BAGUIO CITY – Mayor Mauricio G. Domogan vehemently denied the existence of favoritism in the hiring of employees of the local government, saying that applicants for entry positions and promotions pass through the prescribed system imposed by the Civil Service Commission (CSC).
The local chief executive advised new applicants to apply for entry-level positions and not the positions that have been specifically denominated to be for promotion because workers in the government service are the ones qualified to apply for positions that are for promotion.
“We base the appointment of personnel on their qualifications in terms of education, eligibility, training and performance which are the major criteria for determining qualified applicants for various vacant positions in the local government,” Domogan stressed.
He explained applicants applying for entry level positions have equal chances of being hired because of the common playing field but in the case of positions for promotion, the criteria on performance, which represents 30 percent of the overall rating, plays a key role in determining the ranking of the applicants.
Edith Dawaten, OIC and assistant city Human Resource Management officer, said after the publication of the vacant positions, applicants are subjected to the pre-screening of their documentary requirements before the conduct of interviews and examinations by the concerned departments where the vacant positions exist.
She added the comparative assessment form of the applicants are then prepared and posted prior to the conduct of the final screening by the Personnel Evaluation board (PEB) chaired by the City Mayor and the subsequent appointment of the qualified applicant for the vacant position.
The City Human Resource Management Officer explained all the applicants to the vacant position are included in the list that will be submitted to the PEB for deliberation for the sake of transparency in order to avoid misconceptions that new applicants are being excluded to pave the way for alleged preferred applicants to the vacant positions.
Under existing civil service laws, the appointing authority has a wide latitude of discretion in the appointment of applicants for vacant positions in the local governments or concerned government agencies provided that the applicants were able to comply with the minimum qualification standards for the said positions, both for entry level positions and positions for promotion.
The City Human Resource Management office is in charge of keeping an inventory of the human resource requirements of the local government and is in charge of the pre-screening of applicants for vacant positions and serves as the secretariat of the PEB.
The City Government has a total staff of 1,400, including permanent and casual as well as co-terminus officials and employees, providing the services being required by the over 350,000 daytime population of the city and the over 500,000 individuals nighttime population.
By Dexter A. See
