Social Welfare Secretary Rex Gatchalian on Monday welcomed the creation of 4,000 to 5,000 regular positions in the agency, as reported by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) during the continuation of the Senate deliberations on the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s proposed 2025 budget.

“Madam chair, if that is the report from the DBM, we will be very happy,” Gatchalian said in response to DBM Assistant Secretary Leonido Pulido III’s statement before the Senate Committee on Finance chaired by Senator Imee Marcos.

According to Pulido, “There is a continuing effort with DSWD to start the regularization of at least 4,000 to 5,000 existing contractual positions.” He added that they are hopeful the positions will be created this year.

During the budget deliberations, Gatchalian informed the committee that the agency has so far converted a total of 6,135 contracts of service (CoS) to contractual employee status since he was appointed DSWD secretary.

Based on the Civil Service Commission’s 2017 Omnibus Rules on Appointments and Other Human Resource Actions, 2019 edition, a contractual position is an “appointment issued to a person whose employment in the government is in accordance with a special contract to undertake local or foreign-assisted projects or a specific work or job requiring special or technical skills not available in the employing agency, to be accomplished within a specific period.”

A person holding a contractual position is entitled to the same benefits as regular employees.

Under Joint Circular 1 from the Civil Service Commission (CSC), the Commission on Audit (CoA), and the DBM, contract of service or job order workers are not covered by civil service laws and rules.

Section 7.4 of Joint Circular 1 states that “the services of contract of service and job order workers are not covered by civil service law and rules and thus are not creditable as government service. They do not enjoy the benefits provided to government employees, such as leave, PERA, RATA, and thirteenth month pay.”