# Bayanihan Constitution/Article X

* related portals: Constitutional documents, Philippines
* sister projects: Wikipedia article
Source: Full text: Consultative Committee's draft federal constitution. The Philippine Star.
ARTICLE X CONSTITUTIONAL COMMISSIONS
A. COMMON PROVISIONS
SECTION 1. There shall be independent Constitutional Commissions in the Federal Government.
SECTION 2. The Constitutional Commissions are the Federal Civil Service Commission, the Federal Commission on Elections, the Federal Commission on Audit, the Federal Commission on Human Rights, the Federal Ombudsman Commission, and the Federal Competition Commission.
SECTION 3. The Chairpersons and the members of the Constitutional Commissions shall be appointed by the President with the confirmation of the Commission on Appointments for a term of seven (7) years without reappointment.
SECTION 4. Appointment to any vacancy shall only be for the unexpired term of the predecessor. In no case shall any member be appointed or designated in a temporary or acting capacity. All vacancies shall be filled within ninety (90) days after they occur by the same appointing authority.
SECTION 5. Unless consistent with the primary functions of the office, no member of a Constitutional Commission shall, during his tenure, hold any other office or employment. Neither shall he engage in the practice of any profession or in the active management or control of any business which, in any way, may be affected by the functions of his office, nor shall he be financially interested, directly or indirectly, in any contract with, or in any franchise or privilege granted by the government, any of its subdivisions, agencies, or instrumentalities, including government-owned or controlled corporations or their subsidiaries.
SECTION 6. The Chairpersons and members of the Constitutional Commissions may be removed by impeachment.
SECTION 7. The salary of the Chairpersons and the members shall be fixed by law. During their continuance in office, their salary shall not be decreased. Neither shall their retirement and other benefits be reduced.
SECTION 8. The Constitutional Commissions shall appoint their officials and employees in accordance with federal law.
SECTION 9. The Constitutional Commissions shall enjoy fiscal autonomy. Their appropriations may not be reduced by the legislature below the amount appropriated for the previous year and, after approval, shall be automatically and regularly released. They shall have the power to retain and use their savings or income for any of their activities or undertakings, except the grant of additional bonuses and incentives to their officials and personnel.
SECTION 10. Each Commission en banc may promulgate its own rules and regulations concerning pleadings and practice before it or before any of its offices. Such rules, however, shall not diminish, increase, or modify substantive rights.
SECTION 11. In case of resignation, death, or permanent disability of the Chairperson of any Commission to discharge his functions, the most senior member shall serve as acting head until the appointment of a permanent one.
SECTION 12. No spouse or relative of any of the Chairpersons or members within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity may personally appear as counsel or agent on any matter pending before the Commission concerned or transact business therein, directly or indirectly, during their incumbency and within one (1) year from cessation from office.
B. FEDERAL CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION
SECTION 1. (a) There shall be a Federal Civil Service Commission that shall administer the civil service which embraces all branches, subdivisions, instrumentalities, and agencies of the Federal and Regional Governments, including government-owned or controlled corporations with original charters and their subsidiaries.
(b) Appointments in the civil service shall be based solely on merit and fitness to be determined by competitive examination or other legal requirements, except to positions which are primarily confidential, policy-determining, and highly technical.
(c) No official or employee of the civil service shall be removed or suspended, except for cause as provided by law.
(d) No official or employee in the civil service shall engage, directly or indirectly, in any electioneering or partisan political campaign.
(e) The right to self-organization shall not be denied to all government employees.
(f) Temporary employees in government service shall be given such protection as may be provided by law.
SECTION 2. Only citizens of the Philippines may be appointed to or hold public office. Those who hold dual citizenship shall, as a condition to the assumption of office or government employment, renounce allegiance to a foreign sovereignty.
All public officers and employees shall take an oath or affirmation to uphold and defend the Constitution.
SECTION 3. No candidate who lost in any election shall be appointed to any office in the government or any government-owned or controlled corporations and in any of their subsidiaries within one (1) year immediately following such election.
SECTION 4. (a) No elective official shall be eligible for appointment or designation in any capacity to any public office or position during his tenure.
(b) A person holding an appointive public office or position, including active members of the armed forces, shall be considered ipso facto resigned from office upon filing of a certificate of candidacy.
(c) Unless allowed by law, or by the primary functions of his position, no appointive official shall hold any other office or employment in the Federal and Governments or any of their subdivisions, agencies or instrumentalities, including government-owned or controlled corporations or their subsidiaries.
SECTION 5. Unless authorized by law, no elective or appointive public officer or employee shall receive additional or indirect compensation, nor accept without the consent of the Federal Congress, any present, emolument, office, or title of any kind from any foreign government.
Pensions or gratuities shall not be considered as additional, double, or indirect compensation.
SECTION 6. No appointment in the civil service shall be made in favor of a relative within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity of the appointing or recommending authority, or of the chief of the bureau or office, or of the person exercising immediate supervision over the appointee.
SECTION 7. There shall be no discrimination against any person seeking employment in the civil service by reason of political or religious affiliations or opinions, sex, status, age, physical appearance or disability, or ethnicity.
SECTION 8. (a) The Federal Civil Service Commission, as the central human resource agency of the government, shall establish a career service and adopt measures to promote morale, efficiency, integrity, responsiveness, progressiveness, and courtesy in the civil service. It shall strengthen the merit and rewards system, integrate all human resources development plans, enhance the capacities of all civil servants, establish standards for position classification and compensation, selection, recruitment, and placement of civil servants, and institutionalize a management climate conducive to public accountability. It shall submit to the President and the Federal Congress an annual report on its human resource programs.
(b) In the discharge of its duties, the Federal Civil Service Commission shall not impair the autonomy of federated regions.
(c) The Commission may review on appeal final orders and decisions of the Regional Civil Service Commissions.
SECTION 9. The Federal Congress shall, upon consultation with the Federal Civil Service Commission, the Department of Budget and Management, and the Department of Finance, provide for the minimum standards of compensation for public officials and employees, including those in government-owned or controlled corporations and their subsidiaries, taking into account the nature of the responsibilities pertaining to, and the qualifications required for, the positions.
SECTION 10. The Federal Civil Service Commission shall be composed of a Chairperson and two (2) Commissioners who shall be natural-born citizens of the Philippines, and at the time of their appointment, at least thirty-five (35) but not more than sixty-five (65) years of age, with proven capacity for public administration, and must not have been candidates for any elective position in the election immediately preceding their appointment. At least one (1) Commissioner shall be a member of the Philippine Bar and has been engaged in the practice of law for at least ten (10) years.
The Chairperson and the Commissioners shall be appointed by the President with the confirmation of the Commission on Appointments for a term of seven (7) years without reappointment. Of those first appointed, the Chairperson shall hold office for seven (7) years and two (2) members for five (5) years.
SECTION 11. The Federal Civil Service Commission shall coordinate with the Career Executive Service Board or its equivalent in the implementation of the rules and standards in Career Executive Service (CES).
SECTION 12. The Federal Civil Service Commission shall decide, by a majority vote of its members, any case or matter brought before it within one (1) year from the date of its filing.
Decisions and rulings of the Commission shall be final and executory and may only be reviewed by the Federal Administrative Court on certiorari as the rules of the Federal Administrative Court may provide.
SECTION 13. There shall be a Civil Service Commission in each Federated Region which shall be guided by the minimum standards and policies set by the Federal Civil Service Commission.
The Regional Assemblies may enact laws which provide for the standards, policies, qualifications, and compensation of public officials and employees under their respective jurisdictions equal to or higher than the minimum standards set by the Federal Congress, taking into account the nature of the responsibilities pertaining to the qualifications needed for the position, and the requirements in their respective regions. Such enactments shall govern the Regional Civil Service Commission.
SECTION 14. The Regional Governor shall appoint members of the Regional Civil Service Commission with the consent of the Regional Assembly. They may not be removed, except for cause as provided by law. The Regional Civil Service Commission shall have the authority to select their personnel and manage their respective offices.
This work is in the public domain because it is a work of the Philippine government (see Republic Act No. 8293 Sec. 176).\nAll official Philippine texts of a legislative, administrative, or judicial nature, or any official translation thereof, are ineligible for copyright.
This work is also in the public domain in the U.S. because it is an edict of a government, local or foreign. See § 313.6(C)(2) of the Compendium II: Copyright Office Practices. Such documents include "legislative enactments, judicial decisions, administrative rulings, public ordinances, or similar types of official legal materials" as well as "any translation prepared by a government employee acting within the course of his or her official duties."
Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse