CURRENT ISSUES IN THE

PHILIPPINES
MARY ANNE BALBONTIN
MPA
ISSUES ON GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS,
LICENSING, ETC.

 Driver's license in the Philippines

 BACKLOG IN THE ISSUANCE OF

LICENSES
The shortage of LTO license cards
started in 2013 after the Commission
on Audit disallowed payments to a
previous supplier, Amalgamated
Motors Philippines Inc., for lack of a
proper contract.
A new supplier, Allcard Plastics Philippines
Inc., won the bidding held in June 2015 to
supply five million cards for P336.8 million.

 Atpresent, the government is in the process

of procuring additional plastic cards amid a
backlog in the issuance of licenses.

 Toaddress the backlog of 1.1 million licenses,

Mercado said the government will release
400,000 licenses per month beginning in
November.
 The Land Transportation Franchising and
Regulatory Board (LTFRB) starts phasing out
school service vehicles that is 15 years old and
up.

 The Supreme Court temporarily stops Land

Transportation Office (LTO) from issuing
700,000 license plates to motorists and from
accepting more license plates from the Bureau
of Customs

 The license plates were shipped in 11 container

vans, but were not claimed by the Dutch-
Filipino consortium PPI-JKG Philippines Inc.,
the consignee which holds the supply contract
with the LTO.
Since last year, the shipment has been kept at
the Manila International Container Port as PPI-
JKG did not settle the P40 million of taxes and
duties. - See more at:
 BUSINESS PERMITS
 It takes, on the average, about 34 days to
get a business permit, with the longest
wait in obtaining a business permit from
the local government office (six days),
getting printed receipts and invoices (seven
days), and registering with the Social
Security System (seven days).
CONSTRUCTION PERMIT
It takes 21 days to obtain water and
sewage connection, 21 days to get the
building permit and ancillary permits from
the Office of the Building Official (OBO),
and 18 days to be given the certificate of
occupancy from the OBO.
 The usual procedure in securing a business permit is
as follows:
 1. Secure a barangay clearance- requirements usually
are: duly filled out form, AOI or DTI Registration;
lease contract, pictures of the establishment. Other
requirements are imposed (in Pasig Bgy. San Antonio,
they require insurance)
 2. After getting the barangay clearance, you proceed to
the city hall (BPLO Business Permit and Licensing
Office) where they will give you a form to fill up. You
must submit the duly filled up and notarized form
 3. Go to the Engineering Department to get the
assessment for building fee (they will ask for the
building and occupancy permit). Then proceed to
Electrical Department for assessment (they will
require mechanical and electrical permit )
 4. Go to BPLO so they can check the
requirements, have the assessment and fees
encoded and also to check any violations or
penalties. The EDP will issue the Order of
Payment.
 5. Procure cedula.
 6. Go to Treasury department then pay the fees.
 7. You then proceed to the Health and Sanitary
Office where you will secure the Health and
Sanitary Permit (In Pasig, they require a drug
test and X-ray for all the employees). They will
also require attendance in a seminar
 8. You go to CENRO (City Environment and
Natural Resources Office) to secure an
Environmental Permit (usual requirement is
Affidavit of Undertaking).
 9. Then off to the BFP (Bureau of Fire Protection)
for the Fire Permit Fee. Take note that all
business establishments are required to have a
fire extinguisher. The number of fire extinguishers
will depend on the floor area of the establishment.
An inspection by the BFP will be conducted before
the issuance of the clearance. They will issue a
Fire Safety Inspection Certificate.
 10. Some LGUs do not conduct inspection anymore
but rather require pictures of the establishment.
 11. After all these permits are secured, then the
business license is issued. However, in some cities,
they issue the business permit temporarily subject
to the issuance of the other permits (Sanitary
permit, Fire Certificate).
 Pending tax investigations and audit will
be stop in day one of new administration

 The BIR issues a LOA (Letters of

Authority) to inform a taxpayer that he
or she is being investigated for possible
tax violations. Issuance of LOA are
being abused and could last for 2 to 3
years and could be the cause of
negotiation or corruption.
 The Bureau of Customs has soft-launched the
live stream of its office operations on Thursday,
September 1, to promote transparency in one of
the most graft-ridden agencies in government.

 The BOC said in a statement that its CCTV

command center, which oversees the online
streaming, receives images from around 40
cameras installed at the BOC main building –
including Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon's office.

 Other cameras in BOC areas such as the Port of

Manila, the Manila International Container
Terminal, and the Ninoy Aquino International
Airport would send images to the command
center for online viewing.
 The Bureau of Customs intercepted parcels
containing P3 million in illegal drugs. The
parcels, upon inspection, had around 2,000
pieces of ecstasy, valued at approximately P3
million.
 The Bureau of Customs (BOC) found high-
caliber firearms smuggled to the country
through one.
 35 pieces trigger housing assembly
 60 pieces upper receiver
 15 pieces batter spring lock
 10 pieces barrel assembly M16
 1 piece rail w/o barrel
 1 piece rail w/ M16 barrel w/ 1 piece suppresor
 15 pieces butt assembly (10 pieces black and 5 pieces gray)
 15 pieces buffer spring guide
 5 pieces quick detach sope mount
 2 pieces bottle opener
ISSUES UNDER QUASI-JUDICIAL
BODIES
 COMELEC
 Anonymous Philippines has hacked the
website of Commission on Election to force
them to place security features on Vote
Counting Machine.
 The COMELEC en banc grants the Liberal
Party’s request and several petitions that
they be allowed to file their Statement of
Contributions and Expenses (SOCE)
beyond June 8 deadline long before May 9
election.
 The COMELEC en banc accepts the
resignation of senior Commissioner
Christian Robert Lim as head of Campaign
Finance Office(CFO), following the
extension of the filling of SOCE.
 CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION

 In Duterte’s memorandum circular 4

signed by Executive Secretary
Salvador Medialdea, Duterte fired all
presidential appointees of former
President Benigno Aquino III and
other presidents.
 COMMISSION ON AUDIT

 As much as P6.39 billion in funds for the

government’s conditional cash transfer (CCT)
program has not been liquidated as of 2015,
including payouts from 2008 to 2014, according to
the Commission on Audit (COA).

In its report, COA cited “recurring deficiencies in

the implementation of 4Ps resulting in delayed
delivery of assistance to rightful beneficiaries or
unnecessary holding of idle funds” by Landbank
and its conduits.
 Payments to qualified beneficiaries suffered
delays by 12 to 15 months due to delayed
processing and release of checks or absence of
partner conduits, among others, it said.
 TheCOA noted the slow process of land
acquisition and distribution under the
past DAR administration, taking a year
up to two years when the normal
processing time should have been 196
working days.

In its annual report, the Commission on

Audit (COA) said DAR distributed to
farmers only 18 percent out of its
targeted 198,631 hectares, and zero land
distribution in the Autonomous Region
in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in 2015.
 OMBUDSMAN
 Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales has
ordered the filing of multiple charges before
the Sandiganbayan against former Misamis
Occidental Representative Marina Clarete
for using her Priority Development
Assistance Fund (PDAF) for “ghost”
projects. Clarete is facing 18 counts of
violation of Section 3(e) of the Anti-Graft
and Corrupt Practices Act (Republic Act No.
3019), 11 counts of Malversation thru
Falsification of Public Documents and seven
counts of Malversation of Public Funds.
 Ombudsman fires DOJ prosecutor for
grave misconduct
 Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales has
ordered the dismissal from service of
Zamboanga City Deputy City Prosecutor
Roselyn Murillo-Mamon after she was found
guilty of Grave Misconduct, for actively
persuading a police complainant to drop the
charges in frustrated murder case he filed
before Mamon’s office in exchange for
P200,000.00.
 The office of Ombudsman file graft,
falsification and violation of the
government procurement law charges
against former Vice President Jejomar
Binay in connection with the over-pricing
of the Makati City Hall Building II project

 The Office of the Ombudsman finds

probable cause to file graft charges
against former Health Secretary Enrique
Ona and two other officials of Department
of Health for an alleged anomalous P392.2
million hospital modernization project in
2012
CIVIL SERVICE CAREER TENURE
AND CATEGORY
 CAREER SERVICE
 The Career Service shall be
characterized by
 (1) entrance based on merit and fitness to
be determined as far as practicable by
competitive examination, or based on
highly technical qualifications;
 (2) opportunity for advancement to
higher career positions; and
 (3) security of tenure.
 The Career Service shall include:
 (1) Open Career positions for appointment to
which prior qualification in an appropriate
examination is required;
 (2) Closed Career positions which are scientific,
or highly technical in nature; these include the
faculty and academic staff of state colleges and
universities, and scientific and technical positions
in scientific or research institutions which shall
establish and maintain their own merit systems;
 (3) Positions in the Career Executive Service;
namely, Undersecretary, Assistant Secretary,
Bureau Director, Assistant Bureau Director,
Regional Director, Assistant Regional Director,
Chief of Department Service and other officers of
equivalent rank as may be identified by the
Career Executive Service Board, all of whom are
appointed by the President;
 (4) Career officers, other than those in the
Career Executive Service, who are
appointed by the President, such as the
Foreign Service Officers in the Department
of Foreign Affairs;
 (5) Commissioned officers and enlisted men
of the Armed Forces which shall maintain a
separate merit system;
 (6) Personnel of government-owned or
controlled corporations, whether performing
governmental or proprietary functions, who
do not fall under the non-career service; and
 (7) Permanent laborers, whether skilled,
semi-skilled, or unskilled.
 Classes of Positions in the Career
Service
 Classes of positions in the career service
appointment to which requires
examinations shall be grouped into three
major levels
(a) The first level shall include clerical,

trades, crafts, and custodial service

positions which involve non-professional
or subprofessional work in a non-
supervisory or supervisory capacity
requiring less than four years of collegiate
studies;
 (b) The second level shall include
professional, technical, and scientific
positions which involve professional,
technical, or scientific work in a non-
supervisory or supervisory capacity
requiring at least four years of college work
up to Division Chief level; and
 (c) The third level shall cover positions in
the Career Executive Service.

 Entrance to the third level shall be

prescribed by the Career Executive Service
Board.
 NON CAREER SERVICE
 The Non-Career Service shall be
characterized by
 (1) entrance on bases other than those of the
usual tests of merit and fitness utilized for
the career service; and

 (2) tenure which is limited to a period

specified by law, or which is coterminous
with that of the appointing authority or
subject to his pleasure, or which is limited to
the duration of a particular project for which
purpose employment was made.
 The Non-Career Service shall include:
 (1) Elective officials and their personal or
confidential staff;
 (2) Secretaries and other officials of
Cabinet rank who hold their positions at
the pleasure of the President and their
personal or confidential staff(s);
 (3) Chairman and members of
commissions and boards with fixed terms
of office and their personal or confidential
staff;
 (4) Contractual personnel or those whose
employment in the government is in
accordance with a special contract to
undertake a specific work or job, requiring
special or technical skills not available in
the employing agency, to be accomplished
within a specific period, which in no case
shall exceed one year, and performs or
accomplishes the specific work or job, under
his own responsibility with a minimum of
direction and supervision from the hiring
agency; and
 (5) Emergency and seasonal personnel.
SYSTEMS OF PROMOTION
 E.O 292 BOOK V/ TITLE I/ SUBTITLE A/
CHAPTER 5- PERSONNEL POLICIES &
STANDARDS
 SECTION 21
 (2) When a vacancy occurs in a position in the
first level of the Career Service as defined in
Section 8, the employees in the department who
occupy the next lower positions in the
occupational group under which the vacant
position is classified, and in other functionally
related occupational groups and who are
competent, qualified and with the appropriate
civil service eligibility shall be considered for
promotion.
 (3) When a vacancy occurs in a position in the second
level of the Career Service as defined in Section 8,
the employees in the government service who occupy
the next lower positions in the occupational group
under which the vacant position is classified and in
other functionally related occupational groups and
who are competent, qualified and with the
appropriate civil service eligibility shall be
considered for promotion.
 (4) For purposes of this Section, each department or
agency shall evolve its own screening process, which
may include tests of fitness, in accordance with
standards and guidelines set by the Commission.
Promotion boards shall be formed to formulate
criteria for evaluation, conduct tests or interviews,
and make systematic assessment of training
experience.
 (5)
If the vacancy is not filled by promotion as
provided herein the same shall be filled by
transfer of present employees in the
government service, by reinstatement, by re-
employment of persons separated through
reduction in force, or by appointment of
persons with the civil service eligibility
appropriate to the positions.

 (6) A qualified next-in-rank employee

RETIREMENTS
 RepublicAct (R.A.) No. 8291, or the Government
Service Insurance System Act of 1997, the
compulsory retirement age for government
employees is 65 years.

 Sec. 13.
 (b) Unless the service is extended by appropriate
authorities, retirement shall be compulsory for an
employee at sixty-five (65) years of age with at
least fifteen (15) years of service: Provided, That if
he has less than fifteen (15) years of service, he
may be allowed to continue in the service in
accordance with existing civil service rules and
regulations.
REFERENCES

 http://www.gov.ph/1987/07/25/executive-order-no-
292-book-vtitle-isubtitle-achapter-5-personnel-
policies-and-standards/
 http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2008/feb2
008/173264.htm
 http://www.ombudsman.gov.ph/index.php?home=
1&pressId=OTI3http://www.ombudsman.gov.ph/i
ndex.php?home=1&pressId=OTI3
 http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/809206/csc-clarifies-
dutertes-order-to-fire-ex-presidents-
men#ixzz4KTopElEC
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016_in_the_Philipp
ines