CSC assures ARMM civil servants of protection during Bangsamoro transition

TAWI-TAWI– Provincial Civil Service Commission Director Sastri Buddin assured government employees of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) that their interests will be protected and they have nothing to fear during the transition of governance from the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao to the Bangsamoro regional government.? They [ARMM employees] have the apprehension that there will be layoffs, there will be termination, there will be separation from government service. But I believe Republic Act 6656—which was mentioned by [government peace panel chair] Miriam Coronel-Ferrer—will be the answer to the problem of the government employees,” he said during the joint Senate Committee Hearing on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) held on November 11 at the Sandbar Lepa Convention Center in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi. R.A. 6656 is more popularly known as the Reorganization Law or Act to Protect the Security of Tenure of Civil Service Officers and Employees in the Implementation of Government Reorganization. According to Buddin, while the establishment of the Bangsamoro might lead to structural changes in the bureaucracy, due process will be followed as outlined by R.A. 6656 which provides for mechanics to be followed in the event of the reorganization of the bureaucracy. According to Article XVI, section 9, of the proposed BBL also known as Senate Bill 2408, the reorganization of ARMM offices will be gradually phased. The proposed law is also clear that [t]he Central Government shall provide the necessary funds for the benefits and entitlements of affected employees in the ARMM.” Section 9 further provides for an independent, strictly merit-based and credible placement and hiring process for all offices, agencies and institutions in the Bangsamoro, [which] shall consider gender and ethnic balance” as the bureaucracy is reorganized. Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process Undersecretary Jose Lorena said that it is the intent of this government to protect the civil servants.” He reassured ARMM employees that those whose offices will no longer be necessary will be given appropriate packages and severance fees.” Coronel-Ferrer said during the hearing that more than a quarter of the total ARMM employees are public school teachers, and these employees will naturally be retained even as the ARMM transitions into the Bangsamoro autonomous region. Coronel-Ferrer also noted that it will not be the first time that Mindanao will experience bureaucratic reorganization, having undergone a similar process when the ARMM was established. In case the disposition of personnel is necessary, Coronel-Ferrer noted that national legislation already guarantees the protection of civil servants.