April 24, 2015

SAMUEL S. PENADO, CSEE, MBA

AGM for Administration
Bacolod City Water District
Corner Galo-San Juan Streets
Bacolod City

Dear AGM Penado:

This refers to your letter dated April 22, 2015, which this Office received on April 24, 2015,
regarding the impending promotion of Engr. John Arlan S. Canatoy.

You represented that Engr. Canatoy is currently the Principal Engineer D with Salary Grade
19 and concurrently the Officer-in-Charge of the Water Distribution and Restoration Division
since July 1, 2012 up to the present. You likewise cited item no. 15 of CSC Memorandum
Circular No. 3 s. 2001, which states that an employee may be promoted to a position which is
not more than three (3) salary grades higher than his present position, except in very meritorious
cases.

Specifically, you raise the following queries:

“1. Engr. Canatoy is the lone applicant for the position of Division Manager A
(SG-24), Water Distribution and Restoration Division. Considering that he
met/complied with all the minimum requirements of the position prescribed in
the Qualification Standard of the Civil Service Commission, can he be
appointed to the position?

‘2. With regards to the ‘quantum leap’ as referred to by our Board of Directors
or the policy concerning the three salary grade limitations on promotion as
stated in the Memorandum Circular No. 3 series of 2001, can he be exempted
considering that there is no qualified next-in-rank applicant and no other
employee/s qualified to the position.”

This Office answers your queries in the affirmative.

The aforementioned CSC MC No. 3, s. 2001 has been clarified by the Commission in CSC
Office Memorandum No. 38 s. 2004 (Clarification of the Policy on the Three-Salary Grade
Limitation on Promotion) and No. 6 s. 2005 (Advisory on the Application of the Policy on the
Three-Salary Grade Limitation on Promotion). Under these Office Memoranda, the following
are the exemptions from the three-salary grade limitation on promotion:

1. The Position is occupied by the person is next-in-rank to the vacant position as

identified in the
Merit Promotion Plan and the System of Ranking Positions (SRP) of the agency;

A next-in-rank position refers to a position which by reason of the hierarchical

arrangement of
position in the department, agency or office in the government is determined to be in
the nearest degree of relationship to a higher position identified in the agency System
of Ranking Positions (SRP).

The SRP is the hierarchical arrangement of position from highest to lowest, which
shall be used as a guide in determining which position is next-in-rank, taking into
consideration the following:

 Organizational Structure;
 Classification and/or functional relationship of positions;
 Salary and/or range allocation; and
 Geographical location

2. The position is a lone or entrance position, as indicated in the agency staffing pattern.

The term “lone position” refers to the only position appearing in the approved
organizational chart or plantilla in a particular organizational unit of an agency (e.g.
Carpenter I of the Maintenance Department).

3. The position belongs to the dearth category, such as Medical Officer Specialist and
Attorney positions;

A position is deemed to be in the dearth category if it is hard to fill because qualified

applicants, per approved qualification standards, are difficult to find.

4. The position is unique and/or highly specialized, such as Actuarial and Airways
Communication positions;

Unique and/or highly specialized positions are those with highly specialized and
unique duties requiring specialized education, training or skills, which may not be
acquired through formal education, training programs, or experience gained from
service-wide positions.

5. The candidates passed through a deep selection process, taking into consideration the
candidates’ superior qualification in regard to:
 Educational Achievements
 Highly specialized trainings
 Relevant work experience
  Consistent high performance rating/ranking

6. The vacant position belongs to the closed career system.

7. The appointee is the lone applicant
8. The qualified next-in-rank employees waived their right over the vacant position in
writing
9. The next-in-rank position, as identified in the agency System of Ranking Positions
(SRP) is vacant
10. The qualified next-in-rank did not apply
11. The protestant’s position is also more than 3-SG lower than the Protested position.
(Emphasis supplied)

Thank you for writing us.

Very truly yours,

Atty. ERNA T. ELIZAN

Director II