Press Release
February 14, 2009

Pimentel proposes eligibility to contractuals with 5 years of service

Contractual and casual employees who have rendered at least five years of service in the government and with good performance record may be granted civil service eligibility to qualify them for permanent appointment if a bill filed by Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) is enacted into law.

"Non-permanent employees, more often then not, are poorly compensated, receive nominal bonuses and are not well-provided with comprehensive health care, in spite of the long number of years that they have devoted in government office," Pimentel said.

"By this long service in government, the implication is that these employees have demonstrated competence, efficiency and diligence in the performance of their duties."

Under an existing law, Pimentel said only contractual or casual employees who have rendered a total of seven years of service in government are entitled to civil service eligibility. He said his proposal will extend this privilege to those who have continuously served the government for a minimum of five years.

He said the proposal, contained in Senate Bill 3063, is pursuant to the constitutional mandate (section 2, paragraph 6, Article IX-B of the Constitution, which provides: "Temporary employees in the government shall be given protection as may be provided by law."

The bill seeks to amend sections l and 2 of Republic Act 6850, otherwise known as "An act to grant civil service eligibility under certain conditions to government employees under provisional or temporary status who have rendered a total of seven years of efficient service."

In crafting the legislative measure, Pimentel also cited section 2, paragraph 2, Article IX-B of the Constitution, which requires that "appointments in the civil service shall be made according to merit and fitness to be determined, as far as practicable, and except to positions which are policy determining, primarily confidential, or highly technical. By competitive examination."

In the light of this constitutional provision, Pimentel said: "Just the same, it may be fair and justifiable to consider the employees' competence, efficiency, diligence, loyalty, length of service, educational attainment and trainings attended as compliance with the standards of merit and fitness set forth in the Constitution."

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