Question Appointment issued prior to election ban

I would like to ask about pertinent rules that may affect appointments made before the Election Ban.

Paano po kapag na-issue ang isang appointment before the 2018 Election Ban, can the appointee assume to duty within the prescribed period of 30 days?
Or is it also prohibited that the appointee assume his/her duty if ever the 30-day prescribed period falls within the election ban?

Do we have existing guidelines for this?

Dear Sir/Madam Tatin:

Thank you for using the CSC Legal Forum.

This refers to your inquiry whether an appointee who was appointed before the prohibited period of the 2018 election ban advised by the by the Commission on Election (COMELEC) could assume his/her duty within the prohibited period.

There is no question that Human Resource Actions pertains to appointments and not the assumption to duty. It is such Actions which the Election Ban on Appointments refer to. However, there are exemptions to said Prohibition, or the Election Ban on Appointments, so to say.

Thus, we invite your attention to Item No. 1.3, CSC Memorandum Circular No. 10, series of 2011 (Revised Rules on Appointments Issued by Outgoing Elective and Appointive Officials), thus:

“1. All appointments issued after the election up to June 30 by outgoing elective officials shall be disapproved unless the following requisites relative to their issuance are met:

“1.1 The appointee meets the minimum qualification standards as required under the CSC Qualification Standards Manual or special law, if any, for the position to which he/she was appointed.

“1.2 The appointee has undergone the Personnel Selection Board (PSB) screening prior to the election ban. In this case, the appointing authority or agency shall submit the minutes of the PSB meetings and the evaluation report of the applicants.

“1.3 There is an urgent need for the issuance of the appointment/s so as not to prejudice the public or endanger public safety.

“1.4 Civil Service Law, rules and regulations and special laws, if any, on the issuance of appointments, are followed.”

Further, in CSC Resolution No. 1600383 dated April 12, 2016, the Commission reiterated that:

“At the outset, the Commission would like to point out that the prohibited acts enumerated under COMELEC Resolution No. 10030 dated December 22, 2015, providing among others, a prohibition on the movement of personnel during the election period, does not apply in this case. It is worth emphasizing that the directive of the Commission to DTI Secretary Domingo that Cabochan be immediately restored to her original position as Director IV at the BITR came about, not by virtue of the exercise of a management prerogative, but rather as a result of the granting of the appeal of Cabochan from Department Order No. 12-09, s. 2012, which designated her as Director-in-Charge of PCAB. The Commission is of the view that what the Election Rules proscribe is that of personnel movement which is done in the exercise of an agency’s management prerogative and not that which proceeded from a case filed before the Commission.”

Should you have other concerns pertaining to the Civil Service policies, you may also 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

We hope to have enlightened you on the matter.