Please be informed that the CES Written Examination scheduled on July 25 and August 27, 2010 have been moved to August 29, 2010 to be held in three testing centers, namely: Quezon City, Cebu and Davao.

You may coordinate with the Eligibility and Rank Appointment Division (ERAD) for the other details of the exam. Telephone Nos.: 9514985 loc. 118 or 832 / 9514983.

*** NATIONWIDE ***

Date posted: July 15, 2010

OMNIBUS ADVISORY ON THE ISSUANCE OF EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 883, GRANTING CAREER SERVICE OFFICER RANK TO LAWYERS IN THE GOVERNMENT EXECUTIVE SERVICE, AND OTHER PURPOSES

Consequent to the issuance by the Office of the President of Executive Order No. 883, Granting Career Service Officer Rank to Lawyers in the Government Executive Service, and other Purposes, the Board has been beset by queries and requests pertaining to the appointment to ranks of lawyers occupying government positions pursuant to the said Executive Order No. 883.

The requests and recommendation tend to convey the impression that the grant of CESO rank is automatic in favor of the officer/employee who has complied with the requirements set forth in the said EO 883.

Attention is invited to Paragraph 5(a), Article IV, Part III of the Integrated Reorganization Plan (IRP), as approved by Presidential Degree (PD) No. 1 dated 24 September 1972, which states:

“a. Membership. A person who meets such managerial experience and other requirements and passes examinations, as may be prescribed by the Board, shall be included in the register of career executive eligibles and upon appointment to appropriate class in the Career Executive Service, become an active member of the service. x x x”

Further, Paragraph 5(c), Article IV, Part III of the IRP also provides:

“c. Appointment. Appointment to appropriate classes in the Career Executive Service shall be made by the President from the list of career executive eligibles recommended by the Board. Such appointments to higher ranks which qualify the incumbents to assignments as undersecretary and heads of bureaus and offices and equivalent positions shall be with the confirmation of the Commission on Appointments. x x x”(Underscoring supplied)

The aforementioned provisions effectively laid down the procedure in the conferment of CES eligibility and the subsequent appointment to CES rank, that is, one is first conferred the CES eligibility by the Board, thru the issuance of a formal Board resolution to that effect, and is subsequently recommended by the Board to the President for rank appointment. Such procedure is also embodied in the existing policy of the Board provided in Section 2 and 3, Article I and Section 1, Article II of CESB Resolution No. 807, s. 2009, entitled “Revised Rules and Procedures on Original and Promotional Appointment CES Ranks”.   Thus, it is clear that the recommendation by the Board is a sine qua non for the appointment to a CESO rank.  Moreover the final act of issuance of an appointment to the appropriate rank by the President has to be performed to complete the appointment process.

Assuming that EO 883 allowed the grant of CESO rank III or higher to lawyers under EO 883, something still remains to be done, i.e. recommendation by the Board and Appointment by the President. It is for this reason that the Board, pursuant to its mandate, still has to prescribe and adopt the implementing guidelines in order to carry out the provisions of EO 883.

Relative thereto, we are holding in abeyance all actions concerning recommendations/endorsements submitted to our office from various Departments or Agency Heads pursuant to EO 883.

Date posted: July 12, 2010

Date posted: July 9, 2010

The CES Board recently issued Circular No. 6, s. of 2010, seeking to clarify the  issue on courtesy resignation in the face of a change of administration..

Circular 6 (link here) reiterated its earlier stand made in 2004 via CESB Resolution No. 549, that “an official order or directive requiring the tender of ‘courtesy resignation’  shall be null and void on its face, creating neither right nor obligation.”

Circular 6 noted that “courtesy resignation cannot be properly be interpreted as resignation in the legal sense for it is not necessarily a reflection of an employee’s intention to surrender his position.”

The circular also noted that those who are made to submit a courtesy resignation may run to the Civil Service Commission and file an appeal within 15 days from submission of such a resignation. The Circular concludes that “a finding that a resignation was in fact a ’courtesy resignation’ shall entitled the affected employee to reinstatement in the service, without loss of seniority rights, and the payment of back salaries and other benefits accruing to him/her from the time of his/her ‘courtesy resignation’ to his/her actual reinstatement.”

Date posted: June 28, 2010

It is another relevant decision, in adherence to a long line of Supreme Court (SC) decisions that strengthens the institution.

The highest court of the land recently upheld the requirement of the CES eligibility for appointees to 3rd level or CES classified positions to obtain security of tenure or permanence in the service.

In a decision dated 15 March 2010, the SC First Division reinstated the decision rendered by the Regional Trial Court of Pasay City (RTC-Pasay) and reversed and set aside the decisions of the Court of Appeals, ruling that respondent Mercado’s “termination by the PEZA Board of her appointment, as well as the appointment in her stead of CES eligible by Ortaliz, were not illegal.“ because “prior to her appointment or during her incumbency as Deputy Director General up to the time her appointment was terminated, she was not a CES eligible” and “she had no security of tenure”.

The SC added that “(I)n the CES under which the position of Deputy Director General for Policy and Planning is classified, the acquisition of security of tenure which presupposes a permanent appointment is governed by the Rules and Regulations promulgated by the CES Board”.

The SC, citing its ruling in the case of Amores vs. Civil Service Commission (G. R. No. 170093, April 29, 2009) stated that “(C)learly, for an examinee or an incumbent to be a member of the CES and be entitled to security of tenure, she/he must pass the CES examinations, be conferred CES eligibility, comply with the other requirements prescribed by the CES Board, and be appointed to a CES rank by the President.”

Moreover, the SC dismissed the contention of the respondent that Republic Act No. 8748 (RA 8748) removed the CES eligibility qualification for the  positions of Deputy Director General in PEZA since the same was not anymore provided in the said law.  The pertinent provisions of RA 8748 for the positions of Deputy Director General reads, as follows, “(T)he director general, shall be assisted by three (3) deputy directors general each for policy and planning, administration and operations, who shall be appointed by the PEZA Board, upon the recommendation of the director general. The deputy directors general shall be at least thirty-five (35) years old, with proven probity and integrity and a degree holder in any of the following fields, economics, business, public administration, law, management or their equivalent.” (emphasis in the original)

The SC ratiocinated that “removing the CES eligibility requirement for the Deputy Director General position could not have been the intention of the framers of the law. It bears noting that the position is a high-ranking one which requires specialized knowledge and experience in certain areas including law, economics, public administration and similar fields, hence, to remove it from the CES would be absurd.” (emphasis supplied)

Date posted: April 21, 2010

 

The Office Transport Security hosts a ceremonial turn over of the resolution classifying 8 OTS positions as CES position at the OTS Office last 6 April.  Undersecretary Penilla together with the OTS Officials welcomed delegates from the Career Executive Service Board headed by Executive Director Ma. Anthonette V. Allones.  

Undersecretary Penilla introduced the OTS Officials, who were welcomed by ED Allones to the CES Community.  An orientation on the mandate and accomplishments of OTS soon followed.

ED Allones presented the programs and policies of the CESB.  She emphasized the common goal of the current OTS administration and the CESB to develop executive capacities based on three guiding principles described by three S’s: Strategic, Systematic, and Sustainable. 

The event highlights the importance given to the CES in professionalizing the executive and managerial level of the bureaucracy. Appointment to a CES position of a CES Eligible qualifies them to be appointed to appropriate CES Rank and wear the CES badge.       

OTS was created in 2004 through Executive Order 277 to secure civil aviation system of the country.  Their function was expanded to cover all transportation systems of the country as a reaction to a global call for transportation security as a measure to combat terrorism and in compliance with international standards on the security of civil aviation, maritime infrastructure and road and rail systems.  

 

Date posted: April 7, 2010