and the Local Government Units," filed in July, the neophyte senator intends to grant permanent and regular employment to the thousands of personnel who are eligible and have rendered years of sweat and blood in government service.

"This is in honor of the dedication and hard work of our government employees who have carried out the tasks desirable and necessary and in the service of the Filipino people," Dela Rosa said. The proposed measure will provide security of tenure for all casual and contractual civil servants who have worked in the government for at least five (5) years continuously for the national agencies or a total of ten (10) years continuous service in the case of local government units.

Such requirement of continuous service may be waived if the service of the official or employee concerned prior to the completion of the said years was interrupted by not more than three (3) years, taken cumulatively, due to either abolition of the position, reorganization of the office wherein he was phased out or reduction in force.

In the case of officials or employees who have been previously employed in the same government agency in any capacity, the said requirement of continuous service may likewise be waived if the interruption of their service is not more than eighteen (18) months taken cumulatively, so long as the minimum required period is met. The Civil Service Commission (CSC), in consultation with the Department of Budget and Management shall issue the rules and regulation necessary to implement the provisions of the said measure.

Recent CSC report revealed that in the year 2017, more than 27 per cent of the 2.4 million government workers equivalent to 660,390 are considered as job order (JO) or contract of service (CoS) employees.

Under Joint Circular no. 1, series of 2017, all heads of Constitutional bodies, National Government Agencies, Government-owned and Controlled Corporations, State Universities and Colleges may avail of outsourced services through institutional and individual CoS and JOs. Because of this, the government is considered to be the biggest "endo" employer because of the number of temporary and contractual state workers.