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SUBJECT: COA, CSC and DBM Joint Circular no. 1 series of 2017
PREFATORY STATEMENT
Public office is a public trust. Public officers and employees must at all times be
accountable to the people, serve them with utmost responsibility, integrity, loyalty, and
efficiency. With the vague status of Contract of Service and Job Order workers, their
accountability, if theres any, is being questioned as they are not considered as
government employee and neither are they covered by Civil Service Law and Rules and
Regulation.
Obviously, COA, CSC and DBM Joint Circular no. 1 series of 2017 (Joint Circular
for brevity) was issued in response to such observation and to address the vague status
of workers who are employed under Contract of Service and Job Order and to prevent
the alleged abuses of hiring Contract of Service and Job Order workers.
NON-APPLICABILITY TO LOCAL
GOVERNMENT UNITS
The Joint Circular does not apply to Local Government Units. As stated in Item
4 of the Joint Circular, the declared rules and limitations only apply to the following
government institutions:
The Joint Circular intentionally omitted the Local Government Units in its
coverage because it is the Local Government Code of 1991 that govern its hiring of
Contract of Service and Job Order Workers. Under Section 77 of the Local
Government Code of 1991, the local chief executive may employ emergency or casual
employees or laborers paid on a daily wage or piecework basis and hired through job
orders for local projects authorized by the sanggunian concerned, without need of
approval or attestation by the Civil Service Commission.
Axiom in statutory construction that when a circular (COA, CSC and DBM Joint
Circular no. 1 series of 2017) is contrary with the law (Local Government Code of 1991),
the former shall bow down to the latter to accomplish its objective. The circular will not
necessarily be declared invalid but will be construed in harmony with the law if both can
be given effectivity. If a contemporaneous construction (Joint Circular) is found to be
erroneous, the same must be declared null and void (Adasa vs. Abalos, G.R. no. 168617,
19 February 2007).
It should be well noted, however, that the Implementing Rules and Regulation of
the Local Government Code of 1991 specifically limits the period of employment of
emergency or casual laborers to six (6) months (Article 164 (d) of the Implementing
Rules and Regulation of Republic Act no. 7160).
Thus, the Local Government Units may renew the Contract of Service and Job
Order as long as in line with promotion of the general welfare of its constituents
and it is in accordance with auditing rules and regulations.
Moreover, as a general limitation to Local Government Units, the total
appropriations, whether annual or supplemental, for personal services of
Local Government Units for one (1) fiscal year shall not exceed forty-five percent
(45%) in the case of first to third class provinces, cities, and municipalities, and fifty-
five percent (55%) in the case of fourth or lower class provinces, cities, and
municipalities, of the total annual income from regular sources realized in the
next preceding fiscal year (Section 325 of the Local Government Code of 1991).
Recently, the Government Procurement Policy Board issued the 2016 Revised
Implementing Rules and Regulation of Republic Act no. 9184. Remarkably, a new
provision was included in the new Implementing Rules and Regulation which
specifically excluded hiring of Job Order workers in the required activities to undergo
procurement process. The new provision provides that:
The following are not procurement activities under R.A. 9184 and this IRR:
e) Joint Venture under the revised NEDA Guidelines (GOCC and Private Entities), and
Joint Venture Agreements by LGU with Private entities; and
f) Disposal of Property and Other Assets of the Government. (Section 4.5 of the 2016
Implementing Rules and Regulation of Republic Act no. 9184)
Although it is already established that the Joint Circular do not cover Local
Government Units, the same can be used as a guiding principle on how to treat and
interpret Contract of Service and Job Order.
RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED.