December 7, 2017
Dear Mr. Arnel:
Thank you for using the legal forum.
Please be informed that as a matter of policy, the Commission does not render opinions or rulings on issues that may eventually be the subject of court litigation or appeal before it. This is especially so if the material facts necessary to a judicious adjudication of the issues are not fully presented or substantiated as in this case.
As to your query whether there is/are Civil Service Policy/ies which allow/s a government official, like a Department of Education (DepEd) Regional Supervisor, to operate/establish a private school, there is no specific policy completely prohibiting a government official from operating or establishing a private school. It is, however, a matter of policy that an employee or an official must request permission from his/her agency and secure an approval from the same before said employee or an official could practice his/her profession privately.
Based on the above premise, may we invite your attention to Sections 1 and 3 (also in Section 8, Article IX-B of the 1987 Philippine Constitution), Rule XIII (PROHIBITIONS), CSC MC No. 40, s. 1998 which read, as follows:
“Section 1. No appointive official shall hold any other office or employment in the government unless otherwise allowed by law or by the primary functions of his position; and
“Section 3. No elective or appointive public officer or employee shall receive additional, double or indirect compensation, unless specifically authorized by law, nor accept without the consent of Congress any present, emolument, office or title of any kind from any foreign government.”
The afore-cited CSC Policies speak of the Prohibition on Double Compensation and Prohibition on Holding any other Office or Employment in the Government, unless it is allowed by law or by the primary functions of his position.
Anent the Rule on the Prohibition on Double Compensation, the Supreme Court in Peralta vs. Mathay (38 SCRA 256) explained that:
“ xxx this is to manifest a commitment to the fundamental principle that a public office is a public trust. It is expected of a government official or employee that keeps uppermost in mind the demands of public welfare. He is there to render public service. He is of course entitled to be rewarded for the performance of the functions entrusted to him, but that should not be the overriding consideration. The intrusion of the thought of private gain should be unwelcome. The temptation to further personal ends, public employment as a means for the acquisition of wealth, is to be resisted. That at least is the ideal. There is then to be an awareness on the part of an officer or employee of the government that he is to receive only such compensation as may be fixed by law. With such realization, he is expected not to avail himself of devious or circuitous means to increase the remuneration attached to his position. It is an entirely different matter if the legislative body would itself determine for reasons satisfactory to it that he should receive something more. If it were to be thus though, there must be a law to that effect. So the Constitution decrees.”(Emphasis and underscoring supplied)
Should you have other concerns pertaining to CSC Policies, please refer your concern/s with the Human Resource Policies and Standards Office (HRPSO), the CSC Office who has the expertise in CSC Policies. Said Office is headed by Director IV Azcena P. Esleta with the following contacts: 1) Telephone No. - 02-951-4629; 2) Email Address - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; and 3) Mailing Address: Human Resource Policies and Standards Office, Civil Service Commission, Batasan Hills, Diliman, Quezon City.
Please be guided accordingly.
