BAGUIO CITY – The City Council approved on first reading a proposed ordinance allocating the amount of P100,000 to be used for the conduct of civil service examination reviews for persons with disabilities (PWDs) in the city by the Cordillera office of the Civil Service Commission (CSC-CAR), in coordination with the City Social Welfare and Development Office.
The ordinance authored by Vice Mayor Eidon R. Bilog stated the City Social Welfare and Development Office shall be tasked to spearhead in the implementation of the pertinent provisions of the proposed local legislative measure and to submit a periodic report to the City Mayor and the City Council regarding the compliance of the local government to the said measure.
Under the proposed ordinance, the city’s Local Finance Committee shall issue the required certification of availability of funds for the implementation of the noble program geared towards helping improve the status of PWDs and improving their chances of getting permanent jobs in the government.
Further, the ordinance stipulated that there is also a need to allocate an amount which shall be used for the conduct of the civil service examination reviews for PWDs by the CSC-CAR in coordination with the OCSWADO.
According to the proposal, there is a need to conduct civil service examination reviews for the PWDs to meet the eligibility requirements in government service for the qualified PWD applicants.
Republic Act (RA) 10524 provides that equal employment opportunity shall be given to PWDs in the selection process based on qualification standards for an appointment to a position in government and requirements set by employers in private corporations.
Moreover, the PWDs shall also be subjected to the same terms and conditions of employment, compensation, privileges, benefits, incentives, or allowances as an able-bodied person.
The law also expands the position reserved for persons with disabilities amending for the purpose RA No. 7277 as amended, otherwise known as the Magna Carta for PWDs, expanded employment opportunities for PWDs.
The ordinance was referred by the local legislative body to the Committee on Social Services, Women, Urban Poor and PWDs for the conduct of the needed public hearings to ascertain the sentiments of the concerned government agencies and the sectors before it will be submitted for second and third readings in the future.
The ordinance tasked the City Social Welfare and Development Office, in coordination with the concerned City Council Committee, to prepare the appropriate rules and regulations for the implementation of the local legislative measure and to ascertain the necessary qualifications of the PWDs who will benefit from the funding assistance that will be extended by the city for their availing of the civil service examination review and their eventual taking of the examination to improve their qualifications for the vacant positions in the government service.
By Dexter A. See
