TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session
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SENATE 
S. B. No. 453
25 JULIO P6:34
Introduced by Senator Rodante D. Marcoleta
AN ACT
GRANTING SPECIAL CIVIL SERVICE ELIGIBILITIES TO QUALIFIED 
INDIVIDUALS, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE SECTION 23 OF REPUBLIC 
ACT NO. 2260, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE CIVIL SERVICE ACT OF 1959
EXPLANATORY NOTE
The Civil Service Act of 1959 or Republic Act (RA) No. 2260 was enacted to 
ensure that appointment in public service must be based only according to merit and 
fitness in order to provide a progressive system of personnel administration to insure 
the maintenance of an honest, efficient, progressive and courteous civil service in the 
Philippines.1
Thus, the Civil Service Commission (CSC) conducts the Career Service Exam 
(CSE) which is a biannual test in order to determine those qualified to work in public 
service. Passing this exam means that one can apply for permanent jobs in the 
government, and be entitled to a number of benefits such as competitive salaries, 
career growth, and insurance among many others. The CSE has two levels of tests: 
Sub-professional and Professional. The Sub-professional CSE are for high school 
graduates, or those who finished a course that is less than four years. Sub-professional 
civil service eligibility is required for jobs such as clerical, trades, crafts, and custodial 
work in public offices. While the professional CSE will qualify one to apply for first- 
level and second-level government positions like professional, scientific, managerial, 
technical, and higher posts of clerical jobs in public offices.2
Republic Act No. 2260 (1959), sec. 2.
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2 Pancho Parian, Why Take the Civil Service Exam?, MANILA BULLETIN, February 14, 2023, avaiiabie at 
https://mb.com.ph/2023/2/14/why-tal<e-the-civil-service-exam (last accessed on July 07, 2025).


Throughout the years, the CSE has always recorded a very low passing rate. 
For 2025, only 42,472 or 14.79% passed the professional level exam while 3,998 or 
14.79% out of 31,727 passed the sub professional level exam.3 For 2024, only 47,449 
individuals (14.45%) out of the nearly 300,000 takers for the professional level made 
it. This was lower than the 18.7% passing rate recorded by the CSC out of 345,194 
takers in 2023. While for the subprofessional level, only 14.2% or 4,637 passers out 
of 32,707 examinees successfully passed. Even before the global COVID-19 pandemic, 
specifically between 2008 and 2019, the CSE passing rate hovered at only 9 to 13%.4
The difficulty of the CSE has been likened to an extended college entrance 
exam or general education test covering a variety of subjects, including current events, 
grammar and communication, numerical ability, reading comprehension, and general 
information. Thus, the dismal results of the CSE tend to greatly affect hopeful 
government employees, who have been in service for years, especially those employed 
under Contract-of-service (COS) or Job Order (JO). These people are the ones really 
doing the legwork on a daily basis, some even performing the functions of regular 
employees, yet lack the usual benefits and the chance for security of tenure because 
they repeatedly fail the required CSE.
It is worth noting that there are cases when the CSC grants civil service 
eligibility to certain individuals without the need of passing the CSE, namely;
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Bar/Board Eligibility (RA 1080)
• Barangay Flealth Worker Eligibility (RA 7883)
• 
Barangay Nutrition Scholar Eligibility (Presidential Decree [PD] No. 1569)
• Barangay Official Eligibility (RA 7160)
• Employees Appointed Under Provisional or Temporary Status Who Flave 
Rendered a Total of Seven (7) Years of Efficient Sen/ice (RA 6850)
• Electronic Data Processing Specialist Eligibility (Civil Service Commission 
Resolution [CSC Res.] No. 90-083)
• Foreign School Flonor Graduate Eligibility (CSC Res. 1302714)
• Flonor Graduate Eligibility (PD 907)
3 Editorial: Another Indicator of Learning Crisis, PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER, May 18, 2025, available at 
https://opinion.inquirer.net/183299/another-indicator-of-learning-crisis# (last accessed on luly 07, 2025).
4 Kathleen de Villa, CSC: Civil Service Exam Passers Dip to 14 Percent, PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER, October 16, 2024, available 
at https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1992956/csc-civil-service-exam-passers-dip-to-14-percent# (last accessed on July 07, 2025).


• Sanggunian Member Eligibility (RA 10156)
• Scientific and Technological Specialist Eligibility (PD 997)
• Skills Eligibility - Category II (CSC Memorandum Circular [MC] No. 11, s.
1996, as amended)
• Veteran Preference Rating (Executive Order Nos. 132 and 790)
• Career Service Eligibility - Preference Rating (CSE-PR)5
Under CSC Res. 2301123, dated 07 December 2023, or the Grant of Career 
CSE-PR, special eligibility shall be granted to workers who have served for at least 10 
years, have demonstrated valuable skills and very satisfactory performance ratings, 
but have failed to pass previous CSE beginning with the 03 March 2024 CSE and 
thereafter. It covers workers collectively called the JOCOSC6 working in the 
government service which includes: JO, COS, casual, contractual, coterminous, 
employees holding Category III and Category IV positions as enumerated in CSC MC 
No. 10 dated 16 April 2013, and career service employees with first-level eligibility.6
On 15 August 2024, the Department of Budget and Management called on all 
government agencies to absorb COS and JO workers and help them qualify for the 
vacant plantilla or permanent positions in their respective offices, citing 8% of plantilla 
positions in the national government as unfilled.7
This proposed measure aims to promote the welfare of these employees who 
have rendered great amount of time and valuable service for the government, yet 
failed to pass the required CSE. It is our job as legislators to provide hope for these 
people and give them the opportunity to secure regular work opportunities in the 
future.
In addition, this measure shall provide special eligibility to qualified COS and 
JO workers who have been working in the government for at least ten (10) years, 
either through third-party service contracting agreements or direct hire, and have
5Civil Service Commission, Special Eligibilities, May 24, 
2021, available at https://csc.gov.ph/special-
eligibilities#:'^:te>ct=The%20career0/o20service%20examination%20is,Preference%20Rating%20(CSE-PR) (last accessed on 
July 07, 2025).
6Ellalyn De Vera-Ruiz, CSC vows support for job order, contract of service gov't workers to obtain career service eligibility, 
MANILA BULLETIN, May 03, 2024, ava/7ad/e at https ://mb.com.ph/2024/5/3/csc-vows-support-for-job-order-contract-of-service- 
gov-t-workers-to-obtain-career-service-eligibility (last accessed on July 07, 2025).
^Darryl John Esguerra, DBM to Gov't Agencies: Absorb COS, JO Employees, PHILIPPINE NEWS AGENCY, April 15, 2024, available 
at
https ://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1231235#:~:text=Among%20the%20strategies%20being%20considered%20is%20to,applyi 
ng%20for%20permanent°/o20positions%20in%20the%20government (last accessed on July 07, 2025).


obtained a very satisfactory rating in their performance review. This is to provide such 
hard working and dedicated employees the chance to apply for competitive or 
classified sen/ice positions, and accord to them the benefits that have been long 
deprived from them.
In view of the foregoing, the immediate approval of this measure is earnestly 
sought.
ROD^TE D. MARCOLETA


TWENTIETH CONGRESS OF THE 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
First Regular Session
)
)
)
SENATE 
S. B. No.
2b JlJL 10 ?6 34
\
Introduced by Senator Rodante D. Marcoleta
AN ACT
GRANTING SPECIAL CIVIL SERVICE ELIGIBILITIES TO QUALIFIED 
INDIVIDUALS, AMENDING FOR THE PURPOSE SECTION 23 OF REPUBLIC 
ACT NO. 2260, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE CIVIL SERVICE ACT OF 1959
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Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assembled:
Section 1. This Act shall be known as the "Civil Service Special Eligibility Act". 
Sec. 2. Section 23 of Republic Act No. 2260 is hereby amended to read as
follows:
"SEC. 23. Recruitment and Selection of Employees. —Opportunity for 
government employment shall be open to all qualified citizens and 
positive efforts shall be exerted to attract the best qualified to enter the 
service.
Employees shall be selected on the basis of their fitness to perform the 
duties and assume the responsibilities of the positions whether in the 
competitive or classified or in the non-competitive or unclassified service.
XXX
Qualification in an appropriate examination shall be required for 
appointment to positions in the competitive or classified service in 
accordance with the civil service rules except [as otherwise provided for 
in this Act]:
1. THOSE PERSONS GRANTED CIVIL SERVICE ELIGIBILITY BY 
VIRTUE OF A SPECIAL LAW;


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2. THOSE PERSONS GRANTED CIVIL SERVICE ELIGIBILITY BY 
VIRTUE OF A PRESIDENTIAL DECREE OR EXECUTIVE 
ORDER;
3. EMPLOYEES HIRED UNDER JOB ORDER, CONTRACT OF 
SERVICE, CASUAL, CONTRACTUAL, COTERMINOUS, 
EMPLOYEES HOLDING CATEGORY III AND CATEGORY IV 
POSITIONS, WHO HAVE RENDERED AT LEAST 10 YEARS IN 
GOVERNMENT SERVICE, TO INCLUDE THOSE HIRED UNDER 
THIRD-PARTY SERVICE CONTRACTING AGREEMENTS, AND 
OBTAINED AT LEAST A VERY SATISFACTORY PERFORMANCE 
RATING OR ITS EQUIVALENT DURING THE LAST TWO (2) 
RATING PERIOD.
Provided, That whenever there is a civil service eligible available for 
appointment, no person who is not such an eligible shall be appointed 
even in a temporary capacity to any vacant position in the competitive 
or classified service in the government or in any government-owned or 
controlled corporation: {Provided, further, That non-cligibic employees 
who, upon the approval of this Act, have rendered’five years or more of
continues and sotisfoctory service in classified positions and who moot
the other- qualifications for appointments to their positions, shall, within
ene-year-#em the approval of-this Aet> be'given qualifying examinations
m-whic-h their length of sotisfoctory service-shalf-be -aecorded preferred
eoflsider-atien:—Provided, further. That those..-whe - fati—in those
examinations as well-as thosewho fail er-fefuse to take the examinations
when offered shall be replaced by cligiblos:] And provided, finaiiy. That 
for the period of ten years from the approval of this Act and in line with 
the policy of Congress to accelerate the integration of the cultural 
minorities, whenever the appointment of persons belonging to said 
cultural minorities is called for in the interest of the service as determined 
by the appointing authority, with the concurrence of the Commissioner 
of Civil Service, the examination requirements provided in this Act, 
[when not practic-able>] may be dispensed with in appointments within


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their respective provinces if such persons meet the educational and
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other Qualifications required for the office or employment. For
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appointment to positions in the non competitive or unclassified service,
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qualification in an appropriate examination may be required if the
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appointing official so directs."
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Sec. 2. Implementing Rules and Regulations. - Within ninety (90) days from
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the effectivity of this Act, the Civil Service Commission, in coordination with the
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Department of Budget and Management, shall promulgate the rules and regulations
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to effectively implement the provisions of this Act. Provided further, that affected
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employees shall not be subject to any form of discrimination, unwarranted suspension,
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termination, or any form of dismissal that will circumvent the purpose of this Act.
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Sec. 3. Separability Clause. - If any provision or part of this Act is declared
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invalid or unconstitutional, the remainder thereof not otherwise affected shall remain
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in full force and effect.
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Sec. 4. Repealing Clause. - All laws, presidential decrees, executive orders,
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letters of instructions, proclamations or administrative regulations that are inconsistent
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with the provisions of this Act are hereby repealed, amended, or modified accordingly.
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Sec. 5. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days following its
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publication in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation.
Approved,