Summary
RMC No. 73-2020 publishes the full text of CSC Memorandum Circular No. 14, s. 2020, the interim guidelines on appointments and other human resource actions during the COVID-19 State of Calamity.
Key points
- Scope. The guidelines cover appointments to first and second level positions, including second level executive and managerial positions in the career service, and non-career service appointees who are not presidential appointees.
- Publication of vacancies. The nine (9)-month validity of publication is extended by the duration of the ECQ or MECQ in the agency’s area, counted from its lifting. A position not filled within the extension must be republished. The Request for Publication (CS Form No. 9, Revised 2018) continues to go by e-mail to the CSC Field Office, with the hard copy due within sixty (60) calendar days after the lifting. Posting in three conspicuous places is relaxed, and publication in the CSC, agency website or social media, job search sites and radio announcements suffices.
- Online hiring and e-signatures. Agencies adopt internal guidelines for online recruitment and selection, such as online assessments and video interviews and deliberations. Appointing officers, HRMOs and HRMPSB Chairpersons may use electronic signatures if the agency head submits a certification with specimen signatures to the CSC Regional Office through the Field Office.
- Submission and action on appointments. Appointments with the ATAF or RAI go by e-mail to the CSC Field Office within thirty (30) calendar days from issuance, or on or before the 30th day of the succeeding month for accredited agencies. Hard copies follow within sixty (60) calendar days after the lifting. E-mailed appointments may be approved if the appointee meets the Qualification Standards, subject to revalidation with originals and to verification of civil service eligibility.
- Assumption to duty and probation. An appointee may assume office within the ECQ/MECQ period under alternative work arrangements, or within thirty (30) days from the lifting. The oath may be taken virtually, and salary is paid at once after oath and assumption without waiting for approval of the appointment. Quarantine does not extend probation for those on alternative work arrangements, but it extends probation for those whose work can only be done onsite.
- Reassignment and promotions. Licensed professionals such as medical and social workers may, with their consent, be reassigned or detailed to healthcare or other government facilities during the state of national emergency, with appropriate prior training. Career employees may be reassigned near their homes within the region during ECQ and MECQ. Vacancies from promotion in essential services may be filled without waiting for CSC action, as a conditional exemption from Section 96 of the 2017 ORAOHRA.
Who is affected
- Government agencies and appointing authorities
- First and second level career service appointees
- Non-career service appointees who are not presidential appointees
Deadlines and effectivity
- Effective retroactively on March 16, 2020, until the State of Calamity is lifted
- Hard copies due within sixty (60) calendar days after the lifting of ECQ/MECQ
- Assumption to duty within thirty (30) days from the lifting of ECQ/MECQ
Summary by Tax Resources PH. It is not a substitute for the full text of the issuance or professional advice.
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