The Civil Service Commission on Thursday admitted that some 204,000 permanent government positions remain vacant.
Based on CSC data, the number of vacancies accounted for almost 12 percent of the 1.75 million permanent employees in government service.
CSC chairperson Karlo Nograles told members of the House of Representatives that the vacancies could be attributed to leadership changes after the 2022 elections.
“We leave it up to the heads of agencies and their respective HRs [human resources] to fill those positions… There has always been that challenge that there are still unfilled positions,” he said.
Aside from permanent positions, the government also has 221,325 non-career personnel and 832,812 job order and contractual employees.
About 110,339 posts or more than half of the total vacancies were in national government agencies, Nograles said.
Local government units had the second highest number of vacancies with 65,867, followed by government-owned and controlled corporations with 12,131, state universities and colleges with 7,959, and local water districts with 7,758.
Zamboanga Sibugay Rep. Wilter Palma said the number of government vacancies was unacceptable given that some 2 million Filipinos are jobless.
“Because we keep on saying you have to create jobs, and here we are, among the bureaucracy itself, you have 204,000 unfilled positions,” Palma said during the CSC’s budget hearing.
“As far as filling up positions is concerned, we can only nudge,” Nograles explained.
Meanwhile, the CSC on Thursday issued reminders for examinees of the upcoming Career Service Examination-Pen and Paper Test (CSE-PPT) on Aug. 20.
“We urge all exam takers to check CSC Examination Advisory No. 8, s. 2023 regarding the school assignment and important reminders to ensure the smooth flow of our exam on Sunday. They may also check their respective school assignments online through the Online Notice of School Assignment or ONSA posted on the CSC website,” Nograles said in a statement.
Following the lifting of the state of public health emergency in the country, he said wearing face masks is now optional.
However, individuals with comorbidities, pregnant women, unvaccinated and symptomatic individuals, as well as the elderly, are still recommended to wear face masks, Nograles said.
Examinees are reminded to be at the testing venue no later than 6:30 a.m., or as required by the CSC Regional/Field Offices concerned.
The gates of testing venues shall be closed to examinees at 7:45 a.m., and examinees who arrive late will not be admitted to take the exam.
The CSC said a total of 373,636 individuals are expected to take the CSE-PPT on Sunday, with 328,772 examinees taking the Professional level, and 44,864 examinees expected to take the Subprofessional level in various testing centers nationwide.