Republic Act No. 7041 (For Government Offices)

Republic Act No. 7041 requires government offices to publish vacant job positions and their qualifications to ensure fairness in hiring.

Let’s examine what this law means and why it’s important.

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What’s Inside?

About the Republic Act No. 7041

Republic Act No. 7041, passed in 1991 in the Philippines, requires government offices to publish vacant job positions and their qualifications to ensure fairness in hiring.

Officials must post vacancy lists for ten days and submit them monthly to the Civil Service Commission.

The Commission publishes a quarterly list of all government job openings with qualification requirements. Violating this law can lead to public censure, salary withholding, or criminal charges.

The Civil Service Commission investigates and prosecutes violations, except for cases involving its officials, which the Ombudsman handles.

The law is funded through government appropriations and doesn’t apply during hiring freezes. It repeals or amends any conflicting existing laws and remains in effect unless declared unconstitutional.

What Does This Law Contains?

Duty of Personnel Officers: Chief Personnel or Administrative Officers of government offices must post lists of vacant positions for ten (10) days every month and send copies to the Civil Service Commission. Certain types of positions are excluded from this requirement.
Publication of Vacancies: The Civil Service Commission must publish a complete list of vacant government positions once every quarter, including qualification standards. This list must be available for public inspection and posted in public places by local government units.
Penalties: Officials who violate the law may face public censure or criminal prosecution and imprisonment for repeated and willful violations.
Jurisdiction: The Civil Service Commission has jurisdiction over investigating and recommending prosecution for law violations, except in cases involving the Commission’s officials, which fall under the Ombudsman’s jurisdiction.
Implementing Rules: The Civil Service Commission is responsible for issuing rules and regulations to implement the law effectively.
Appropriation: Funding for implementing the law is allocated from the Civil Service Commission’s budget in the General Appropriations Act.
Repealing Clause: Laws inconsistent with this Act are repealed or amended accordingly.
Separability Clause: If any provision of the Act is declared unconstitutional, other provisions remain in force.
Effectivity: The Act takes effect 15 days after publication in a newspaper of general circulation.

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 7041

AN ACT REQUIRING REGULAR PUBLICATION OF EXISTING VACANT POSITIONS IN GOVERNMENT OFFICES, APPROPRIATING FUNDS THEREFOR, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Policy.—It shall be the policy of the Government to promote efficiency in the allocation of personnel in the civil service, as well as transparency and equal opportunities in the recruitment and hiring of new personnel.

SEC. 2. Duty of Personnel Officers.—It shall be the duty of all Chief Personnel or Administrative Officers of all branches, subdivisions, instrumentalities and agencies of the Government, including government-owned or -controlled corporations with original charters, and local government units, to post in three (3) conspicuous places of their offices for a period of ten (10) days a complete list of all existing vacant positions in their respective offices which are authorized to be filled, and to transmit a copy of such list and the corresponding qualification standards to the Civil Service Commission not later than the tenth day of every month. Vacant positions shall not be filled until after publication: Provided, however, That vacant unfilled positions that are:

a) Primarily confidential;
b) Policy-determining;
c) Highly technical;
d) Coterminous with that of the appointing authority; or
e) Limited to the duration of a particular project shall be excluded from the list required under this Law.

SEC. 3. Publication of Vacancies.—The Chairman and members of the Civil Service Commission shall publish once every quarter a complete list of all the existing vacant positions in the Government throughout the country, including the qualification standards required for each position and, thereafter, certify under oath to the completion of publication. Copies of such publication shall be sold at cost to the public and distributed free of charge to the various personnel offices of the government where they shall be available for inspection by the public: Provided, That said publication shall be posted by the Chief Personnel or Administrative Officer of all local government units in at least three (3) public and conspicuous places in their respective municipalities and provinces: Provided, further, That any vacant position published therein shall be open to any qualified person who does not necessarily belong to the same office with the vacancy or who occupies a position next-in-rank to the vacancy: Provided, finally, That the Civil Service Commission shall not act on any appointment to fill up a vacant position unless the same has been reported to and published by the Commission.

SEC. 4. Penalties.—a) Any violation of Sections 2 and/or 3 of this Act and its implementing rules and regulations shall subject the official concerned to public censure without prejudice to the withholding of his salary pending compliance with the requirements as provided in this Act.

b) Any repeated and willful violation of Sections 2 and/or 3 of this Act and its implementing rules and regulations shall subject the official concerned to criminal prosecution and, upon conviction, suffer the penalty of imprisonment of two (2) years and/or a fine of not less than Five thousand pesos (P5,000.00) nor more than Ten thousand pesos (P10,000.00), at the discretion of the court.

SEC. 5. Jurisdiction.—The Civil Service Commission shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction to investigate and recommend for prosecution all cases of violation of this Act: Provided, however, That in case the violation is alleged to have been committed by the Chairman and/or any of the Commissioners of the Civil Service Commission, the Ombudsman shall have original and exclusive jurisdiction over the investigation and prosecution of said alleged violation.

SEC. 6. Implementing Rules.—The Civil Service Commission shall issue the rules and regulations necessary for the effective implementation of this Act.

SEC. 7. Existing Laws.—Without prejudice to the provisions of existing laws requiring the posting or disclosure of matters of public interest, the provisions of this Act shall not apply during any period when there is a ban on hiring.

SEC. 8. Appropriation.—The amount necessary for the effective implementation of this Act shall be charged against the appropriations for the Civil Service Commission under the current General Appropriations Act. Thereafter, such amount as may be necessary for the continuous implementation of this Act shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

SEC. 9. Repealing Clause.—All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations or parts thereof inconsistent with this Act or the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant thereto are hereby repealed or amended accordingly.

SEC. 10. Separability Clause.—If any provision of this Act is declared unconstitutional or inoperative, the other provisions not so declared shall remain in force and effect.

SEC. 11. Effectivity.—This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after publication in any newspaper of general circulation.

Approved, June 5, 1991.

Disclaimer

This article is for informational purposes only. If you want to verify the original copy of the law, please search The Official Gazette website. For further understanding of the law, consider contacting the nearest lawyer in your area.

Conclusion

Republic Act No. 7041, passed in 1991, makes government job hiring in the Philippines more transparent and fair by requiring the announcement of job openings and their qualifications.

Government offices must post these vacancies and send them to the Civil Service Commission, which then shares them with the public. Violators can face penalties.

The goal is to ensure everyone has an equal chance to apply for government jobs.

Glossary of Terms

Term	Simplified Definition
Chief Personnel	The top person in charge of managing employees in government offices.
Instrumentalities	Government bodies created to perform specific tasks or services.
Government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs)	Businesses owned or significantly influenced by the government.
Civil Service Commission	Government agency responsible for hiring and managing government workers fairly and openly.
Publication	Sharing information with the public through newspapers or online.
Jurisdiction	Legal authority to hear and decide cases or complaints.
Ombudsman	An official who investigates complaints about government officials.
Implementing Rules	Detailed instructions created by government agencies to follow a law.
General Appropriations Act	Law that decides how government money will be spent each year.
Repealing Clause	Part of a new law that cancels out old laws that conflict with it.
Separability Clause	Part of a law saying that if one part is found invalid, the rest still applies.
Effectivity	The date a law starts being used.

Reference

Republic Act No. 7041 | GOVPH. (n.d.). Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1991/06/05/republic-act-no-7041/