Revised Merit Promotion Plan

July 9, 1979 REVENUE MEMORANDUM ORDER NO. 16-79 TO : All Revenue Officers and Employees SUBJECT : Revised Merit Promotion Plan I. PURPOSE AND ITS SCOPE Pursuant to Presidential Letter of Instructions No. 799, dated January 29, 1979, and the Rules and Regulations Governing the Establishment of Selection Board and Promotion Board issued by the Civil Service Commission, particularly Sec. 1. (a) of Rule V thereof, a Revised Merit Promotion Plan for the Bureau of Internal Revenue is hereby established. cdt The purpose of this Merit Promotion Plan is to insure strict observance of the merit principle in the selection of officers and employees for promotion to positions in the career service; to guide the Promotion Board and help the management of this Bureau in the selection for promotion of the most competent and the best qualified from among its officers and employees; and, to see to it that selection is made on a fair and equitable basis. The promotion plan shall cover all positions in the career service of this Bureau. II. DEFINITIONS OF TERMS 1. PROMOTION means the advancement from one position to another of higher rank with more difficult duties and responsibilities as authorized by law, and usually accompanied by an increase in salary. 2. MERIT PROMOTION is a systematic method of selection of employees for promotion on the basis of qualifications, fitness and ability to perform the duties and assume the responsibilities of the position being filled. 3. POSITION NEXT-IN-RANK refers to those positions which by hierarchical relationship, functional classification, and salary range allocation, come logically next below the vacancy to be filled. They are usually the next lower positions in the occupational group under which the vacant position is classified, and in other functionally related occupational groups. III. BASIC POLICIES ON PROMOTION 1. Whenever a vacancy occurs in the career service, except in very special and meritorious cases, the officer or employee occupying the position next-in-rank thereto, (See attached System of Ranking Positions) who is the best qualified and most competent to hold the position and who possesses the appropriate civil service eligibility shall be selected for promotion. 2. To be considered for promotion, officers and employees must meet the minimum qualification standards for the position involved. 3. No employee shall be considered for promotion unless his performance rating for the last rating period is at least satisfactory. 4. Reasonable and valid standards and methods of evaluating the qualifications and merit of all employees competing for promotion to the same position shall be applied fairly and consistently. 5. Lack of confidence shall not be accepted as a reason for disqualifying an officer or employee from promotion. The reason must be real and substantial. 6. In seeking qualified employees for promotion, the area of selection shall be as organizationally broad as practicable. For first level positions, selection shall be central office-wide for vacancies in the Central Office and region-wide for vacancies in the Regional Offices. If there are no employees in the region where the vacancy is, occupying positions next-in-rank because there are no next-in-rank positions authorized therein, selection may be made from the adjacent regions. The position vacated by the employee selected for promotion in the adjacent region shall be given to a qualified employee in the region where the vacancy is. If necessary, selection may be made from the central office provided the promotee is willing to be assigned in the region where his new position is authorized. Selection for vacancies in the second level shall be Bureau-wide. 7. In filling any new position, except at the hiring level, existing positions, the duties of which are similar, or alike to the duties of the new position shall be considered next-in-rank thereto. 8. As a general rule, promotions must be recommended by the head of the work unit where the employee is assigned the service chiefs in the central office and the directors in the field offices. However, this is not absolute. It should allow for exceptions because it may very well happen that if the chief or head of the unit is prejudiced against an employee, then the said employee can hardly expect to be recommended for promotion although he may have all the qualifications therefor. 9. Except in very special and meritorious cases, promotions must always be to the next higher position occupied by the employee to be promoted. By-passing those already occupying higher positions in the work unit where the vacancy is (jumping) should generally not be allowed. 10. Insiders should be given preference for appointment to hiring level positions provided they meet the qualification requirements of the positions and are already occupying positions whose salary range are already near the range of the hiring level position. However, the policy that insiders should be given preference for appointment to hiring level positions should also be not an absolute rule to give the appointing power authority to make exceptions in meritorious cases so as to avoid "inbreeding" and to inject fresh blood into the corps of personnel, especially in the assessment and legal groups. 11. In addition to performance, competence and qualifications, integrity in the employee's discharge of his duties and responsibilities shall be a factor to be evaluated in promotions. Added to these, in the Assessment Group, the examiners accomplishments in assessment and collection of internal revenue taxes and his passing the latest classification examinations shall likewise be factors to be evaluated. 12. An examiner who meets all the requirements in the preceding paragraph but failed in the classification examination and who has shown an unusually remarkable performance for a period of at least one year may be considered for promotion subject to the appointing power's determination that his deficiency in the examination can be offset by his outstanding performance. 13. In case an employee feels that he deserves to be promoted but for some reasons he has not been recommended by the head of his work unit, he may apply to the Promotion Board for assessment by submitting the necessary documents to prove his competence and qualifications for the position applied for. His application for evaluation together with the documents submitted must first be referred by the Chief, Personnel Division to the service chief or director, as the case may be, for comment before the Promotion Board acts on his application for assessment. 14. Those to be promoted to critical positions as determined by the appointing authority or those that will have direct dealings with taxpayers such as Cash Clerks, Revenue Collectors, Revenue Inspectors, Special Investigators, and Revenue Examiners must undergo neuro-psychiatric test or examination. 15. No one with a pending administrative case (formal charges filed) shall be considered for promotion, especially where the offense charged is serious and evidence of guilt is strong. For this purpose, a prior check by the Personnel Division should be made with the Inspection Service. 16. No recommendation of any person for promotion, whether oral or written, shall be received or considered unless it is made by the officer or officers under whose supervision he is or has been employed. The presentation of any other recommendation shall be considered as an unwarranted interference in the public service. Such a recommendation made at the solicitation or with the knowledge or consent of the officer or the employee shall be sufficient cause for barring him from the promotion and/or proceeding against him administratively. 17. An employee recommended for promotion shall agree in writing to perform the duties of the position at the work unit where the performance of such duties is required, if promoted. If after having been appointed, the employee refuses to perform the duties of the position or to be assigned in the work unit where the performance of his duties is required, his promotion shall be revoked. IV. PROCEDURES 1. Whenever a position in the career service becomes vacant, the head of the service or region where the vacancy exists, shall submit to the Chief, Personnel Division a list of personnel in his service or region who, according to the System of Ranking Positions are next-in-rank to the vacancy. He shall indicate the employee whom he recommends for promotion and shall state the reason or reasons for his choice. However, in cases of newly created positions including vacancies not known by the head of the service or region concerned, it shall be the duty of the Chief, Personnel Division to inform the Officers concerned in writing that such positions exist in their respective offices. 2. The Chief, Personnel Division, on the basis of the list submitted by the head of the service or region where the vacancy exists, and of the personnel qualification index, shall identify the employees who are deemed qualified and competent for promotion. Those selected shall be listed together with all their qualifications for promotion in the attached form (Candidates For Promotion). 3. The Chief, Personnel Division shall submit to the appropriate Promotion Board created under Revenue Special Order No. 43-79, dated March 16, 1979, the qualified candidates for promotion to the vacancy. 4. The Promotion Board shall then evaluate the qualifications of the candidates for promotion to the vacancy. In determining the degree of competence and qualification of an employee, Sec. 5 of Rule V of the Rules on Personnel Actions and Policies shall be taken into account. 5. If necessary, the Promotion Board may prescribe the conduct of a selection test and/or other selection devices. 6. All the members of the Promotion Board shall determine en banc from the list of candidates for promotion submitted by the Chief Personnel Division, at least 3 from whom the appointing authority may choose the person to be promoted. 7. The Chief, Personnel Division shall submit the Candidates for Promotion Form on which the recommendation of the Promotion Board is indicated to the appointing authority. The recommendation of the Promotion Board shall carry great weight. But in the exercise of his best judgment and discretion, the appointing authority may choose another official or employee, other than those recommended by the Promotion Board, for promotion to the position involved. 8. As soon as the appointing authority has chosen who will be promoted to a vacancy, the Personnel Division shall prepare the promotional appointment. After it is signed by the appointing authority, a notice announcing the promotion shall be posted by the Chief, Personnel Division on the Bulletin Board which is located at the entrance of the Personnel Division at the 7th Floor of the BIR Building. V. PROTESTS An employee who feels aggrieved by the action of the appointing authority may file his petition for reconsideration with the appointing authority. If he is still not satisfied with the decision made by the appointing authority, he can file a protest to the Merit Systems Board of the Civil Service Commission. VI. AMENDMENTS This Revised Merit Promotion Plan, including the attached System of Ranking Positions and Qualification Standards may be changed or amended as the need arises. Such changes or amendments shall take effect as prescribed in the amendment. VII. REPEALING CLAUSE All provisions of existing orders, instructions, and circulars inconsistent herewith are hereby superseded or revoked. VIII. EFFECTIVITY This Revised Merit Promotion Plan shall take effect immediately. EFREN I. PLANA Acting Commissioner