Progressive groups on Thursday rebuked a memorandum by the Civil Service Commission (CSC) that threatened government workers with suspension and dismissal if they were found engaging in partisan political activities, accusing the organization of curtailing freedom of speech and engaging in political harassment.

Memorandum Circular 3-2025, issued on 31 March, strictly prohibits government officials and employees in all branches, including active members of the police and military as well as incumbent barangay officials, from liking, commenting, sharing, re-posting, or following any political candidate or party to maintain neutrality ahead of the 12 May elections.

These prohibitions are considered partisan political activities and apply to state workers even if they are on leave.

Government workers found violating this order will be sanctioned, with suspension of up to six months for the first offense and dismissal from service for the second offense.

ACT Teachers Partylist strongly criticized the memorandum, calling it a “clear violation” of government employees' constitutional rights to free expression and political participation.

The group also argued that the latest memorandum runs counter to Joint Circular No. 1, which was issued by no less than the CSC itself, together with the Commission on Elections (Comelec) in 2016, and which explicitly excluded such restrictions on government employees’ use of social media during the election campaign period.

"The CSC cannot just change its interpretation of the law…By prohibiting even the most basic social media interactions like 'liking' or 'sharing,' the CSC is effectively silencing nearly two million government workers and stripping them of their fundamental right to engage in democratic discourse,” Rep. France Castro, the group’s representative, lamented.

Moreover, the coalition accused the CSC of “overstepping” its constitutional authority by unilaterally expanding the definition of prohibited partisan political activities through a mere memorandum, citing a Supreme Court’s jurisprudence that held that liking, sharing, retweeting, or commenting on a social media post does not constitute authorship of the original content.

Bayan Muna and the labor group, COURAGE, have also expressed concern about the memorandum, which they claimed tramples upon the “very rights that civil servants are supposed to uphold and defend.”

All three unions have warned they will petition the CSC’s memorandum—even if they reach the Supreme Court—if it fails to rescind it immediately.

As this developed, the CSC clarified that government employees may like, share, comment on, or repost election-related content on social media as long as these actions do not solicit support for or against any candidate or party during the campaign period.

“The CSC emphasized the need for prudence in using social media to avoid engaging in partisan political activities. This is as per CSC Memorandum Circular No. 3, s. 2025, which reminds officials and employees to maintain political neutrality in line with the 1987 Constitution,” the statement released on Thursday read.

Earlier, the CSC defended the issuance of the memorandum, which they claimed is in accordance with the Constitution, which prohibits government officers and employees, as well as active police and military, from engaging, directly or indirectly, in any electioneering or partisan political campaign except to vote.