Establishing the Legislative Service Career System in the Batasang Pambansa, and for Other Purposes

December 4, 1985

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 1072

ESTABLISHING THE LEGISLATIVE SERVICE CAREER SYSTEM IN THE BATASANG PAMBANSA, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

WHEREAS, the Batasang Pambansa, as the Legislature of the Republic of the Philippines, is a branch of government co-equal with the Executive and the Judiciary;

WHEREAS, the Secretariat and staff of the Batasang Pambansa play a critical and pivotal role in legislation, particularly in support of the Members of Parliament;

WHEREAS, there is an imperative need to adopt and implement a Career System in the Batasang Pambansa so as to bring about professionalsm in this branch of government, to attract highly qualified persons to join the Batasan and to maintain a corps of dedicated, competent and career-oriented personnel necessary for the highest level of organizational efficiency and effectiveness;

WHEREAS, the implementation of the System requires the restructuring of the position classification and compensation scheme and the personnel staffing patterns of the Batasan Secretariat as well as the granting of additional financial incentives as authorized in Presidential Decree No. 985;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution and by Presidential Decree No. 1416, as amended do hereby order and direct the following:

SECTION 1.Legislative Service Career System. — There shall be a Legislative Service Career System for the Batasang Pambansa, the members of which shall be grouped into three major levels as follows:

(1) The First level which includes clerical, trades, crafts, and custodial service positions in a non-supervisors or supervisory capacity requiring less than four years of collegiate studies;

(2) The Second level which includes professional and technical positions in a non-supervisory or supervisory capacity requiring at least four years of college work, up to Division Chief level or its equivalent; and

(3) The Third level which includes supervisory positions in the Legislative Service Career Officer level.

SECTION 2. Legislative Service Career Board (LSCB). — There is hereby created a Legislative Service Career Board (LSCB), hereinafter referred to as the Board, to serve as the Body which shall administer the Legislative Service Career System of the Batasang Pambansa.

The Board shall be composed of a Chairman and six (6) other members, who are familiar with the principles and methods of personnel administration and organizational management or equivalent expertise, to be designated by the Speaker.

SECTION 3. Technical Staff of the Board. — The Board may organize its technical staff and such other personnel as may be deemed necessary. The Board may avail of the professional and consultative services of other government agencies and the private sector whenever necessary.

SECTION 4. Appointments. — Appointments to appropriate positions in the Legislative Service Career System shall be made by the Speaker from a register of legislative service career eligibles who have passed the qualifying examinations prescribed by the Board.

SECTION 5. Incumbents. — Upon the implementation of this Order, any incumbent officer or employee who holds a regular appointment shall continue to hold his position or its equivalent position in the Legislative Service Career System under the classification plan established herein, but may not be promoted unless he qualifies.

However, in the implementation of the provisions of this Order, any incumbent officer or employee shall be entitled to adjustment in compensation of his position or its equivalent without need of new appointment.

SECTION 6. Temporary Assignments. — In the interest of the service, Third Level officers may be temporarily assigned to occupy positions in the Batasang Pambansa of equivalent or higher rank with supervisory functions as long as said temporary assignment does not involve any diminution in rank, salary or other forms of fringe benefits or allowances, and does not occur oftener than once every two years.

SECTION 7. Training and Career Development. — The Board, in collaboration with appropriate agencies, shall prepare a training and career development program for the officers and employees of the Batasang Pambansa.

SECTION 8. Position Classes and Salary Ranks. — (a) The position classes and the corresponding salary ranks for those in the Third Level shall be as follows:

Position Class	Ranks
BP Deputy Secretary-General or Equivalent	I
BP Director or Equivalent	II
BP Deputy Director or Equivalent	III
BP Service Chief	IV

The position of BP Secretary-General shall not be covered by the Legislative Service Career System ranking but shall have a compensation equal to two grades higher than Rank I positions.

Likewise, the position of BP Sergeant-at-Arms shall not be covered by the Legislative Service Career System ranking but shall have a compensation equal to one grade higher than Rank I positions.

(b) The position classes and the corresponding salary grades for those in the First and Second Level shall be as provided in Annex "A", which forms part hereof.

SECTION 9. Compensation Plan. — (a) The Compensation Plan for officers in the Third Level shall be as provided in Annex "B" which forms part hereof.

(b) The Compensation Plan for officers and employees in the First and Second Levels shall be as provided in Annex "C" which forms part hereof.

The position classes and salary grades of the Batasang Pambansa shall automatically be adjusted if salaries of equivalent positions under the Executive or the Judiciary are increased.

SECTION 10. Classification Rules. — The following classification rules shall govern the classification of positions in the Batasang Pambansa.

(a) Positions shall be classified on the basis of regular and permanent duties and responsibilities attached thereto. No person shall be eligible for appointment to any position in the Legislative Service Career System unless he satisfies the qualification standards for such position, which shall be similar to those prescribed by the Office of Compensation and Position Classification (OCPC) of the Office of Budget and Management. The qualification standards shall be determined by the Speaker, upon the recommendation of the Board, but in no case shall they be lower than those required by the Civil Service Commission for similar or equivalent positions.

(b) Upon recommendation of the Board, the Speaker may consolidate or split vacant positions carrying salaries or wages which may be increased or reduced in the process, or create new positions: Provided, however, that the total amount involved therein shall not exceed the total amount appropriated for the salaries and wages of the officers and employees of the Batasang Pambansa.

(c) Reclassification of positions may be effected by the Speaker, upon the recommendation of the Board, only whenever there are substantial changes in the duties and responsibilities thereof: Provided, however, that the incumbent, if any, is not prejudiced.

(d) The reclassification of a position to another class, irrespective of the pay grade allocation, shall take effect immediately. However, the Civil Service Commission and the Office of Compensation and Position Classification (OCPC) shall be notified of any reclassification of positions.

(e) Positions with incumbents appointed thereto shall not be consolidated, split or abolished.

(f) The Position Classification Plan herein provided shall apply to all positions now existing, or which may hereafter be created, in the Batasang Pambansa.

(g) At the initial implementation of this Order, incumbents of the following positions shall be redesignated as indicated:

Position of Incumbents	Redesignated as
Service Chief II	Service Chief
Division Chief II	Division Chief
Supervising Staff Officer II	Legislative Counsel II
Committee Secretary	Committee Secretary I
Sr. Staff Officer II	Staff Officer V
Sr. Staff Officer I	Staff Officer V
Staff Officer	Staff Officer IV
Jr. Staff Officer	Staff Officer I
Debate Stenographer	Debate Stenographer II
Clerk	Clerk I
Driver	Driver I

SECTION 11. Salary Rules. — The following rules shall govern the compensation plan for positions in the Batasang Pambansa:

(a)   A new officer or employee shall be hired at the first step of the salary grade or range attached to the position.

(b)   At the initial implementation of this Order an incumbent officer or employee whose salary falls under any step other than the hirig of the old pay range, as a consequence of merit increases or step increments, shall receive the salary equivalent to the following:

(1)Those in Step 2 to 4 of the old salary range shall be given a salary equivalent to Step 2 of the new grade attached to the position.

(2)Those in Step 5 to 8 of the old salary range shall be given a salary equivalent to Step 3 of the new grade attached to the position.

(c)   At the initial implementation of this Order, incumbent officers of the positions of Service Chief II, Division Chief II, Supervising Staff Officer II, Committee Secretary and Sr. Staff Officer II, which shall be redesignated as Service Chief, Division Chief, Legislative Counsel II, Committee Secretary I and Staff Officer V, respectively, shall be given salaries equivalent to Step 2 of the new grade attached to their respective positions, provided they have served the Batasang Pambansa in that capacity for at least two (2) years. Officers and employees covered by the preceding rule (11, (b)), who likewise qualify under this provision shall, in addition to the salary authorized under the said rule, receive a salary equivalent to one additional step.

(d)   An officer or employee who is promoted to a higher position but whose present salary is higher than the maximum rate of the pay grade allocation of the position to which he is promoted, shall continue to receive the salary with the higher rate.

(e)   The salary of an officer or employee shall be increased to the next higher step of his pay grade after two (2) continuous years of satisfactory service at his present step, subject to the availability of funds. However, the adjusted salary of an employee after the grant of merit increase or step increment shall not exceed the maximum step of the salary grade or range to which his position is allocated in the Batasan Compensation Plan.

(f)   Employees whose actual salaries are between the steps of the pay grades of the classes to which their position have been allocated shall be entitled to adjustment to the next higher step.

(g)   Voluntary demotion, if any, may be made without loss of salary, except where the incumbent's salary is higher than the maximum salary of the position to which the incumbent seeks to be demoted, and provided that there is sufficient appropriations for the particular position.

(h)   Notwithstanding the provision of any other rules, no officer or employee shall receive a salary higher than the salary of his immediate supervisor. However, for purposes of this Order, the word "Supervisor" shall refer only to those positions covered by the Legislative Service Career System. The salary levels of the Speaker, Secretary-General, and/or Sergeant-at-Arms shall not be a constraint to the implementation of the Salary Levels under the Compensation Plan in this Order.

SECTION 12. Salaries for Personnel Paid out of Lump Sum Appropriations. — Casual or contractual officers and employees whose salaries are paid out of lump sum appropriations shall be paid the amount equivalent to the range or grade of positions in the Batasan Position Classification and Compensation Plan comparable to what they occupy. Increases in the salaries of casual or contractual officers and employees shall be in accordance with the salary scale provided for regular positions.

SECTION 13. Salary Increases. — Notwithstanding the ceilings prescribed in this Executive Order, salary increases shall be automatically granted to officers and employees of the Batasang Pambansa whenever a national government salary increase is allowed or authorized on the basis of a periodic nationwide salary survey conducted by the Office of Budget and Management or whenever a salary increase is authorized in any of the offices in the Executive or the Judiciary. The funds for such salary increases shall be charged to the Salary Adjustment Fund of the National Government or from whatever sources are designated for the purpose.

SECTION 14. Revision of the Plan. — Whenever the results of the periodic natiowide survey conducted by the Office of Budget and Management requires the upward revision of such plan, or whenever there is extraordinary inflation as certified to the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) or by the Central Bank of the Philippines, the Compensation Plan of the Batasang Pambansa shall be revised by the Speaker, upon the recommendation of the Board.

SECTION 15. Overtime Pay. — The Speaker of the Batasang Pambansa shall authorize the payment of compensation from appropriations provided for the Batasang Pambansa to its officers and employees for overtime services rendered on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, or after the required office hours on regular working days, at rates to be fixed by him, which shall not exceed for any one month the equivalent of their monthly salary or for any one year the equivalent of their annual salary.

SECTION 16. Additional Benefits. — The Speaker may also grant additional benefits to officers and employees as may be determined by him in accordance with the provisions of the General Appropriations Act, subject to the availability of funds.

SECTION 17. Appeal. — Any action of the Board or of the Speaker under this Executive Order may be appealed by any interested party to the Civil Service Board of Appeals.

SECTION 18. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — Upon the recommendation of the Board, the Speaker shall issue rules and regulations for the proper implementation of this Executive Order.

SECTION 19. Funding Allocation. — The funding allocations required for the implementation or adjustment of compensations or allowances of the officers or employees of the Batasang Pambansa as a result of the initial implementation of this Executive Order shall be funded from the Salary Adjustment Fund of the National Government for Fiscal Year 1986. The subsequent funding requirements shall be incorporated in the appropriations of the Batasang Pambansa in the annual General Appropriations Act.

SECTION 20. Applicability of the Civil Service Law. — The provisions of the Civil Service Law shall be applicable to the Legislative Service Career System of the Batasang Pambansa insofar as they are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Executive Order.

SECTION 21. Effectivity Clause. — This Executive Order shall take effect on 1 January 1986.

Done in the City of Manila, this 4th day of December, in the year of Our Lord, Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five.

ANNEX "A"

BATASAN POSITION CLASSIFICATION AND SALARY GRADES FOR FIRST AND SECOND LEVELS

POSITION CLASS	PAY GRADE
SUPERVISORY GROUP
Division Chief	14
Asst. Service Chief	14
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL GROUP
Legislative Counsel II	13
Legislative Counsel I	12
LEGISLATIVE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE GROUP
Committee Secretary II	13
Committee Secretary I	12
JOURNAL OFFICERS/EDITORIAL GROUP
Journal Officer II	11
Journal Officer I	10
Editor	11
STAFF OFFICERS GROUP
Staff Officer V	11
Staff Officer IV	10
Staff Officer III	9
Staff Officer II	8
Staff Officer I	7
STENOGRAPHERS GROUP
Debate Stenographer II	8
Debate Stenographer I	8
Stenographer	8
SECRETARIAT GROUP
Secretary II	9
Secretary	8
Receptionist	4
STAFF ASSISTANTS GROUP
Staff Assistant III	6
Staff Assistant II	5
Staff Assistant I	4
LIBRARY ASSISTANTS GROUP
Cataloguer	6
Indexer-Bibliographer	6
Library Aide	3
PAGE GROUP
Legislative Page	5
Committee Page	5
COMPUTER DATA CONTROL GROUP
Input Machine Operator	4
CLERICAL GROUP
Clerk II	3
Clerk I	2
DRIVERS GROUP
Driver II	3
Driver I	2
GENERAL UTILITY GROUP
Maintenance Man	2
Carpenter	2
Groundsman Gardener	1
Utility Aide	1

ANNEX "B"