CSC at 115: Achieving better and more efficient governance

THE Civil Service Commission (CSC), the country’s premier human resource institution that caters to 1.4 million workers in the bureaucracy, celebrates its 115th anniversary on September 19, with the theme, “Kayang Kaya Mo, Lingkod Bayani” focusing on achievements and contributions of state employees to development and nation-building.

The core value of “Gawing Lingkod Bayani and Bawa’t Kawani” guides the CSC to institute more reforms in public service. It molds a workforce that helps move the government forward. Every worker is encouraged to be a “lingkod bayani” (servant hero) and be a hero anywhere they go.

The CSC and partner-agencies have lined up special events for the month of September, “Civil Service Month,” to inspire servant-heroes nationwide, instill in them the values of responsibility and accountability, and remind them to uphold the timehonored principle of “a public office is a public trust.”

The CSC Honor Awards Program (HAP) will recognize the 2015 Presidential Lingkod Bayan, Dangal ng Bayan, and CSC Pag-asa Awardees. Proceeds from RACE (acronym for the CSC ideals of Responsive, Accessible, Courteous, and Effective Public Service) fun run at Quirino Grandstand will help the Pondong Pamanang Lingkod Bayan that grants financial support to families of workers who perished in line of duty. The 5th Government Choral Competition awarding is at Cultural Center of the Philippines.

Public workers and their families are treated to special discounts in department stores, appliance centers, food outlets, theme parks, and optical shops, free rail and ferry rides, and free admission to the National Museum and Planetarium.

The CSC was created on September 19, 1900, through Act No. 5 of the Second Philippine Commission, reorganized into a bureau in 1905, and became the central personnel agency, pursuant to Presidential Decree 807, the 1975 Civil Service Decree. The CSC is mandated to strengthen the merit and rewards system and integrate all human resources development programs on all levels and ranks, through its 15 regional offices nationwide. It is one of three independent constitutional commissions, along with Commission on Elections and Commission on Audit. It settles disputes and personnel actions on civil service matters. It administers the Career Service professional, sub-professional, and career executive service officers examinations. It adopted in 2010 the Performance Governance System (PGS), the local adaptation of Balanced Scorecard developed at Harvard Business School.

The CSC received four Trailblazer Awards under the PGS by the Institute for Solidarity in Asia, the ISO 9001:2008 for five of its core processes, and the People Manager of the Year in Public Sector award in 2014. It has received consistent positive satisfaction ratings in surveys. It was the first government agency in Southeast Asia to get Investors in People standard level accreditation on good people management practices.