A senior official of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has said the agency is fully committed to helping eligible contract of service (COS) and job order (JO) workers get civil service eligibility for permanent positions.

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. earlier extended the engagement of COS and JO workers in government until the end of 2025, and ordered government agencies to develop the skills and capabilities of these workers to help them pass the Civil Service Examinations (CSE).

DSWD Undersecretary for General Administration and Support Services Group (GASSG) Edward Justine R. Orden said the department, through its Human Resource Management and Development Service (HRMDS), has taken initial steps to comply with the Civil Service Commission’s (CSC) Memorandum Circular 04, series of 2024, which grants career service eligibility-preference rating to specific workers in government agencies based on their length of service and work performance.

“Sinimulan na po nila (HRMDS), unang una yung pagpapakalat ng balita sa ating mga COS at JO na magsisimula na po ang aming training programs, ang aming coaching, sa (The HRMDS has begun informing our COS and JO employees of the training programs, our coaching, for the) civil service exam,” Orden said during the DSWD Thursday Media Forum at the Central Office’s New Press Center in Quezon City.

Aside from providing training opportunities, he said Secretary Rex Gatchalian ordered him to ensure that the DSWD’s “angels in red vests” should have a conducive working environment.

“The marching order of the Secretary to me is to ensure that the welfare of employees is paramount, including their benefits,” he said.

Among the health and wellness activities that the agency has provided for the employees are the re-opening of the DSWD Central Office gym, which was shut down during the pandemic; the renovation of the canteen; and the provision of morning and afternoon snacks for social workers in the Crisis Intervention Units (CIUs).

Meanwhile, Orden assured the public that the DSWD strictly observes “fairness and objectivity” in its hiring process.

“Dito po sa (Here at the DSWD), I assure you, from the time I assumed office, up to this very moment, wala pong palakasan dito. Wala pong MNSA dito, o yung May Ninong Sa Administration (there’s no backer system here. We don’t have those who have godfathers in the administration,” he said.

Orden noted that all applicants pass through the Selection Committee, and hiring is strictly based on qualifications and, in the case of permanent positions, eligibility.

He said interested applicants who want to be a part of the DSWD may check the list of vacant positions at https://jobs.dswd.gov.ph/. (PNA)