The Commission on Audit (COA) has reminded local government units (LGUs) against the hiring of job order (JO) personnel -- contractual or casual employees -- without specific policy guidelines that would determine their actual performance during their work duration.
In its annual audit report, the COA said that without specific guidelines like Statement of Duties and Responsibilities, the LGUs would be at risk from achieving their overall objective in hiring JOs.
It cited the case of Mabini town in Batangas which hired 277 JOs in 2023 without specific policy guidelines.
It pointed out that while Mabini town specified the designation and limitation of service, and information such as the rate per day and duration of employment, there were no written policies and guidelines on the hiring of JO personnel.
At the same time, COA said that Mabini town hired the JOs with wages ranging from P350 to P600 daily regardless of their qualifications and suitability for the job. It also said the period of employment was set for three months, and almost all of the JOs were on a hire and rehire scheme.
But COA said a Statement of Duties and Responsibilities was not provided upon hiring the JOs, which was important since it evaluates whether the duties and responsibilities assigned to be performed were the tasks actually accomplished during their entire work duration.
Also, COA said the Daily Time Records (DTRs) of JOs cannot be monitored properly since the biometrics system installed in the municipal hall premises can only cater to permanent employees.
"The absence of concrete policy guidelines in the recruitment of JO personnel may pose risks of unclear expectations and opportunity restrictions considering the absence of Statement of Duties and Responsibilities intended to be performed by each JO and the grant of uniform rate for all hired and rehired JO workers instead of daily wage rate that will commensurate with their qualifications and suitability for the job applied for and technicality of the job," COA stressed.
The COA has recommended that the municipal mayor, in coordination with the municipal council, should require their human resources management office (HRMO) to come up with concrete policy guidelines concerning the hiring and rehiring of JO personnel to establish a "clear expectation."
Upon hiring of JO personnel, they should be provided with a Statement of Duties and Responsibilities to clearly identify their responsibilities and perform their duties efficiently, it said.
Also, COA recommended that the town's human resources division should set a standardized wage rate based on their qualifications and suitability for the job applied for, and a biometrics system should be installed for JO personnel as well.