CamSur Rep. LRay Villafuerte has proposed a human resources development program (HRDP) for civilian or non-uniformed personnel (NUP) in the military and all uniformed agencies to make sure these workers are entitled to the same benefits such as merit promotion, training plus scholarship grants and incentive awards that their uniformed co-workers now enjoy.
As part of his proposal, Villafuerte wants the proper authorities to take steps, whenever possible, to assign married couples, if both spouses are NUP, in the same locality, but not in the same workplace.
This bill will benefit NUP or civilian workers in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP); Department of National Defense (DND); Bureaus of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), of Fire Protection (BFP), and of Corrections (BuCor); Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA).
The proper authorities must also take steps to enable solo parents from among NUP to be assigned in the same localities where they reside, said Villafuerte, an author of Republic Act (RA) 8972 or the “Solo Parents Welfare Act,” which provided benefits and privileges to single fathers and mothers along with their children.
These are among the provisions of House Bill (HB) 7981 or the proposed Magna Carta for NUP that Villafuerte had authored with Bicol Saro Rep. Brian Raymund Yamsuan.
“Civilian employees in the military and uniformed agencies have quietly suffered from low pay, long work hours, unsafe working conditions and lack of benefits, social protection and job security,” said Villafuerte and Yamsuan in their bill.
“They work as partners in protecting the lives of the Filipino people, and their jobs are as valuable as their uniformed counterparts,” they said. “Hence, this bill seeks to improve the social and economic well-being of all NUP as well as to ensure that their rights are protected.”
For Villafuerte, HB 7981 aims to help professionalize our public safety workforce, boost NUP employee morale and enhance the responsiveness of our institutions.”
HB 7981 seeks to guarantee the security of tenure of civilian employees in the AFP and other law enforcement agencies, along with providing them with decent compensation and the same benefits availed of by their uniformed colleagues and other workers in the government.
This bill will benefit NUP or civilian workers in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and Philippine National Police (PNP); Department of National Defense (DND); Bureaus of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), of Fire Protection (BFP), and of Corrections (BuCor); Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA).
HB 7981 has been referred by the House leadership to the chamber’s Committee on Civil Service and Professional Regulation, which is chaired by Bohol Rep. Kristine Alexie Tutor.
Villafuerte is one of the authors of separate House-approved bills ensuring better working conditions and benefits for our seafarers (HB 7235), barangay health workers or BHWs (HB 6557) and contract workers in the gig economy (HB 6718).
HB 7235 for our sailors and HB 6557 for BHWs are among the priority bills of President Marcos and the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council (LEDAC) passed by the House on third and final reading under the leadership of Speaker Martin Romualdez during the First Regular Session of the 19th Congress.
Under HB 7981, its proposed HRDP shall oversee NUP concerns pertaining to “merit promotion, performance evaluation, incentive and award system, job rotation, cross-posting overseas and local scholarships, training grants, incentive award system, and such other similar services and human resource development interventions, including programs on the job training, counseling, coaching, job rotation, secondment, job swapping etc.”
These concerns shall be addressed by the concerned agencies in consultation with and concurrence of the accredited employees’ organizations, and the proposed program shall conform to the rules and regulations of the Civil Service Commission (CSC), according to the bill.
The bill proposes “a system of promotion for NUP that shall be based on merit and fitness on the available vacant positions in the agency’s staffing pattern. Such system shall be gender fair and shall ensure that women non-uniformed personnel of the agency shall enjoy equal opportunity for promotions as that of men.”
It mandates that the salary scales of NUP shall be the same as those of uniformed personnel, and shall be comparably equal to those paid in other occupations or professions requiring equivalent or similar qualifications, training and abilities regardless of rank positions.
The bill prohibits the transfer or reassignment of NUP workers, except when made in the interest of public service, in which case, the employee concerned shall be informed of the reasons therefore in writing.
“If the non-uniformed personnel believe that there is no justification for the transfer or reassignment, he or she may appeal his or her case to the CSC, which shall cause his or her reassignment to be held in abeyance,” states the bill. “Provided, that no transfer or reassignment whatsoever shall be made 3 months before any local or national elections,” and that the necessary expenses of the transfer or reassignment shall be paid for by the concerned government agency.
The bill entitles NUP to hazard allowances equivalent to at least 25% of the monthly basic salary of workers receiving salary grade 19 and below, and 5% for workers with salary grade 20 and above; laundry allowance equivalent to P1,000 monthly for NUP required to wear uniform regularly; and a monthly allowance of 1 sack of rice or its monetary equivalent.
NUP workers are entitled, too, to a monthly longevity pay comparable to the longevity pay of uniformed personnel for every 5 years of continuous, efficient and meritorious services rendered as certified by the chief of office concerned, commencing from the original attested appointment of each non-uniformed personnel.
Those who are on tour of duty and those who, because of unavoidable circumstances are forced to stay in their workplace, shall be entitled to free living quarters within their workplaces, or if such quarters are not available, shall receive quarters allowance.
Civilian employees are likewise entitled to uniform allowance equivalent to P6,000 per year; free compulsory pre-employment and annual medical examinations; free hospitalization if the NUP suffer any injury or become ill in the performance of their official duties; 15-day vacation leave credits for those who have rendered at least a year of service; and a 15-day sick leave credits for every year of service.
In addition to the leave privileges, NUP shall be entitled to study leaves not exceeding 6 months with pay, depending on the field of study chosen by the employee, including those who are preparing for their bar or board examinations; or completing their undergraduate, graduate or postgraduate degrees.
Under RA 10931 or the “Free Higher Education Act,” surviving children of the deceased or permanently incapacitated NUP shall be given priority in availing of scholarships up to college in non-exclusive institutions, subject to the policies on the tuition of said institutions.
The bill states that subsidies shall also be provided to NUP scholars for their books, transportation, stipend and lodging.
HB 7981 assures NUP of security of tenure, and that “their services shall not be terminated except for just cause provided by law and after due process. Provided, that if a non-uniformed personnel is found by the CSC to be unjustly dismissed from work, he or she shall be entitled to reinstatement without loss of seniority rights and to his or her back wages with 12% interest or the prevailing legal interest rate at the time of his or reinstatement, whichever is higher computed from the time his or her compensation was withheld up to the time of reinstatement.”
The bill prohibits any NUP worker from being discriminated against with regard to his gender identity and expression, or his or her age, sexual orientation, disability, civil status, creed, religious or political beliefs and ethnic groupings in the exercise of his or her employment.
NUP workers are entitled under the bill to establish or join organizations of their choosing, whether local or national, in pursuit of their interests.
The bill also makes unlawful for any person to:
· Require as a condition of employment that the NUP shall not join a workers’ organization or union or shall relinquish membership therein;
· Discriminate in regard to hiring or tenure of employment or any item or condition of employment in order to encourage or discourage membership in any workers’ organization or union;
· Prevent NUP from carrying out duties laid upon him or her by his or her position in the organization or union, or to penalize himor her for the action undertaken in such capacity;
· Harness or interfere with the discharge of the functions of the non-uniformed personnel when these are calculated to intimidate or to prevent the performance of his or her duties and responsibilities; and
· Interfere in the establishment, functioning or administration of an NUP personnel organization or union through acts designed to place such organization or union under the control of government authority.
“In excess of minimum working hours, the NUP shall be entitled to payment of overtime pay, night differential, holiday/rest day pay. In line with the above policy, substitute officers or employees shall be provided in place of officers or employees who are on leave for over 3 months,” says the bill.
To sustain the professionalization of the NUP, the bill requires that their training shall be done intensively and extensively, and that ”the cost of Continuing Professional Development as required by the PRC shall be shouldered by the concerned uniformed agencies.”
