Palace assures end to ‘endo’ in gov’t offices

The Duterte administration is taking steps to curb contractual employment in the public sector amid criticisms on the prevalence of ‘endo’ or end of contract practice in government.

Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said the Civil Service Commission (CSC), the Commission on Audit (COA) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) have issued a circular on the rules and regulations governing contract of service (COS) and job order (JO) workers in government.

"The government is addressing the issue of contractualization in government service," Roque said during a Palace news conference.

"The Civil Service Commission, the Department of Budget and Management and the Commission on Audit have issued the joint circular directing government agencies to review their structure and identify their much needed manpower," he said.

Under the circular, Roque said job order and contract of services workers would only be renewed until December 31, 2018.

He said the joint circular also provides for the creation of permanent positions, allowing qualified job order and contract of service workers to fill vacant positions in agencies.

Following the passage of a bill strengthening the security of tenure workers in the private sector, Senator Nancy Binay recently said the government should be the first to stop the practice of contractualization in state agencies as she lamented that the government was the biggest employer of contractual workers.

Last Monday, the House of Rpresentatives approved a bill seeking to end contractualization.

Under the proposed law, a contractual employee must be granted regular status after six months.

It also provides contractual workers the same benefits as regular employees.