Press Release
September 15, 2022

Villanueva: problem of unfilled permanent govt positions lingers for years

Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva called on the Marcos administration to finally resolve the persistent problem of unfilled positions in government offices and agencies.

During the Development Budget Coordinating Committee briefing on the 2023 National Expenditure Program in the Senate, Villanueva said that he has been bringing up this issue every year since 2017.

"We've said time and again that the government, as the country's biggest employer, also has the biggest problem filling up these permanent positions. What is even more saddening is that this problem has been happening despite the number of unemployed Filipinos and the proposals to rightsize the bureaucracy," the senator said.

"Para na po tayong sirang plaka. There has been progress after we have raised this every year since 2017, but it is minimal. We have to do better for the sake of our workers and our bureaucracy," he said.

The senator underscored that roughly 1 out of 10 or an equivalent of 170,668 authorized positions in the government remain unfilled, based on information from the Department of Budget and Management's Financial Year 2023 Staffing Summary.

Villanueva said the government should justify this number of unfilled government positions despite having 642,077 government workers being under the Job Order (JO) and Contract of Service (COS), based on Civil Service Commission data as of June 30.

"It pains me that our government is the number one violator of the constitutional guarantee of security of tenure while it fails to fill up vacancies for permanent positions for its offices," said Villanueva.

The senator is the author of Senate Bill No. 131 or the "Civil Service Security of Tenure Act" that ensures security of tenure for casual and contractual employees of the government who have rendered exemplary service.

He also authored Senate Bill No. 568, or the "Skills Certificate Equivalency Program Act" which grants civil service eligibility to certified technical-vocational graduates who are holders of National Certificates issued by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

"I have repeatedly asked the government to explain why it fails to fill its authorized permanent positions while also hiring thousands of workers without steady or regular contracts. This is unacceptable more so as the government admits that more Filipinos will be unemployed in the coming years due to the expanding labor force," Villanueva said.


Paulit-ulit na lang? 'Di napupunuang bakanteng posisyon sa gobyerno, problema pa rin - Villanueva

Nanawagan si Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva sa administrasyong Marcos na wakasan na ang walang puknat na problema ng hindi napupunuang permanenteng posisyon sa mga opisina at ahensya ng gobyerno.

Sa briefing sa Senado ng Development Budget Coordinating Committee para sa 2023 National Expenditure Program, sinabi ni Villanueva binibigyang-pansin niya ang wari'y hindi natatapos na isyung ito taon-taon mula pa noong 2017.

"We've said time and again that the government, as the country's biggest employer, also has the biggest problem filling up these permanent positions. Ang mas nakakalungkot pa po rito ay nangyayari pa rin ang problemang ito kahit maraming Pilipino ang walang trabaho at may mga panukala pa na magbawas ng tauhan sa burukrasya," sabi ng senador.

"Para na po tayong sirang plaka. Taon-taon na po natin itong sinasabi pero maliit pa lang po ang nakikitang nating pag-usad upang lutasin ang problemang ito. We have to do better for the sake of our workers and our bureaucracy," he said.

Iginiit ng senador na sampung porsyento o 170,668 na authorized government positions ang hindi pa napupunuan ng pamahalaan, base sa impormasyon mula sa Financial Year 2023 Staffing Summary ng Department of Budget and Management.

Sinabi rin ni Villanueva na kailangang linawin ng pamahalaan ang dami ng mga posisyon na ito datapwa't may 642,077 na government workers na nagtatrabaho sa ilalim ng Job Order o Contract of Service, ayon sa datos ng Civil Service Commission noong Hunyo 30.

"Ang hirap po na ang gobyerno mismo natin ang number one na violator ng garantiya ng Konstitusyon para sa security of tenure, samantalang hindi nito napupuno ang mga vacancy ng mga permanenteng posisyon sa mga opisina nito," sabi ni Villanueva.

Si Villanueva ang may-akda ng Senate Bill No. 131 na "Civil Service Security of Tenure Act" na nagkakaloob ng security of tenure para sa mga kaswal at kontraktwal na empleyado ng gobyerno na bukod-tangi at huwaran sa kanilang paninilbihan.

Siya rin ang may-akda ng Senate Bill No. 568 na "Skills Certificate Equivalency Program Act" na nagbibigay ng civil service eligibility sa mga certified technical-vocational graduates na may National Certificates mula sa Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

"Paulit-ulit na po tayong humihingi ng paliwanag kung bakit nabibigo itong punuan ang mga permanenteng posisyon habang libo-libo naman sa mga empleyado nito ay walang regular na kontrata. Hindi po ito katanggap-tanggap lalo na't inamin pa ng pamahalaan na dadami pa ang Pilipinong walang trabaho dahil sa patuloy na paglaki ng ating labor force," sabi ni Villanueva.

News Latest News Feed