CSC to government agencies: Don’t reserve positions for insiders

MANILA, Philippines — The Civil Service Commission (CSC) has reminded government agencies to refrain from reserving vacant positions for insiders, stressing that the hiring of applicants for civil service posts should be based on merit.

“Please remind your respective human resource departments that reserving positions for insiders is prohibited,” CSC Commissioner Aileen Lizada said.

“Hiring or promoting civil service applicants should be based on merits and fitness for the position. That is why the posting of vacant positions is required, to serve as notice to all interested,” Lizada said.

She said she received a report that the HR department of a government office in Region 11 (Davao) refused to accept the application of an outsider, saying that the position is already “reserved” for an insider.

Lizada, however, refused to name the persons involved in the alleged inside hiring nor identify the government office to which they belong. 

She said she had already dispatched a team to investigate the report, but added that the incident was caught on video.

She encouraged the public to report to the CSC any similar incident, stressing that any official who gives undue preference to an insider applicant over the other more qualified individuals may be held liable of grave misconduct, abuse of authority and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service under the 2017 Rules on Administrative Cases in the Civil Service.