Diversity of Policies and Practices in the Civil Service:The
Philippine Experience Policies, practices and initiatives of the
Philippine government to address the issues of diversity in the
workplace along the processes of recruitment, appointment,
promotion and retention. It will also highlight some issues and
concerns and recommendations to address them. The Philippines is a
country of diverse culture, ethnicity, language and racial origin.
There are eight (8) major languages and more than 100 sublanguages
and dialects. For example, if one goes to the province of Bulacan
and travels from one town to another, which may just be a distance
of one or two kilometers, one would notice distinct variations in
the sub-languages and dialects used. The fact that the country has
about 7,100 islands reinforces this diversity. Diversity is not
limited to cultures with different nationalities and belief. It
also encompasses:``gender difference``ethnicity``persons with
disability
Brief Background on Personnel Administration in the Philippines
Appointments in the Philippine civil service are made in accordance
with the principle of merit and fitness. Opportunities for
government employment are open to all provided they meet the
qualification requirements. A major requirement is an eligibility
which is obtained through an examination. For every position in
government, minimum standards are set pertaining to education,
training, experience and eligibility requirements.What usually
happens in real life is very sad. One must need to provide offering
to the person in power in order to receive favor and a place in his
office. 'the whom you know' system of the Philippines.The
development and retention of highly competent professional
workforce are continuing concerns of the government. The Philippine
Civil Service Commission (PCSC) made a policy that employees are to
be provided with at least two (2) human resource development
interventions every year for their personal growth and career
advancement. A scholarship program (local and foreign) was
established to provide educational and other learning opportunities
for various levels of personnel.The competence of the employees in
the civil service is gauged through the administration of
performance evaluation system which is done every six (6) months.
Those who perform well and exceed the target by more than 50% may
be given an Outstanding rating.The employee could also be a
candidate for promotion and may be rewarded through other forms of
incentives. On the other hand, a Poor performance could be a ground
for separation from the service.There is an Honor Awards Program
conferred by the President of the Philippines which recognizes
outstanding employees every year. In the PHILIPPINE setting, the
actual scenario of receiving an outstanding merit has become a
disappointment. Civil servants have become very "tamad"/lazy in
performing their duties especially when it comes to innovation
because they only focus on improving some statistics by a few
percentages (5% for example).
General Policy and Legal Framework There are several landmark
legislations and policies to ensure that women, persons with
disabilities and indigenous people are empowered and given equal
access to economic, social and political opportunities. The highest
law of the land, the Philippine Constitution, states in the Bill of
Rights that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or
property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied
the equal protection of the laws.Full protection to labor, local
and overseas, organized and unorganized, and the promotion of full
employment and quality of employment opportunities for all arealso
guaranteed. For women, the state upholds the fundamental equality
between women and men before the law and recognizes the role of
women in nation building.Accordingly, women shall be protected by
providing safe and healthful working conditions, taking into
account their maternal functions, facilities and opportunities that
will enable them to realize their full potential. For disabled
persons, the state has guaranteed the establishment of a special
agency for disabled persons for their rehabilitation,
self-development and self-reliance and their integration into the
mainstream of society.For indigenous peoples, the Constitution
recognizes, respects and protects their rights and ensures the
preservation and development of their cultures, traditions, and
institutions.
Laws and Policies on Diversity to Address Specific Sectors I.
Women(a) the allocation of a substantial portion of official
development assistance (ODA) to women in development
programs/projects/activities;(b) the review/revision of all
government regulations, circulars, issuances and procedures to
remove gender bias;(c) the active participation of women and womens
organizations indevelopment programs; and,(d) the equal right of
women and men to enter into contracts, become member in clubs, gain
admission to military schools and, as a spouse who does household
work full-time, get social security insurance and housing As early
as 1975, an organization, the National Commission on the Role of
Filipino Women (NCRFW), was created to review, evaluate and
recommend measures, including priorities to ensure the full
integration of women for economic, social and cultural development
at all levels and to ensure further equality between women and men.
The NCRFW had been reorganized several times to make it more
responsive the needs of the Filipino women. There were also a
number of programs that addressed violence against women (VAW) and
womens lack of economic empowerment, namely: the National Family
Violence Prevention Program and the Productivity Skills and
Capability Building Program. As the central personnel agency of the
government, the PCSC has been very proactive in mainstreaming
gender and development concerns in the recruitment, appointment,
promotion and retention processes. The following policies, programs
and initiatives are significant milestones: (a) A full flexi-time
schedule which allows the employees to start and end work at a time
convenient to him/her provided that the same shall not be
prejudicial to the prompt and efficient delivery of service and
shall not disrupt the daily operations of the office. Work hours
shall be from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Thus, employees are given the
option to set their work schedule provided that the core working
hours of 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. are observed. Moreover, employees
are required to render at least forty hours of work in a week.(b)
The maternity leave policy has been made more flexible. A woman is
now given the option to return to her work before the expiration of
her two month leave. This allows her to receive the benefits
granted under the Maternity Leave Law and the salary for actual
services rendered effective the day she reports for work. In 1998,
the maternity leave policy was expanded to include unmarried women
and contractual employees. (c) The PCSC established in 1989 a model
Day Care Center for the employees children where the play-study
method is used. In addition, a Breastfeeding Center has been put
up. Other agencies are being encouraged to put up their own
day-care and breastfeeding centers. (d) There were affirmative
policies which specifically state that no pregnant women shall be
discriminated against on matters of promotion and career
development. In 1990, the policy which prevents women with children
below two (2) years old and without the consent of their husbands
from attending foreign training and scholarship opportunities, was
removed. (e) There were provisions for reproductive health concerns
which include annual Pap smear and mammography tests for women ages
35 and above.(f) A Committee on Decorum and Investigation (CODI)
was created in all government agencies to ensure proper
investigation in the handling of sexual harassment cases with
representation from the GAD Focal Persons. (g) Policies and
initiatives to promote and ensure a sexual harassment free
environment were also formulated, e.g.,The Administrative Rules on
Sexual Harassment Cases which provide uniform interpretation on the
prosecution, investigation and resolution of sexual harassment
cases in the public sector; The Manual on How to Handle Sexual
Harassment Cases was drafted to serve as a tool to aid the CODI as
well as victims of sexual harassment in understanding the issue of
sexual harassment and provide step-by-step procedures in handling
such cases; An intensive information campaign was undertaken to
promote awareness of the Administrative Rules on Sexual Harassment
and a thorough understanding of the issue on sexual harassment.
There are other laws passed which address womens career concerns,
to wit:a) RA 8551, Reform and Reorganization of the Philippine
National Police (PNP) mandates that ten percent (10%) of the police
force should be women. However, the same law has required a height
requirement, which is 5 feet and 2 inches for women and 5 feet and
4 inches for men.These height requirements have been found to be
discriminatory in the light of the average height of Filipinos
which is lower than what has been prescribed; and,b) The Solo
Parents Welfare Act of 2000 which basically relieve solo parents of
the burden and fear of responsibility of raising a family alone by
institutionalizing adequate state assistance and relevant support
services both for the solo parents and their children. 2) Persons
with Disabilities (PWDs)Republic Act 7277 otherwise known as the
Magna Carta for Disabled Persons was passed in 1992. This law
strongly prohibits employment discrimination against a qualified
disabled person in regard to application, hiring, promotion,
compensation and other employment conditions. The government
guarantees that five (5%) percent of all casual, emergency and
contractual positions in the three (3) departments, i.e., social
welfare and development, health, and education, and other
government agencies engaged in social development shall be reserved
for disabled persons. With this law, a National Council for the
Welfare of Disabled Persons (NCWDP) was established to formulate
policies on disability, to coordinate the functions of public and
private entities and international organizations operating in the
Philippines and to enforce laws on disability prevention,
rehabilitation and equalization of opportunities for persons with
disabilities. The Magna Carta explicitly provides that no entity,
whether public or private, shall discriminate against a qualified
disabled person by reason of disability in regard to job
application procedures, the hiring, promotion, or discharge of
employees, employee compensation, job training, and other
terms,conditions, and privileges of employment. The law likewise
prohibits the following acts of discrimination: (a) Limiting,
segregating or classifying a disabled job applicant;(b) Using
qualification standards or selection criteria that tend to screen
out a disabled person unless such standards are shown to be
job-related for the position in question;(c) Utilizing standards,
criteria, or methods of administration that:(1) have the effect of
discrimination on the basis of disability, or(2) perpetuate the
discrimination of others who are subject to common administrative
control;(d) Providing less compensation or other forms of
remuneration and benefits to a qualified disabled employee, by
reason of his disability, than the amount to which a non-disabled
person performing the same work is entitled; (e) Favoring a
non-disabled employee over a qualified disabled employee with
respect to promotion, training opportunities, study and scholarship
grants;(f) Failing to select or administer in the most effective
manner employment tests which accurately reflect the skills,
aptitude or other factor of the disabled applicant; and,(g)
Excluding disabled persons from membership in labor unions or
similar organizations. In 1990, the PCSC issued a memorandum
circular(MC) explicitly stating that disabled persons may apply and
take civil service examinations. The MC further clarified that a
healthy government workforce should not be interpreted to
disqualify or disenfranchise persons who are merely crippled, deaf,
mute or blind and those who only suffer partial physical
disabilities, which deformities do not render them incapable and
unable to perform the duties of certain positions in government.
The MC was reiterated in 1999 with a directive to enjoin all
government agencies to provide employment opportunities to
qualified persons with disabilities in all government agencies. In
September 1999, a major initiative was the development of a
computer assisted test for visually impaired people known as the
CAT-VIP. This technology uses a special gadget called a voice
synthesizer and a screen access program that enables the visually
impaired to read the test questions displayed on the screen. It
converts machine-readable text to audible speech. The time limit
for the examination has been extended from three (3) hours to four
(4) hours for the professional level and for the subprofessional
level, from 2 1/2 hours to 3 1/2 hours. Those who pass the
examination shall be conferred an eligibility which is an entrance
requirement for all those seeking permanent appointment in the
government. The PCSC has no statistics on the number of PWDs who
took and passed the examinations.The PCSC, through an inventory in
2001, recorded a total of 1,444 PWDs employed in government, with
the following breakdown: National Agencies - 468; Government Owned
and Controlled Corporations 99; Local Government Units 857; and
local water districts 20. 3) Indigenous Peoples and Ethnic
CommunitiesComprised of 110 ethnolinguistic groups, the indigenous
peoples constitute a significant segment of Philippine society.
These communities have been isolated and have fallen behind the
mainstream population in terms of socioeconomic development.
Cognizant of the need to speed up the development of these
communities and to hasten their integration into society, the
Philippine government enacted several laws to protect their
ancestral domain and promote respect for their distinct way of
life. A landmark legislation for indigenous peoples was passed in
1997. Republic Act 8371, otherwise known as the Indigenous Peoples
Rights Act of 1997, is an act to recognize, protect and promote the
rights of indigenous cultural communities/indigenous peoples. To
oversee the strict implementation of the law, the National
Commission on Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) was created to primarily
protect and promote the interest and well being of the indigenous
peoples with due regard to their beliefs, customs, traditions and
institutions.As such, it shall serve as the primary government
agency responsible for the formulation and implementation of
pertinent and appropriate policies, plans and programs to carry out
the policies set forth in the new law. Responsive to the intent of
the law, the PCSC has issued a circular to encourage appointment of
natives or indigenous people in a certain region, the Cordillera
Administrative Region (CAR), whose population is composed mostly of
ethnic groups and communities. In the 60s and 70s, the PCSC
conferred eligibilities to members of the cultural communities
through a testimonial procedure. This process, however, was abused
by some individuals who made false claims of their membership in
certain cultural groups to secure civil service eligibilities. It
defeated the purpose of responding to the needs of the members of
cultural and ethnic groups. To end this practice, the Commission
conducted the Cultural Community Examination (CCE) in 1989, a
customized examination for 12 cultural and ethnic groups in the
country that is more responsive to the kind and level of education
and the limited development opportunities that they are exposed to.
The examination, however, was stopped for reasons which were not
very clear. It is said that it was stopped in view of the low
passing rate, i.e., out of the 18,031 examinees, only 1, 755
passed. Another reason invoked the merit and fitness principle and
enjoined them to take the regular examinations. There may be a need
to take a deeper look into this and consider the possibility of
reviving the examination. In the case of Muslims in the Autonomous
Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), the PCSC statistics show that
they have performed poorly in the career examinations. In 2000 and
2001, passing rate ranged between .35% and 1.86%. 4) Employees in
the Local Government Units (LGUs)One major breakthrough affecting
local government units was the passage of the Local Government Code
(LGC). This law (RA 2171) sets the foundation for truly sustainable
development and self-reliant local government units. It has also
afforded autonomy to local government relative to its personnel
functions. Like any other head of office, a local chief executive
was accorded powers and/or rights on personnel administration.
Among others, they include the right to appoint, promote and to
exercise such other personnel actions as reassignment and detail
which are generally considered as management prerogatives. These
powers also included the right to discipline and to impose the
corresponding penalties. In the exercise of these powers, however,
certain laws, rules and regulations have to be observed. Freed from
an overly centralized government, the LGC spurred major changes by
devolving more powers and resources to Local Government Units
(LGUs) and allowing peoples participation in local governance. The
Code allowed each LGU to grow in the direction it has determined
for itself and in accordance with its own capabilities. A major
plus-factor in work diversity is the imposition of the residency
requirement among appointive local officials in the provincial,
city andmunicipal levels, e.g., secretary, treasurer, assessor,
accountant, health officer, among others. Local appointive
officials are required to be a resident of the locality for at
least six (6) months immediately preceding their appointment.
According to key informants from the Department of Interior and
Local Government, the residency requirement has many benefits.
Being a resident of the area, an appointee is expected to be more
accountable for his/her performance. The appointee is relatively
more committed and dedicated to the job as he/she is more
accustomed and acclimatized to the work area. There is also the
element of safe and secure work environment. On the downside,
however, this requirement has been used by many political leaders
to push for or ensure appointment of their proteges who barely meet
the minimum requirements when there may be better-qualified
applicants outside the community or locality. For example, the
Department of Finance is seeking the amendment of the law to remove
this requirement for treasurers in the local government. It is
argued that there is a need to have a checkand-balance arrangement
between the mayor and the treasurer to ensure proper fiscal
management of the community resources 5) Public Sector
UnionsExecutive Order No. 180 restored the right of workers in the
public sector to self-organization. This right has been denied
public sector employees starting 1972 when martial law was declared
over the country. The directive provides that government employees
shall not be discriminated against in respect to their employment
by reason of their membership in employees organizations or
participation in the normal activities of their organization. Their
employment shall not be subject to the condition that they shall
not join or shall relinquish their membership in the employees
organizations. At present, there are 1,645 public sector unions
with 278,115 members from the total of about 1.4 million human
resource in government operating in various parts of the country.
One of the major concerns of unions is the inadequate support and
lack of appreciation of management on the benefits of public sector
unionism. Despite the limited number of PSU members vis-vis the
total number of government employees, they have an active role in
pushing for the welfare of employees nationwide. Among its various
achievements are the installation of women-friendly facilities,
promotion of physical fitness, flexi-time arrangement and setting
up of grievance machineries. The PCSC, as an advocate of employee
empowerment in the public sector has encouraged public sector
unions to draw up a Checklist of Reasonable Working Conditions to
establish a working environment which will promote harmonious
relationship between the management and the unions and to
contribute to the attainment of a responsible public service. To
oversee the management of personnel relations programs particularly
settlement of disputes between management and unions, the Public
Sector Labor Management Council (PSLMC) was created. The PSLMC
issued a recent policy which provides the prerogative to the union
in the use of the 50% of the total savings of an agency. These
could be used for the improvement of working conditions, employee
assistance, among others. 6) ElderlyThe Philippines has a
relatively young population. As of 2002, older persons represent
8.4 percent of our total population. However, that number is
growing at a faster rate than in many other countries and is
expected to increase to 18.1 percent of the total population, or
exceed 11.1 million by 2025. Guided by the Philippine Constitution,
laws that recognize the positive role of older persons in our
society have been enacted, encouraging older persons to contribute
to nation-building and to mobilize their families and the
communities they live with, to reaffirm the Filipino tradition of
caring for older persons. These laws further granted benefits and
special privileges to older persons as well as created the office
for senior citizens' affairs nationwide. A republic act in 1995
established senior citizens centers to serve as venues for the
delivery of integrated and comprehensive services to older persons.
The organizations of older persons manage these centers with the
support of the local and national governments. Based on the Vienna
Plan of Action on Ageing and the Macao Plan of Action on Ageing for
Asia and the Pacific, the Philippines adopted the Philippine Plan
of Action for Older Persons in 1999. The plan of action addresses
eight major areas of concern: namely, older persons and the family;
social position of older persons; health and nutrition; housing,
transportation and environment; income security, maintenance and
employment; social services and the community; continuing
education/learning; and, older persons and the market. Strengths of
the Philippines on the Issue of Diversity As can be gleaned in the
numerous policies for women, persons with disabilities, indigenous
peoples, PSU members, LGU employees and the elderly there exists a
strong legal and policy framework for these groups. Their rights
and privileges have a strong foundation in the
Constitution.Moreover, as a signatory to the UN Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW),
the Philippines is committed to implement this as well as other
international agreements to improve the situation of Filipino women
The government has not been remiss in setting up strong
institutional and support systems to look after the welfare of each
of these groups. There is the National Commission on the Role of
Filipino Women, the National Council forIndigenous Peoples, the
National Commission on the Welfare of Disabled Persons, and the
Public Sector Labor Management Council. The PCSC, through its
quasi-judicial functions, has the power to act on complaints
involving discrimination and harassment. From 1995, the PCSC has
received thirty-eight (38) cases on sexual harassment which has led
to fifteen (15) dismissals, seven (7) suspensions and two (2)
acquittals. The strong institutional and support system put in
place is further strengthened by the active involvement of
non-government organizations (NGOs) and civil society organizations
(CSOs) in the country. There exists a workable partnership between
government agencies and NGOs/CSOs in so far as the implementation
and monitoring of programs and policies are concerned. The NGOs and
CSOs also serve as vigilant watchdogs to ensure that such programs
and policies are properly implemented. Continuing Challenges and
Recommendations 1) There is need to intensify actions to help women
break the glass-ceiling and thus increase their level of
participation in the top level decision-making positions. Out of
5,000 positions in the third or executive/managerial level of the
bureaucracy, only 30% are women. Key initiatives will include
changing mindsets of appointing authorities and the benefits of
equal representation and participation of women and men in
decision-making and training programs and leadership. 2) There is
need to improve the career mobility of local government employees
into national career positions. Oftentimes, they are stuck in their
careers in the local governments. There should be mechanisms to
allow them to obtain information and for them to be automatically
considered for vacancies in the national career positions.
Relatedly, there is a need to study their working conditions
vis--vis national government employees. 3) The PCSC needs to
undertake policy study on addressing the dilemma on ensuring a
balance between the merit and fitness principle in recruitment and
the principle of equality. There is need to assess whether the PCSC
examination for PWDs is really responsive, i.e., is the
compensatory extra hour for the examination adequate? In the case
of the indigenous peoples, similar concerns must be raised.
The existing civil service examinations are all in the English
language. These tests have been developed by experts most of whom
are based in Metro Manila and schooled in the best universities.
There may be some insidious forms of discrimination resulting from
these situations. 4) There is need to improve the recency and
regularity of generating information regarding the five (5) sectors
to allow comparison over time and to determine if improvements have
been achieved. It may be noted that the PCSC does not disaggregate
information on the number of PWDs who have passed the civil service
eligibility examination as these information are lumped into the
overall results. There is need to know the extent of representation
of the PWDs and indigenous peoples in the public sector workforce.
5) There is need to improve and strengthen the information,
education, communication and advocacy on the policies and issues
affecting the five (5) sectors. Critical to these activities will
be the participation and involvement of NGOs and civil societies.
6) While there are enough laws in the Philippines addressing
diversity, most of which can even be considered advanced, much
still needs to be done in terms of ensuring the effective
implementation and enforcement of such laws.With the limited
budgetary support from government, most programs and policies for
women, persons with disabilities and the indigenous peoples, cannot
be adequately undertaken. For example, not all government entities
are able to establish day care centers because their budgets will
not allow them this expense. 7) In the course of gathering data for
this paper, there was difficulty in looking for papers, researches
and books that touched directly on diversity. Diversity, as a word,
is sparsely used. In its place, the terms indigenous, native,
disadvantaged, and marginalized were adopted. In most resource
materials that were found in libraries, the word diversity is
usually coined with bio to mean the variety of plant and animal
life in the Philippine ecosystem.There may be a need to undertake
advocacy, education and communication activities to introduce the
word, diversity to build consensus, and reiterate its benefits and
importance, especially in a country with as diverse a culture and
origin as the Philippines.
The Philippine Policy-making Process
The Philippine policy-making process is forged by the
following:Bi-cameral legislative body, composed of the Senate and
the House of Representatives: the executive branch of government,
headed by the President of the PhilippinesThe judiciary headed by
the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. This has review over the
decisions of the executive and legislative branches, particularly
on questions of constitutionality and statutory construction.The
process follows the public policy models.Various mechanisms are in
place for public policy in every branch of government:1. Cabinet2.
The NEDA Board3. Special consultative bodies as the LEDAC
(Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council) for the
Executive Branch4. The committees and the procedures for enacting
laws, for the legislature5. The various courts from the municipal,
regional trial courts to the Court of Appeals and the Supreme
CourtLGUs have their LCEs (governor/mayor) and his offices. The
legislative is in the sanggunians or Local Councils headed by the
vice-governor or vice-mayor.
The cabinetAll the heads of department and those occupying the
rank of secretary, in the executive branchHeaded by the president,
who is the prime initiator and implementer of policies and programs
in the country.Function is to orchestrate, with the guidance from
the pres., all activities, proposals and policies of the
governmentThe Executive Policy making mechanism through the
cabinet
The NEDA BoardLike a mini cabinet Headed by the president,Vice
Chair is the Director General of the NEDA SecretariatMembers:
Executive Secretary and Secretaries of the following
departments;Finance, Trade and Industry, Agriculture, Environment
ands Natural Resources, Public Works, Budget, Labor, Local
Government, Agrarian Reform, Foreign Affairs and healthThe
Executive Policy making mechanism through NEDA Board
The LEDACA special consultative body which aims to provide
advisory and consultative mechanism to ensure consistency in
coordinating executive development planning and congressional
budgetingConstituted in 1992 under RA 7640,, it also aims to
provide a mechanism for consensus building and serve as a
consultative and advisory body to the PresidentCompositionChair:
President Vice Chair: Vice Pres.Members: Senate President, Speaker
of the House, 7 members of the cabinet designated by the pres, 3
members of the senate designated by the senate pres (at least 1
from dominant minority party), 3 members of the house of rep
designated by the speaker of the house (at least 1 from dominant
minority party), a representative from the LGU, a representative pf
the youth and a representative from private sector or any
combination of the following: business, coop, agriculture,
laborInternal Structure of the LEDAC Secretariat
Policy making process through the LEDAC