Initiating the responsibilities given by the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA), the Ad Hoc Committee on Civil Service Code (CSC) conducted its first committee meeting on June 26, 2019 at the RLA Executive Lounge, BARMM Compound. Under the leadership of Atty. Laisa M. Alamia as the chairperson of the Ad Hoc Committee, the meeting have set a momentum to pursue the vision of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), particularly, to have an appropriate protection for the rights of, and to set bounds of their duties as, civil servants in the community.
According to Atty. Lamia, the Philippines has no Civil Service Code yet and all laws governing civil service are scattered in various legal rules and regulations, and administrative issuances. Nevertheless, there are already bills filed with the Congress aimed at codifying civil service laws. As an autonomous region, one of the mandates of the BTA is to develop and draft a CSC tailored and contextualized to the BARMM.
The drafting of Bangsamoro CSC will be applicable to all civilian personnel who are not elected within BARMM. Essentially, it will work on a civil service system that will cultivate, stimulate and sustain democracy, accountability, integrity and excellence in the government service. There will be an adoption of a merit and fitness system that will be strictly implemented and uniformly applied to all as a part of a process of hiring working personnel. A compensation and position classification will also be created that is responsive to the economic needs of the workers. On the whole, the end goal is to continually foster the improvement of the individual employee efficiency.
Following the first committee meeting, the committee will continue to refine and finalize the initial principles and parameters presented based on the discoursed matters therein. Too, in order to maximize the time given, the succeeding Ad Hoc Committee meetings will be timed with the regular sessions of the legislative body.
The ad hoc committee will also form a technical working group to compile and review existing related laws, regulations and issuances which are considered pertinent to the BARMM objectives that they may be used. This includes a thorough desk research and series of consultations with several public and private groups and organizations as they begin to put in paper the provisions to be integrated in the bill. Thus, all members of the Ad Hoc Committee will be the co-authors thereof. Moreover, the committee is aiming to commence drafting the bill by February of 2020 and submit to the plenary by mid of April or May 2020 subject to changes as the need arises.
Towards the end of the meeting, members of the Ad Hoc Committee individually expressed their full support and commitment in developing a Bangsamoro Civil Service Code that will correspond to the rights and appropriately consider the needs of their citizens.
