The Civil Service Commission (CSC) said on Thursday, Dec. 23 that it has opened its 2022 2022 Search for Outstanding Government Workers.

In a statement, CSC said that it aims to recognize deserving public servants who excel in their respective fields or who serve as models of exemplary behavior as part of the government’s rewards and incentives mechanism under the Honor Awards Program (HAP) that seeks to motivate and inspire state employees to improve the quality of their performance and instill deeper involvement in public service.

"All government workers in the career and non-career service including appointive barangay officials may be nominated. Employees who are under job order or contract of service are excluded from the coverage of the program," CSC said.

"Posthumous nomination is also accepted for public servants who died in the line of duty or in the pursuit of their official duties and responsibilities. The nomination must be made within 12 months from the time of death," it added.

CSC's awards program is composed of three categories which includes the Presidential Lingkod Bayan (PLB) Award and the CSC Pagasa Award for outstanding work performance, and the Outstanding Public Officials and Employees or the Dangal ng Bayan (DNB) Award for exemplary behavior.

CSC explained that the PLB Award is conferred on an individual or group of five members for exceptional or extraordinary contributions resulting from an idea or performance that had nationwide impact on public interest, security, and patrimony. On the other hand, the CSC Pagasa is conferred on an individual or group of five members for outstanding contribution/s resulting from an idea or performance that directly benefit more than one department of the government.

Meanwhile, the DNB Award is conferred on an individual for performance of an extraordinary act or public service and consistent demonstration of exemplary ethical behavior on the basis of observance of the eight norms of conduct provided under Republic Act No. 6713, or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

Previous awardees under the annual Search include former Philippine National Police Chief Guillermo Eleazar, and Dr. Raul V. Destura, known as the scientist behind the GenAmplify COVID-19 rRT-PCR Detection Kit or the locally-developed COVID-19 test kit. Both were PLB awardees for 2021 and 2019, respectively.

Receiving the DNB Award in 2021 was Philippine General Hospital’s Dr. Jose Jonas del Rosario, a pediatric cardiologist who pioneered in the country a procedure called cardiac catheterization—a minimally invasive, less risky, and less expensive alternative to open-heart surgery.

CSC Pagasa group awardee for 2021, “Jobscouts: Pathfinders of Employment Opportunities” of the City Government of Tagum, Davao del Norte, was recognized for guiding and assisting job seekers through its Career Employability Skills and Assessment Test, career and employment coaching, and Barangay Education and Employment Desk. CSC announced that the deadline of submission of nominations is on March 31, 2022. Nominations must be submitted to the CSC Regional or Field Offices. Guidelines and other pertinent information are available from the CSC website at www.csc.gov.ph.