Over 200,000 gov’t posts unfilled, says CSC


Civil Service Commission (CSC) Chairperson Karlo Nograles expressed confidence that implementing the Career Service Eligibility-Preference Rating (CSE-PR) for specific government workers would significantly expand the pool of civil service eligibles, particularly with over 200,000 government positions currently vacant.

Under CSC Resolution No. 2301123 promulgated in December 2023 and effective from Feb. 12, 2024, a preference rating of up to 10 points will be added to the failed rating range (70 to 79.99) to reach the passing rate of 80 for eligible applicants in Career Service Examinations (CSEs), enabling them to qualify for Career Service Professional or Subprofessional eligibility.

The resolution aims to address a significant portion of these vacancies by facilitating the entry of more qualified individuals into government positions.

Nograles said there are 200,889 vacancies in the career service throughout the Philippines, along with 3,165 vacancies in the non-career service.

“They always say that the government is the biggest employer whether nationally or locally. We hope that with this new issuance, we can get more eligibles, especially those we are targeting, the JOCOSC6,” he said in a statement on Friday, June 21.

JOCOSC6 is the collective term for specific groups of workers in government agencies, encompassing job order (JO), contract of service (COS), casual, contractual, coterminous, and employees holding Category III and Category IV positions, as detailed in CSC Memorandum Circular No. 10 dated April 16, 2013, and career service employees with first level eligibility.

Eligible workers

Nograles encouraged JOCOSC6 workers who have been in the service for at least 10 years but do not possess the appropriate civil service eligibility to apply for the CSE-PR and seek positions that match their education, training, and experience.

With the CSC's new policy, Nograles hopes that many government vacancies can now be filled, as numerous JOCOSC6 personnel are eligible to apply for these positions.

He assured agency heads that these experienced individuals are capable of performing the required tasks.

“We’re very positive that this policy will have an impact in getting more civil service eligibles into the pool, and getting them to fill up vacant positions in the government,” Nograles said.

Based on the 2023 Inventory of Government Human Resource, he noted that there are 586,551 JO, 246,261 COS, 21,905 coterminous, 126,238 casual, and 56,046 contractual personnel nationwide who may benefit from the new resolution by applying for the grant of preference rating, provided they meet all the requirements.

Requirements and application process

To qualify for additional points, JOCOSC6 employees must have rendered an aggregate of at least 10 years of service in the government with at least a very satisfactory performance rating or its equivalent in the two latest/available rating periods before applying for eligibility.

Applicants must also have applied and taken the scheduled CSE, starting from March 3, 2024 CSE, examination onwards, achieving a failed rating of not lower than 70.

To apply, applicants must submit a completed application form with photos and necessary documents to the CSC Regional or Field Office that has jurisdiction over the government agency where the JOCOSC6 worker has worked or is working.

The application and complete requirements must be filed within six months from the date of release of the CSE results.