Press Release
September 18, 2011

Jinggoy wants conferment of civil service eligibility upon councilors

Senate President Pro Tempore Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada sought the support of his colleagues in the Upper Chamber to approve Senate Bill 2946 which confers civil service eligibility upon members of municipal and city councilors and provincial board members.

"Ang mga miyembro ng mga Sangguniang Bayan, Sangguniang Panlungsod at Sangguniang Panlalawigan ay marapat lamang na mapagkalooban ng Career Service Eligibility bilang pagkilala sa kanilang naging serbisyo sa ating lokal na pamahalaan at bilang insentibo na rin upang ipagpatuloy nila ang paglilingkod-bayan," Sen. Estrada, principal author of the bill, said.

In the bill's explanatory note, Sen. Estrada cited that the Local Government Code of 1991 actually grants appropriate civil service eligibility on the basis of the number of years of service to the Punong Barangay, Sangguniang Baranggay and other barangay officers, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Civil Service Commission.

"It is but fitting that elected members of the Sangguniang Bayan, Panlungsod at Panlalawigan, who are carrying out broader and extensive duties and responsibilities be granted the same eligibility privilege," Jinggoy, once a local chief executive of San Juan City, reasoned.

Committee Report 55 of the Committees on Civil Service and Government Reorganization and Local Government grants Career Service Sub-Professional Eligibility to council members who have served for an aggregate period of six (6) years, and Professional Eligibility to those who have served for an aggregate period of nine (9) years; provided that they meet the educational requirement of completion of at least 72 units of any baccalaureate program, and finishing a bachelor's degree, respectively.

The Philippine Councilors League composed of more than 16,000 city and municipal councilors nationwide through its National President Councilor Ronald Carcellar (Poro, Cebu) had earlier expressed full support of this measure.

Once enacted into law, this shall cover all members of the Sangguniang Bayan, Sangguniang Panlungsod at Sangguniang Panlalawigan who have been elected after the effectivity of the Local Government Code of 1991.

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