Hi! 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 a complaint or appeal before it. This is so especially when there are material facts necessary to the judicious adjudication of the issues which are not fully represented or substantiated as in this case.
Nevertheless, pertinent are Sections 17 and 18 of the 2017 Omnibus Rules on Appointments and Other Human Resource Actions (2017 ORAOHRA), as amended, which provide, as follows:
“Section 17. An appointment issued in accordance with pertinent laws and rules shall take effect immediately on the date it was signed by the appointing officer/authority. The date of signing shall be indicated below the signature of the appointing officer/authority in the appointment form.
x x x
“If the appointee has taken his/her oath of office and assumed the duties of the position, he/she shall be entitled to receive his/her salary at once without awaiting the approval/validation of his/her appointment by the Commission. The appointment shall remain effective until disapproved/invalidated by the Commission. In no case shall an appointment take effect earlier than the date it was signed except in cases authorized by law.
“No official or employee shall be required to assume the duties and responsibilities of the position without being furnished with a copy of his/her appointment by the HRMO after it is signed by the appointing officer/authority. The appointee shall acknowledge receipt of the appointment by signing on the acknowledgment portion at the back of the appointment form.
x x x
“Section 18. In the case of local government units, the appointment issued by the appointing officer/authority to a department head position requires the concurrence of the majority of all the members of the local sanggunian. The appointing officer/authority shall submit the appointment to the local sanggunian for concurrence within seven (7) calendar days upon issuance. Failure to submit the appointment to the sanggunian within the prescribed period may render the person/s responsible administratively liable.
“If the sanggunian does not act on the appointment within fifteen (15) calendar days from the date of its submission, said appointment shall be deemed concurred.
“The effectivity date of the appointment shall be the date of the signing of the appointing officer/authority which shall end the moment the local sanggunian rejects or disapproves it. The services rendered after the rejection shall not be considered government service and the payment of salaries shall be the liability of the appointing officer/authority.
“In case the appointment is not submitted to the local sanggunian for concurrence and the same is later on disapproved or invalidated by the Commission, the appointment shall not be considered effective from the date of issuance.”
The above-quoted provisions of the 2017 ORAOHRA instruct that no official or employee shall be required to assume the duties and responsibilities of the position without being furnished with a copy of his/her appointment by the HRMO after it is signed by the appointing officer/authority. The appointee shall acknowledge receipt of the appointment by signing on the acknowledgment portion at the back of the appointment form.
Specific to local government units, please note of the requirement that the appointment issued by the appointing officer/authority to a department head position requires the concurrence of the majority of all the members of the local sanggunian. Please note further of the consequences if the sangggunian does not act, rejects or disapproves the appointment issued to a department head position.
With regard to your query on ‘how long does it take to issue an appointment’, we refer you to Section 29 of the same rules which provides, as follows:
“Section 29. The publication of a particular vacant position shall be valid until filled but not to extend beyond nine (9) months reckoned from the date the vacant position was published.
“Should no appointment be issued within the nine-month period, the agency has to cause the re-publication and re-posting of the vacant position.”
We hope to have guided you on the matter.
