4 
c 
c 
THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE ) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
) S.S 
SENATE 
4 
S.B. No. 
I 
Introduced by Senator Jinggoy Ejercito Estrada 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Orientation courses for entrants to government service are a standard feature of 
bureaucracies everywhere. In Singapore, for instance, entrants to the civil service 
undergo orientation programs akin to initiation rites, to instill in the minds of its workers 
their responsibilities to the country and the people they serve. 
In our country, however, most of the orientation courses offered by our 
government agencies, if there be any, are usually limited to informing the new employee 
of the higher officials of the agency and briefing him on his job in terms of the tasks he 
is expected to do. Rarely is the agency’s mission, specifically its role in the national 
scheme fully defined. These deficiencies make for an employee with a very vague 
notion of his own role and rarely imbued with a sense of commitment as a public 
servant. 
This bill seeks to remedy this problem by requiring all newly appointed 
government officials and employees to undergo orientation courses prior to assumption 
into office. These courses shall be designed to make them aware of their new functions 
and responsibilities, of the need and demands of their client- public, as well as the role 
of their agency in national development. By making civil servants aware of all these, it 
is expected that a deeper sense of commitment to duty would be fostered among our 
men in government. 
In view of the foregoing, approval of this bill is strongly recommended. 
RCITO ESTRADA 
Senator 


i 
THIRTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 1 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session 
) S.S 
S.B. No. 
4 
. ,  , . . .  
Introduced by Senator Jinggoy Ejercitp Estrada 
AN ACT 
REQUIRING NEWLY APPOINTED GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS AND 
EMPLOYEES TO UNDERGO ORIENTATION COURSES UPON ASSUMPTION TO 
OFFICE AND PROVIDING PENALTIES FOR VIOLATION THEREOF 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled: 
SECTION I. 
It shall be the policy of the Government to instill a high sense of 
commitment to duty in the civil service. To this end, government agencies shall initiate 
programs to develop in every government employee a keen awareness of his function in 
the agency and of the agency's role in national development as well as the needs and 
expectations of the public. 
SECTION 2. The provisions of existing laws to the contrary notwithstanding, any 
person who has accepted an appointment in the government service shall upon 
assumption into office, undergo a three (3) day orientation course that shall focus not 
only on their specific duties and responsibilities in the office, but also on the functions 
and objectives of the office as well as its commitment to the public. Upon completion of 
the orientation course, the new appointee shall, in simple ceremonies, take an oath of 
office before any official authorized to administer oaths. 
SECTlON3. Each department, bureau or agency of the government, in 
coordination with the Civil Service Commission, shall within one hundred eighty (180) 
days from the effectivity of this Act, prepare an orientation module for their respective 
offices which shall include an actual session with a representative group of persons 
being served by the office. 
SECTION 4. Any head of office or chief of the personnel or human resource 
division who shall allow without cause, any performance of his duties without 


undergoing the necessary three (3) day orientation course and oath-taking as provided 
under this Act, shall be punished by a fine in an amount equivalent to one (I) 
month 
salary or suspension for a period of one (I) 
month, if found guilty in an appropriate 
administrative investigation. 
Any newly appointed official or employee who shall without cause, enter into the 
performance of his duties without completing the required orientation course and oath 
taking shall be automatically dismissed from the service. 
SECTION 5. All laws, decrees, orders, rules and regulations or parts thereof 
which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed or amended 
accordingly. 
SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in a 
newspaper of general circulation. 
Approved,