MANILA, (PNA) — Retiring government employees need not secure clearances of no pending administrative case from his/her employer-agency, the Civil Service Commission (CSC), and the Office of the Ombudsman.
This was announced by the CSC as it issued CSC Resolution No. 1302242 amending the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act No. 10154, otherwise known as An Act Requiring All Concerned Government Agencies to Ensure the Early Release of the Retirement Pay, Pensions, Gratuities, and other Benefits of Retiring Government Employees.
The amended Section 7 of the IRR requires the retiring employee to execute a statement under oath declaring whether he/she has a pending case. In the event that he/she has a pending case, he/she shall disclose the nature and status of the same.
A notary public or any administering officer of the employer-agency designated by the head of agency may administer the oath. The employee shall use the prescribed form for the Declaration of Pendency/Non-Pendency of Case.
The original rules require retiring employees to secure a Clearance of Pendency/Non-Pendency of Administrative Case/s from his/her employer-agency, the CSC, Office of the Ombudsman, and the Office of the President for presidential appointees.
This was found to be problematic according to CSC Chairman Francisco T. Duque III.
“We are serving a thousand clients each day. Retiring employees individually line up at the Civil Service Commission to request for their clearances as part of the requirements for retirement. We want to resolve this given the physical and financial limitations of the retiring employee, as well as manpower limitations of the CSC,” said Chairman Duque.
Figures from the Records Section of the CSC Office for Legal Affairs show that in September 2013 alone, CSC received 14,000 requests for clearance.
“The Civil Service Commission, as the human resource institution of the bureaucracy, is committed to a responsive, accessible, courteous, and effective public service. We aim to provide ‘maginhawang pagreretiro’ to our retiring civil servants. The amendments to the IRR will put this into reality,” said Chairman Duque.
The amended rules also require the agency Human Resource Management Office (HRMO) to submit the names of retirees to the Ombudsman and CSC for verification of pendency of cases within one month or 30 days after the official or employee has submitted his/her written expression of intent to retire.
Item (f), Section 8, Rule IV added the responsibility of employer-agency to submit to DBM, as part of its budget proposal, a list of its officials and employees who shall compulsorily retire in the next succeeding fiscal year for the latter’s incorporation in the Pension and Gratuity Fund.
Some definition of terms were also clarified.
“Pecuniary liability” refers to a monetary obligation to compensate any lost, damaged, or destroyed property resulting from fault or neglect, or from improper application of funds resulting from one’s failure to properly discharge assigned responsibilities.
“Retirement benefits” refer to remuneration, which include retirement pay, pensions, gratuities, and other benefits, given to an official or employee by reason of his/her retirement from government service.
On pending cases, an administrative disciplinary case is considered pending when the disciplining authority has issued a formal charge or a notice of charge/s to the respondent, while a criminal case shall be considered pending from the time an Information or Complaint is filed in Court.
R.A. 10154 was signed into law on July 2011, the IRR of which was promulgated by the Civil Service Commission on January 30, 2013.