Amending the Policies and Guidelines on Scholarships and Other Training Grants in the Office of the President Proper (OP)

October 25, 2019

MEMORANDUM ORDER NO. 40

AMENDING THE POLICIES AND GUIDELINES ON SCHOLARSHIPS AND OTHER TRAINING GRANTS IN THE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT PROPER (OP)

WHEREAS, Civil Service Commission (CSC) Memorandum Circular No. 10, Series of 1989, directs the formation of a Personnel Development Committee (PDC) in all departments, agencies, and instrumentalities of the National Government, including Local Government Units and Government-owned and/or Controlled Corporations;

WHEREAS, pursuant thereto, the Office of the President (OP)-PDC was constituted by virtue of Office Order No. 5, dated 19 March 1991;

WHEREAS, OP-PDC is tasked, among other things, to formulate guidelines for the selection of OP/s nominee(s) to scholarships and other training grants;

WHEREAS, the then OP-PDC recommended the issuance of Memorandum Order (MO) No. 119, dated 15 April 1993, which prescribed a set of guidelines that would govern all matters pertaining to scholarships and other training grants to OP human resources;

WHEREAS, OP-PDC was reconstituted pursuant to MO No. 9, dated 7 December 2010, and was further reconstituted by MO No. 23, dated 19 September 2011;

WHEREAS, the reconstituted OP-PDC sees the need to amend MO No. 119, s. 1993, to better respond to the capacity building demands and career development program of OP;

NOW THEREFORE, upon the recommendation of the reconstituted OP-PDC under MO No. 23, s. 2011, MO No. 119, dated 15 April 1993, "Prescribing the Policies and Guidelines on Scholarships and Other Training Grants in the Office of the President (OP)" is hereby amended to read as follows:

I. SCOPE

These Guidelines shall apply to, and cover the following:

A. OP Proper Human Resources

All appointive OP Proper human resources shall be covered by these Guidelines, including human resources detailed to OP-Proper from other government agencies, subject to the stipulations of their respective detail order contracts and applicable laws, rules and regulations.

These Guidelines shall adhere to the policy of equal opportunity for all regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, civil status, age, disabilities, religion, and/or indigenous group membership.

B. Scholarships and Other Training Grants

1. Foreign scholarships and training grants offered directly to OP by either the granting institutions or their Philippine government focal/coordinating agencies, and those that may be solicited by OP from foreign foundations, universities, study centers and other institutions;

2. Local scholarships and training grants made available to OP human resources as members of the Civil Service or those programs that are privately sponsored;

3. OP funded local training programs made available to OP human resources by CSC-accredited private learning and development institutions, government learning and development institutions, non-accredited private learning and development institutions offering training of highly technical/specialized nature, local learning and development institutions that are internationally acclaimed for meeting the standard of excellence, institutions recognized by the Commission on Higher Education as Center of Excellence and Development, Foreign Institutions that offer learning and development for scholarship purposes or foreign personal advancement of participants, and other learning and development institutions that partner with the CSC in building capabilities of civil servants;

4. Self-solicited or stray scholarships and training grants offered directly to the delivery unit or a concerned individual; and

5. Symposia/Fora or similar activities that do not involve the earning of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) units.

Study leaves are not covered by these Guidelines.

II. PROCEDURE

1. At the beginning of each calendar year, the OP-PDC Secretariat shall prepare a list of regular training grants/scholarships, training programs/seminars, conferences, workshops, etc., on the basis of the invitations received or activities participated in during the preceding year. The list shall cover the target participants, funding source, and other considerations. Said list shall then be communicated to all Delivery Units (DUs) through the circulation of a Memorandum, and posting in the OP intranet and bulletin boards within the Malacañang Complex.

2. All heads of DUs shall prepare their respective Training Needs Matrices (TNMs) at the beginning of each calendar year for the organization and personnel development needs of the human resources in their respective DUs, based on the accomplished Coaching Forms or Individual Development Plans of the concerned human resource during the preceding year. The said TNM shall be submitted to the Office of the Deputy Executive Secretary for Finance and Administration (ODESFA), through the PDC Secretariat. The TNM shall indicate the following:

a. Name of human resource(s);

b. Functions;

c. Training program(s) to be attended;

d. Purpose(s) of the attendance; and

e. Budgetary requirements (note that budgetary requirements must have been provided in the delivery unit's Project Planning Management Plan).

3. The OP-PDC Secretariat shall then prepare a matrix of the submitted TNMS, for approval of the OP-PDC.

Heads of DUs are required to provide at least one (1) learning intervention per staff member, per year.

4. For programs with invitations directly addressed to either the heads of DU for OP Proper human resources, the following guidelines shall be observed:

4.1 All scholarships and training program invitations directly addressed to the heads of DUs and/or concerned human resources shall be referred to the concerned supervising DES, or to the Senior Deputy Executive Secretary (SDES) for confirmation and/or recommendation. Recommendation for participation in a program, or recommended program invitations, shall then be addressed to the DESFA, as Chair of the OP-PDC.

4.2 The OP-PDC shall conduct an initial screening of the invitation/program if the same shall be made available to all OP Proper human resources or to target participants who are not necessarily part of the DU-recipient of the invitation based on the offer and required qualifications.

4.3 The OP-PDC shall then prepare a call for nominations to concerned heads of DUs, through the circulation of a Memorandum or posting in the OP Proper Intranet. The notice shall state the following:

a. Title and short description of the course(s);

b. Place and duration thereof;

c. Required qualifications of nominee(s); and

d. Deadline for submission of nominee(s).

The creation of internal screening committees within all OP-Proper DUs is encouraged for a more objective and transparent selection of nominees.

Nominees should be officially submitted to the Human Resource Management Office (HRMO) as Secretariat of the OP-PDC.

5. For local scholarships/training grants that will run for a period of one (1) month or more, or foreign scholarships/seminars regardless of duration, the OP-PDC shall evaluate nominees with the following considerations in addition to the requirements prescribed under existing laws, rules and regulations:

5.1 All things being equal, priority shall be given to nominees appointed in OP Proper on permanent status.

5.2 A nominee must have served OP Proper for at least two (2) years at the time of nomination.

5.3 A nominee must have a performance rating of at least "Very Satisfactory" for the last two (2) rating periods prior to nomination.

5.4 The nominee's duties and responsibilities must be relevant to the field of study.

5.5 A nominee who has availed himself/herself of a scholarship or training grant may only be considered for another scholarship or training grant after such nominee has completed the following service obligations:

 

Duration	Service Obligation
For every year or a fraction thereof not less than 6 months	2 years
A fraction of a year less than 6 months but not less than 2 months	1 year
A fraction of a year less than 2 months	6 months

 

5.6 A nominee must have no pending administrative and/or criminal charges against him/her.

A pending administrative case shall be construed as such when the disciplining authority has issued a formal charge or a notice of charge to the respondent.

5.7 A nominee must meet the requirements specified by the donor and/or sponsoring entity.

5.8 A nominee must have a favorable recommendation from his/her head of office, duly noted by the supervising senior official.

6. The OP-PDC Secretariat shall prepare a comparative matrix on the qualifications of all nominees, based on the following criteria:

 

Criteria	Weight
a.  Job Relevance	40%
b.  Length of Service	15%
c.  Education and Training	15%
d.  Performance	10%
e.  Language and Communication Skills	10%
f.  Potential	5%
g.  Psychosocial attributes and Personality traits	5%
	100%

 

7. OP-PDC may conduct an interview to validate the ratings that may be given to nominees on the aforesaid criteria.

The nominee(s) garnering the highest points based on the aforecited criteria shall be recommended by OP-PDC to the Executive Secretary.

III. OBLIGATIONS OF THE GRANTEE(S) OR TRAINEE(S)

A For programs under item I.B., except for foreign scholarship and training grants, all participants are required to submit a report with the following details:

1. Description

2. Program Objective

3. Methodology

4. Program Flow

5. Summary/Highlights of the Program

6. General Comments on How the Training was Executed

7. Recommendation/Learning Application

In addition, attendees must submit within thirty (30) days upon return to duty, to the head of DU, copy furnished the HRMO, certified photocopies of the certificates of attendance and documentation of the attended program.

B. In consideration of the acceptance of a foreign scholarship or training grant, or local scholarships/training grants that run for a period of one (1) month or more, the grantee/trainee shall bind himself/herself to the following conditions as may be applicable, that shall be embodied in a Scholarship Service Contract to be entered into by and between the grantee/trainee and OP:

1. To keep up with the standards of the scholarship or reward;

2. To conduct himself/herself in a manner as not to bring disgrace or dishonor to himself/herself and/or his/her country/office;

3. To submit to OP-PDC, thru its Secretariat, and, if required, to the granting institution's Philippine focal/coordinating agency, at the end of each term, his/her official transcript of grades, certificate of performance or its equivalent;

4. To immediately return to the Philippines and report to his/her office upon completion or termination of his/her foreign scholarship, fellowship or training grant;

5. If there is sufficient reason for the extension of the grantee's original scholarship/training/award, he/she shall submit a formal request to the Executive Secretary, thru the OP-PDC, with justification and recommendation from his/her Program adviser, as well as his/her head of office, six (6) months prior to the expiration of his/her travel authority/validity of passport. It is understood that the approval of the extension shall be made only by the Executive Secretary or his duly authorized official and, if necessary, upon recommendation by the foreign institution's Philippine focal/coordinating agency, and upon the grantee's execution of a supplementary training/scholarship contract covering the extension period;

6. To submit to OP-PDC within sixty (60) days upon return to duty, thru its Secretariat, and duly endorsed by the concerned head of DU, a completion report, with a proposal/re-entry action plan (REAP) when applicable, with the following details:

6.1 Workplace Development Objective(s)

6.2 Problem(s)/Opportunity(ies) that need to be addressed

6.3 Target Beneficiary(ies)

6.4 Target Output

6.5 Action Plan

• Activity(ies)

• Person(s)/Office(s) Responsible

• Date(s) of Implementation

• Success Indicator(s)

• Budgetary Requirements

7. To serve OP or any other government office or instrumentality as exigencies of the service require, the corresponding service obligation provided under Item 5.5 Part II hereof, and subject to other applicable conditions provided under EO 367, series 1989.

IV. CANCELLATION OF SCHOLARSHIP/TRAINING

Failure of the grantee/trainee to keep up with the standards of the scholarship/training, or to comply with the terms and conditions of his/her scholarship/training, shall be sufficient cause for the cancellation of the same and for his/her immediate recall.

Should failure in these cases be due to his/her own fault or wilfull neglect, resignation, voluntary/optional retirement or other causes within his/her control; or in the case of a non-career human resource, if separated from the service anytime during the period of his/her scholarship, fellowship or training, or before serving the required return service obligation as stipulated in the contract, he/she shall refund to his/her office the amount defrayed by the Philippine Government as may be stipulated in the service contract, and to the sponsor should the same be required.

The grantee shall have a guarantor as his/her co-maker or co-signor in the contract, who shall assume full responsibility, jointly and severally, should he/she fail to comply with the conditions stipulated in the service contract.

Proportionate refund shall be allowed, provided that the grantee has served his/her office or agency or any other government office at least 75% of his/her total service obligation, based on the following formula:

 

R

=

(SOR-SOS)

x

TCR

 

Where R	=	Refund
TCR	=	Total Compensation Received (gross salary, allowances and other benefits received while on training/scholarship grant)
SOS	=	Service Obligation Served
SOR	=	Service Obligation Required

 

A condonation may be allowed only in the following cases:

a. Abolition of the concerned DU or involuntary phase-out of the position/item of the trainee or grantee in a recognized office; and

b. Death or permanent disability.

V. EFFECTIVITY

This Memorandum Order shall take effect immediately.

Manila, October 25, 2019.

 

Published in the Official Gazette, Vol. 115, No. 47, p. 13138 on November 25, 2019.