Republic of the Philippines
Congress of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS.
Second Regular Session

House Bill No. 7262

Introduced by: Representative Manuel Jose M. Dalipe

AN ACT
INSTITUTIONALIZING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
INTERNSHIP PROGRAM, PROVIDING FUNDS FOR ITS IMPLEMENTATION
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This legislative bill seeks to institutionalize the implementation of the Government

Internship Program in the Philippines.

The Philippine Constitution has several provisions explicitly promoting and protecting
labor as a primary social economic force, be it local and overseas, and organized or
unorganized.

It is the policy of the State to encourage the involvement of the youth in character-
building and development activities for civic efficiency, stewardship of natural resources,
industrial productivity and the like, and participation in structures for policy-making and
program implementation to reduce the incidence of poverty and accelerate socio-economic
development.

The Filipino youth, being the backbone of the nation and future pillars of the country
should be extended unwavering support and assistance by the State and private institutions in
order for them to harness their potential, mobilize their abilities, talents and skills and
redirecting their creativity, inventive genius and well-spring of enthusiasm.

To attain these objectives enshrined in the Constitution, it is imperative for the State to
establish and institutionalize Government Internship Program in order to empower the youth
toward attaining the goals of the nation, more particularly reducing the incidence of poverty
and injustice.

In view of the foregoing, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought.

MANUEL JOSE My. DAZ IPE


Republic of the Philippines
Congress of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
Second Regular Session

House Bill No. _'7262

Introduced by: Representative Manuel Jose M. Dalipe

AN ACT
INSTITUTIONALIZING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
INTERNSHIP PROGRAM, PROVIDING FUNDS FOR ITS IMPLEMENTATION
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

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

SECTION I. Title. This Act shall be known as the “Government Internship Program
(GIP) Act of 2018.”

SECTION 2. Declaration of Principles. — The State recognizes its vital responsibility
to enable the youth to fulfill its vital role in nation-building. It is the governing principle of
this Act that the youth be accorded opportunities through a Government Internship Program,
with implementing structures to implement the program and the necessary funds for its
sustained implementation.

SECTION 3. Creation of the Government Internship Program, Objectives. - In order
to attain the declared policy, a “Government Internship Program” is hereby established and
hereinafter referred to as the “GIP.”

The objectives of the GIP are the following:
a, To provide wider training and development opportunities among the youth geared
towards acquisition and/or application of knowledge and skills;
b. To contribute in addressing the financial needs of the youth for their possible
educational needs; and
c. To involve and acquaint the youth on government programs, projects and activities
and instill in them appreciation of public service and spirit of volunteerism.

SECTION 4. Definition of Terms. — For purposes of this Act, the following terms are

defined:
a. “CSC” shall refer to the Civil Service Commission.


Pa

. “GIP Certificate” refers to a certification that shall be jointly issued by the

CSC, NYC and the involved institution after program completion and
assessment of the GIP trainee’s competencies to attest their acquired skills.

. “GIP Graduate” refers to an intern who has completed the program services

and has undergone the full duration of the program.

. “Intern” refers to an eligible beneficiary selected to participate in the GIP.
. “Internship” refers to the practical learning or a job training of a GIP Trainee

in a regular work environment in an institution for a period of three (3) to six
(6) months, as determined by the institution.

“Institution” refers to Philippine government institutions, state universities and
colleges, local government units, or any other legal entity registered under
relevant laws that may provide a venue for internship of GIP trainees.
“Mentor” refer to the intern’s direct supervisor/

. “NYC” shall refer to the National Youth Commission.

“Youth” shall refer to persons who age ranges from fifteen (15) to thirty (30)
years old.

SECTION 5. Internship Guidelines. The following shall be the guidelines for the
implementation of the GIP:

a

b.

>. Upon entry into the internshi

Intern shall be Filipino citizens and are of 18 to 25 years of age at the time of
the application period;

Institutions shall provide consideration to Persons with Disabilities (PWDs),
Indigenous Peoples, and other applicants who belong to minorities and the
marginalized;

. Institutions shall designate an employee who will serve as GIP Desk Officer

who will oversee the implementation of GIP within the institution;

I. Internship period shall be for a period of at least three (3) months to six (6)

months at most and must be implemented on a year-round basis;
interns shall be provided with a stipend
amounting to 75% of the existing rate of step 1, Salary Grade 1 of the
government salary standardization law and be non-taxable. The amount of the
stipend shall be based on the trainee’s actual attendance, absences, tardiness
incurred. It shall be paid in accordance with existing labor laws and civil service
laws, rules and regulations;
The institutions, as provided by law, and subject to budgeting, accounting and
auditing rules and regulations, shall provide additional entitlements such as:
a. Transportation and meal provisions during activities that are held
outside of the day to day office trainings;
b. Compensatory time off in case of act
weekends/holidays and/or beyond office hours; and
c. Incentives and rewards in acknowledgment of remarkable achievements
(i.e; punctuality, perfect attendance);

ies held during

. An intern shall be a beneficiary of the program only once. As such, the Civil

Service Commission (CSC) in coordination with the National Youth
Commission (NYC), shall create and maintain a database, which shall serve as
monitoring tool for all institutions;

. GIP shall not be considered as employment. Thus, there is no employer-

employee relationship between the beneficiary and the institution. GIP
graduates shall be given preference in the hiring of workers in the institutions.
After career coaching, the institution shall assess and determine whether the GIP
graduate is ready to be placed for contractual or regular work;


i. Interns are hired for official purposes only. Institutions are prohibited from
assigning tasks which go beyond official duties;

j. Institutions shall conduct trainings, seminars and other developmental
interventions for the interns including, but not limited to mentoring, coaching
and performance evaluation; and

k. Social protection incentives shall be provided to the interns and are encouraged
for consideration by the institutions such as accident insurance, as they may be
applicable. The process can be facilitated with either public or private insurance
entities, public insurance entities like GSIS, subject to budgetary requirements
of the institution.

SECTION 6. Mechanics of Internship.- This process must be followed on the hiring
of interns:
a. Recruitment and Acceptance of GIP Interns
i. Program Advertisement and Recruitment of Interns. The institutions
through its designated GIP Desk Officers, shall ensure effective
information dissemination of the institution implementation of the GIP
including the period of applications. This may include, but not limited
to the following:
1. Promotion/recruitment o interns for GIP through institution
website and other social networking sites;
. Text blasts for applicable institutions;
Print advertisements’
Broadcast media; and
Promotion thru educational institutions in coordination with
the Department of Education (DepEd), Commission on
Higher Education (CHED) and Local Government Units
(LGUs).
ae for Internship
. Walk-in applicants may submit their accomplished
application forms directly to the GIP Desk Officer.

2. Online applications may also be accepted through necessary
official channels of the institution.

3. Applicants must not be related within 3" degree of affinity
and consanguinity to officials and employees of the
institution.

iii, Streenitg Of GIP Trainees
. The screening and acceptance of interns may be initiated and
facilitated by the institution at least three (3) weeks before
the first day of service of the new batch of interns.
2. The screening, however, may not be limited to interviews.
3. The institution shall provide the applicants with a uniform
application form which shall serve as basis of the screening.
4. No appl it must be discriminated based on his/her gender,
race, religion and economic status.
iv. Acceptance of GIP Interns.
Once the selection process is done, an Order of Acceptance shall
serve as their Appointment Paper. It shall be executed and
signed by and between the GIP Desk Officer and the intern. It
shall stipulate the Terms of Reference for the compliance of the
one who shall be governed by such document. It shall also
contain that there is “No Employer-Employee Relationship”

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between the beneficiary and the hiring institution given that the
program is not an employment opportunity.

5. Orientation of interns. The new batch of interns shall attend a general
orientation on or before their first day of training which shall be scheduled by
the GIP Desk Officer.

The orientation covers, but is not limited to the following:
Government Internship Program (GIP) Rationale;

». Institutional mandate and organizational structure;
Relevant office policies and procedures;

Specific institutional programs and projects;
Telephone Etiquette/Office Decorum;

Interpersonal Relations;

Code of Conduct of Public Employees (RA 6713); and
. Role of Interns in the Government Volunteers Program.

FrRmepap gop

All units under the institution shall send their representatives during the
VIP Orientation to discuss programs, projects, undertakings and
activities of their respective offices.

c. Work Assignments/Tasks of Interns. Institutions officials and staff are
considered mentors of all interns. They shall provide work assignments and
responsibilities that will enhance and enrich the experiences of the program
beneficiaries and develop their knowledge and skills.

The responsibilities assigned to them may include, but are not limited to, the
following:

i. Clerical/Secretarial Work (e.g. typing, filing, sorting,
photocopying);

ii. Customer Service (e.g. answering telephone calls, attending to

official concerns of visitors);

iii, Research Work (e.g. data gathering, survey administration, etc); and

iv. Support to Staff (e.g. logistics, assist in staff work).

d. Activity/Program Participation of Interns. Interns shall be required to attend
or participate in relevant in-house trainings and seminars conducted by the
institution.

These trainings/seminars include the following but are not limited to:
i. Good Citizenship;

ii Orientation on Basic Labor Rights;

Work Ethics and Professionalism;

.. Pre-Employment Seminar,

Gender and Sensitivity Workshop;

Personality Development;

Youth Leadership and Empowerment;

viii. Business Writing and Grammar 101; and

ix. Cultural Awareness Training.



These training modules may be obtained from the National Youth
Commission (NYC). Each institution may choose a minimum of six (6)
from the suggested topics for its implementation. Other relevant topics
may also be included in the internal trainings and seminars for the
interns.

In response to the Public and Private Partnership Framework, interns can
also be tapped as delegates during activities outside of the institutional
parameters where they are hired. These may be participation in outreach
programs, film showing, volunteer works and youth engagements that
are often initiated by private groups, socio-civic associations and
organizations that help the government in reaching out to the people.

©. Monitoring, Coaching and Performance Evaluation. In order to ensure that
interns are given enough monitoring, the direct supervisor and the intern shall
meet twice for the entire duration of internship.

The interns shall accomplish two (2) performance evaluation sheets and the
supervisor shall accomplish two (2) supervisor’s evaluation sheets before the
graduation.

f. Termination of GIP Contract. Any of the following shall be a valid cause to
terminate the training contract.

By the institution:

a. Habitual absenteeism of the intern;

b. Willful disobedience by the intern of the institution’s rules, or
insubordination of a lawful order of a supervisor;

c. Theft or malicious destruction of the institution's property by the
intern;

d. Engaging in violence or other forms of misconduct in the internship
or institution’s premises by the intern; and

e. Poor performance for a prolonged period despite warning duly given
to the intern.

By the intern:

a. Substandard or harmful working conditions within the institution’s
premises;

b. Cruel and inhuman treatment; and

c. Prolonged or continuing illness.

Either party may furnish the other party a notice of intent to terminate
the GIP contract for cause as defined in this section.

In case the GIP Contract has been terminated, replacement of an intern
in an institution shall be allowed subject to the cause of termination.

g. GIP Graduation. The graduation day for the interns shall be conducted
preferable on the last day of internship.

‘The mentoring forms used shall gauge the learnings of the interns during
their internship in the institution. It is important that the interns themselves


exhibit satisfactory, very good to excellent ratings from their supervisors during
their last mentoring session which shall also reflect in the Performance
Evaluation Form. This process shall be undertaken on the 3" or last month of
their service in the institution.

The GIP Desk Officer shall likewise follow up on mentors of interns
with performance evaluation rating of below three (3) by the second (2) month
of internship.

In order to empower them, interns shall be given the chance to plan and
organize their graduation ceremonies.

SECTION 7. Grievance Committee. The Grievance Committee shall have the initial
responsibility of settling differences in case any violation of the GIP Contract or upon filing of
a complaint by an aggrieved party.

The Grievance Committee shall be composed of the officials and representatives of the
institution that have jurisdiction over the internship.

The Committee shall render a decision pursuant to pertinent rules and regulations. In
case of failure by the Grievance Committee to settle the issue or render a decision, or
in case the complaint is against members of the Grievance Committee, the case shall be
referred to the Civil Service Commission (CSC) for appropriate action.

SECTION 8. Civil Service Eligibility. All beneficiaries are mandated to take Civil
Service Eligibility (CSE) examination in order to keep open mindset on government service
after their internship period.

SECTION 9. Program Management.

. a. The CSC shall be the executing institution of the GIP. It shall serve as program
manager that shall provide necessary technical and administrative assistance to concerned
institutions. The regional and field offices shall supervise and monitor the implementation of
the GIP in their respective jurisdiction. CSC shall conduct training for GIP Desk Officers prior
to the implementation of the GIP.

b. The CSC shall establish a GIP Unit in its Central, Regional and Field Offices.
The unit shall provide training costs, administrative costs, or other fees, if any, as specified
under a memorandum of agreement between CSC and the institution.

c The Oversight Committee shall oversee the implementation of the GIP. The
Committee shall be chaired by the National Youth Commission (NYC).

The Committee shall be composed of representatives from the Civil Service
Commission (CSC), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of
Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and
representatives from the youth, employer and labor sectors. A report shall be transmitted to
both Houses of Congress through the Civil Service Commission.

d. All institutions shall designate a GIP Desk Officer, who shall be lodged under the
HR/Personnel Unit or any Special Unit of the institution. The GIP Desk Officer will:

i Ensure that all processes required of the Program are met; and
ii Provide reports to CSC as the lead institution on GIP.


SECTION 10. Program Assessment. - To determine the necessary innovations,
improvements and rationalization needed for integration in the program, a periodic review and
assessment on the delivery of the GIP services must be undertaken by each institution.

This will also be a processing venue for all units under the institution to suggest
mechanisms to further enhance the internal processes of the program as they may apply within
their institutional parameters.

This endeavor shall be undertaken at least twice a year.

All institutions should submit a report and database of their implementation of the
Government Internship Program fifteen (15) days after the end of every term.

SECTION 11. Appropriations. ~ There is being authorized to be appropriated the
amount of One Hundred Million Pesos (Php 100,000,000.00) as funding for the program and
shall be provided to the Civil Service Commission’s budget for the current fiscal year.

Further, at least one (1%) percent shall be appropriated under the Maintenance and
Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) of institutions for the implementation of GIP in their
respective jurisdictions, and shall be included in the annual General Appropriations Act.

SECTION 12. Separability Clause.- If for any reason, any part or provision of this
Act shall be held unconstitutional or invalid, other parts of provisions thereof not affected
thereby shall continue to be in full force and effect.

SECTION 13. Repealing Clause. — Executive Order 139, series of 1993, and all other
laws, decrees, rules and regulations, other issuances or parts thereof which are inconsistent with
this Act are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SECTION 14. Effectivity Clause. — This Act shall take effect upon its publication in
the Official Gazette or in at least one (1) national newspaper of general circulation.

Approved.