Casual or contractual employees who have rendered at least five years in the government service will have a chance to become regular employees and avail of the corresponding benefits at work through a bill filed by Senator Robinhood “Robin” Padilla.

In his Senate Bill 234, casual or contractual government employees in the career service may be granted civil service eligibility under certain conditions.

“It is high time that we grant eligibility to our committed casual or contractual employees of the government in order to open opportunities for higher salaried positions, boost their morale and keep them motivated, and enhance their productivity to the benefit of the public,” Padilla said in his bill.

“For the longest time, the government has gained notoriety for denying its employees opportunities to be regularized,” he added.

Citing data from the Civil Service Commission (CSC), he noted 660,390 out of 2.4 million government employees in 2017 or about 27 percent were under “job order” or “contract of service” status.

“Most of our casual or contractual government employees cannot seek regular employment because they are not civil service eligible,” Padilla lamented.

On the other hand, Padilla said there have been special laws, regulations and orders authorizing the CSC to grant eligibility to “qualified individuals” including Bar/Board eligibility, Barangay Health Worker Eligibility, Barangay Nutrition, Scholar Eligibility, Barangay Official Eligibility, Electronic Data Processing Specialist Eligibility, Foreign School Honor Graduate Eligibility, Honor Graduate Eligibility, Sanggunian Member Eligibility, Scientific and Technological Specialist Eligibility, Skills Eligibility Category II, and Veteran Preference Rating.