September 24, 2005 · Posted in: In the News
Palace can’t fire DepEd undersecretary — CSC
PRESIDENT Arroyo cannot sack Juan Miguel Luz as education undersecretary without cause because he is a career executive service officer (CESO) and holds a regular item in the government plantilla.
Civil Service Commission Chairperson Karina Constantino-David told PCIJ that she gave this opinion when Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita’s letter thanking Luz for his services was referred to her earlier in the week.
David said the Career Executive Service Board has taken the same position.
The opinion is contained in a letter David signed as CSC chairman and in another letter CESB executive director Mary Ann Fernandez-Mendoza signed. Both letters were transmitted to Ermita.
Despite this, Ermita on Friday announced Luz’s removal as education undersecretary without giving a reason, except to say it was the president’s prerogative to replace her appointees. He also said Luz will be transferred to another office, but did not say where.
Luz’s relief is believed to be the offshoot of his refusal to honor three postdated checks Malacañang had issued for the scholarship program of anti-impeachment representative Antonio M. Diaz.
David said Luz lost his CESO III rank when he left the government service in 1993. But the CESB restored this when he rejoined the government in 2002. His name appears in the masterlist of CESOs.
The Career Executive Service, to which Luz belongs, is the managerial class or the third and highest level in the group of career positions in the civil service. These public managers occupy positions above division chief level: undersecretary, assistant secretary, bureau director, bureau assistant director, regional director, assistant regional director and department service chief.
CESB records show that 6,386 positions are supposed to be occupied by CESOs, of which 3,486 are in the national government and 2,900 in government corporations. In all, there are 5,976 CESOs in and out of the government service.
However, only 39.5 percent of the more than 6,000 positions have been given to eligibles under the Arroyo administration.
CSC sources blamed this on Arroyo’s penchant for appointing non-CESOs to these managerial positions, as well as creating new items for assistant secretary and undersecretary that are now being occupied by non-eligibles.
Sources also expressed concern over the number of CESOs that have been eased out and transferred to other positions or put in the freezer to accommodate the non-CESOs appointed by the president. Many of them, however, do not hold a position as high as Luz’s.
Luz is the second CESO occupying the position of undersecretary or its equivalent fired by the president.
The first was Pag-IBIG Fund president and chief executive officer Manuel Crisostomo whom Arroyo sacked in 2002 after he opposed the suggestion to put his agency under the proposed Department of Housing to be headed by Michael Defensor.
Crisostomo had wanted Pag-IBIG excluded from the housing secretary’s control because the fund, he argued, is private in nature and should not be subjected to direct government control.
In ordering his removal, Arroyo said Crisostomo had defied her position and was not a team player.
Crisostomo, a CESO I, subsequently left the government after having put in more than 17 years of service in Pag-IBIG.
34 Responses to Palace can’t fire DepEd undersecretary — CSC
baycas
September 25th, 2005 at 1:44 am
one CESO down, non-CESO up…
another CESO down, again non-CESO up?
gloria is taking government officials on a CESO (read see-saw) ride. oh, how she loves it…
schumey
September 25th, 2005 at 5:45 am
This practice is the reason why there is massive demoralization in the government service. How can we force the private sector to comply with the regulations of the DOLE when the “so called” president herself does not comply with the regulations set by the CSC. Kaya tuloy marami sa civil servants natin ang walang pad-asang umasenso or ma-promote. To think that she has repeated time and again to follow due process and the rule of law. This is tyranny at its highest.
twisted_brows
September 25th, 2005 at 11:45 am
i’d love to see ms david fight the goliath before she says period.
i call on all the honest people of the bureaucracy to resist gma and move heaven and earth to stand to reason.
sa likod ng lahat ng ito, may magandang kalalabasan. we don’t expect the graces to fall from heaven. ipinaglalaban yan.
mariatoo
September 25th, 2005 at 12:42 pm
i have 2 friends who were inviting me to work on a project with the deped. i said i was still bummed out by gloria and her evil ilk. they said no forget about her just do your work and let her be na. they say they dont read the newspapers anymore because of all the crap in there. anyway, i asked them (after having read luz was already let go), speaking of deped, what’s your take on this luz guy. one of my friends said he’s the pinaka matino of the bunch in the deped and he was in fact the one they were dealing with in the project they wanted me to join. e sabi ko paano yun e he got fired yesterday? they said no it cant be. no way. i said yes way. he got into a tangle with your president and she as usual, won. he said mike would have told me etc. anyway, they called their contacts in deped and they confirmed that he was indeed let go. my friends were so bummed out. they were beside themselves in outrage. so i said, i guess deped is out of picture, eh?
the point to this is hanggat di ka natatamaan personally ok lang to parrot that we should move on blah blah, like what monsod is mouthing. pero pag natamaan ka na dun ka lang na-outrage kahit alam mo sa iba nangyayari na ang ganitong mga bagay.
people are pretending that everything is and will be ok. but it’s not.
parang yung mga pacific plan holders. dahil nag mediate si gma to arrive at an agreement whereby they will be paid naging pro-gloria sila. pero nung i-a appoint na si yuchengco sa consultative assembly at dahil naghihintay pa sila ng bayad, mag-a-anti-gloria na daw sila. this is so filipino. basta ok pa ko, to hell with the rest of you. pag natamaan na ko dun na ko aalma. para rin itong the way we take care of our own backyard within our property lines but do not mind the basura or the baku-bako na road right outside our gates.
mariatoo
September 25th, 2005 at 12:54 pm
a ched official is also another casualty in gloria’s compromise deals.
ama nursing wanted to be certified by ched but upon inspection, it was clear that the school was substandard. so denied. ama goes to your president and of course, gives the official thumbs up that the ched refuses to give. ched official, of course, resigns. di lang yon steps have been taken to subsume ched in deped when it was independent from it before.
ama, if it really felt the decision of the ched was unfair should have filed a case for grave abuse of discretion instead of crying back to mama.
so malacanang is now, among others, an office that certifies schools.
dakdakero
September 25th, 2005 at 1:39 pm
‘People are pretending that everything is and will be ok. but it’s not.’, Mariatoo said.
—————–
You’re partially right. But the situation is, everyone wants to get attention and be pleased by the president which is very utopian ‘coz it is next to impossible. You cannot please everyone, matter of fact.
nene
September 25th, 2005 at 2:34 pm
kudos to CSC, Mike LUz should not be fired because he is CESO. But did not Ermita say that he will be transferred to another government agency/corp? It so happened that his services at DepED were cutoff but he is not fired from the government service.
How about looking at the non-CESO directors in DepED central office. One of them was brought in by Mike Luz, a best friend of his wife. Her name is Aida Carpentero, it has been more than a year and until now she has not taken any step towards CES. She did not pass through the selection board, Luz appointed her Director III of the procurement service and had her appointment papers signed by GMA. Could you also check on the other overstaying non-CESO directors in Central DepED. I believe there’s a circular saying that they should acquire the eligibility within a year, if not, the position will be opned so that an eligible will be selected. There are over a 100 CES eligibles in the whole DepED they should be given the opprotunity to move up, so that the promotion line will not be stunted. Para hindi naman na-de-demoralize ang tao sa gobyerno, marami pa rin ang tapat maglingkod kaya lang pag tulad ni Luz ang nandyan e wala na. He again recommended a consultant, awaiting his appointment as Director of Technical Services, without this passing through a Selection Board by the name of Joemar Legaspi, who is again a non-CESO. The director position is a plantilla position.
dakdakero
September 25th, 2005 at 3:36 pm
Nene, you seem to have a good grip about Deped’s intricate details. You must be an insider to know one. Well, nevertheless, your infos are a good welcome. Hope to read more well-informed bloggers like you. Your info serves a check and balance kung baga. This only shows that there are always two sides of a coin. Thanks to PCIJ, for welcoming variant reactors to blog and not block it!
kavenishi
September 25th, 2005 at 3:37 pm
nene, where are you getting those information? If those allegations you made are true then, Mike Luz deserves to be sack. What is PCIJ doing? i thought they are balance and fair in giving information to us. PCIJ can you confirmed those information that nene has given us if they are true. I know you have good researchers and investigators.
Nene, i think this informations you reveal here are true coz your not afraid in naming names that are involve on transactions. PCIJ pls. give us more information about this…
pinaywriter
September 25th, 2005 at 11:03 pm
That is very much true – no one is safe.
dakdakero
September 26th, 2005 at 2:08 am
No one is safe from what, Pinaywriter? Can you expound a little bit.
walandjo
September 26th, 2005 at 3:39 am
Please PCIJ, report also on the status of the case of Gen. Garcia’s case. Is he still in detention or clear na ba siya. Let’s not forget his case just because be have a more sensational topics these days. Or if anybody has any info on this case share it naman. Ok.tks.
schumey
September 26th, 2005 at 9:26 am
Great info Nene, maraming ganyan sa government. Take for example the GSIS, Winston Garcia has also done that ‘di ba? How many appointees practice this, I just wonder. Marami din naman ang nasa ‘floating status’ din because of this kind of system. Nawawalan ng position or are bypassed just to give way to these ‘appointees’. Maybe the CSC should change some of its regulations. Dapat siguro, the appointees should first pass the eligibity exam before assuming office. Dapat siguro, even those who intend to run for public office should also pass this exams. Kalokohan na yung you should take the exam within a year. Kung yung bagong applicant nga has to present proof of his eligibility before being hired, dapat yung appointees din ganon.
mariatoo
September 26th, 2005 at 11:14 am
is a consultant an employee of the dept or is that a contractual relationship? if legaspi wants to be director, it should not be a problem to pass the ceso exams. he is an educator, was school administrator of don bosco makati, a holder of bs and master’s degree in physics (the latter in columbia univ, ny) is involved with an ngo that seeks to provide computers to public school, among others. we need people like him in govt. sounds like somebody’s sourgraping. 😉
mariatoo
September 26th, 2005 at 11:17 am
but you’re right nene. the matter of appointing non ceso’s to ceso items should be looked into especially the ones gma appointed as reward for her so-called friends. good that you brought that up.
mariatoo
September 26th, 2005 at 11:23 am
hehe. you mean having somebody appointed to a position is just cause for termination? hey we should fire at least 50% of our government officials then.
mariatoo
September 26th, 2005 at 11:25 am
….if so then that means we should sack gma too! thanks for that tip, kavenishi. 😉
benign0
September 26th, 2005 at 12:37 pm
The issue is now becoming less about “who is qualified” (because it is obvious now that a nation of 80 million simplY routinely FAILS to produce “qualified” Filipinos for just about any leadership job). The reality is that NO ONE INDIVIDUAL can presume to judge who is qualified or not. That task of “qualifying” people is something that most nations INSTITUTIONALISE, which is the heart of the matter — that our state institutions are crumbling and with it, our ability to consistently GOVERN the slippery concept of “qualification”. Instead we now have people scrutinising one another’s “qualifications” and “credentials” rather than get on with the job of working towards SOLUTIONS. Because there is no reliable INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK to resolve such petty arguments on “qualification”, we rely on political, personal, and moral AFFILIATIONS to JUDGE one another.
“Credentialism” is another aspect of this debacle. Pinoys have never been known as CRITICAL THINKERS. Filipinos let CREDENTIALS do the thinking for them. Even if an argument is stupid, if it was dished out by any schmoe that happens to bristle with MBAs, Law degrees, Family pedigrees, and the like, they are automatically an expert on the subject matter. That is why we are the way we are as a nation. We elect the best-schooled and best-medalled characters to key positions, follow them blindly, catch wind of the inevitable scandal of abuse, see our confidence in them crash (because said confidence was soaring on nothing but hot air in the first place), and then express our outrage in too-late-the-hero shows of “indignation”.
Did I use the word “thinking” even once in that last one-sentence summary of our political lifecycle.
Nope.
There you go folks. 😉
kavenishi
September 26th, 2005 at 4:56 pm
mariatoo said,
September 26, 2005 @ 11:25 am
….if so then that means we should sack gma too! thanks for that tip, kavenishi.
*********************************************************************
I agree with you mariatoo, PGMA hocus pocus style are already obvious. 80% of people believes on those allegations against her and I’m one those 80% filipinos. As far i remember i already said i don’t like PGMA and how i wish she will be to sack/oust from office. But how to do it, that’s my big problem i think, coz i don’t know how to do it….If rally is your answer then i’m sorry to say, kayo nalang po coz i believe people power is not the long lasting and permanent solution but the bahala na attitude solution.
kaskasero
September 27th, 2005 at 8:31 am
Nakakatawa talaga at nakakabuang na ang mga ginagawa ng palasyo na mga experimento. Tulad ng kay use luz ng deped, koryente ang nangyari sa kanila, para silang naglalaro ng laban bawi.ginagawa ang taong bayan na parang mga tanga, si usec bacani OIC sya as Secretary ng magresign si Abad, pero tinanggal din si usec bacani dahil sa kapatid nyang congressman na gusto rin palayasin si pandak, kaya si Hidalgo naman ang pinalit kay bacani.Si Atty Bravo pinalayas din sa deped e kagaling ng taong ito sa Finance and Legal pa mandin, nakukulitan na talaga ako sa takbo ng pag-iisip ng mga nsa palasyo ng mga mangkukulam.
indio_lawless
September 27th, 2005 at 8:38 am
Hi mariatoo.
Kindly allow me to reply on your query on whether a consultant is an employee of a certain Dept or a contractual thing.
Generally, consultantcy is done on contractual basis which in effect makes the service provider an independent contractor. He/she is not usually governed by the rule on control like time-in/time-out. A consultant ,as the designation implies, provides recommendations on policy and program implementations whether said recommendations is accepted or not.
There is always a question whether or not a non-CESO should be appointed to a plantilla position particularly on directorship.
The answer is a simple yes.
A non-CESO has all the rights as of that of a full-pledged CESO except that he/she does not have a security of tenure, meaning, he/she can be replaced anytime by the appointing authority. But lately ( in the GLUE-ria’s administration) even CESO’s “security of tenure” were threatened if not bastardized so to speak. Why? It is simply because CESO’s bossess could simply put them back to the pool, if they find the guy antagonistic, and leave their fate to any interested agency or bureau to re-activate their carreers.
Do we need to CEySO more ?
kaskasero
September 27th, 2005 at 8:44 am
tama yang si nene, hindi CESO si Aida CArpentero, dapat paimbestigahan yan para naman malinis na talaga kahit dahan dahan lang ang deped, pero on the part of usec luz, napakagaling nya, napakarami nyang nagawang pagbabago sa deped, pero alam naman natin na when you do some changes on the system talagang may masasaktan at maapektuhan, may magagalit at matutuwa, pano na kung walang official na gagawa ng mga reforms sa isang agency, di parang stagnant lang ang sistema. napakarami kung babanggitin ko ang mga reforms nya.
tikboy
September 27th, 2005 at 1:54 pm
kayo naman. kaya hindi CESO ang ina-appoint ng presidente niyo kasi may mga dahilan:
1. CESOs have no security of tenure. kung umangal na ito sa kanya, puwede niyang tanggalin at her pleasure.
2. kung me napupusuan na rin siyang iba, automatic puwede niyang palitan.
these are also the reasons why ambilis ng movement sa AFP at PNP. kita niyo, sa history ng Pilipinas, si GMA lang ang may pinaka-maraming na-appoint na general in that span of time, di ba? smart lang naman siya, uy!
kung CESOs kasi ang ia-appoint niya, mahihirapan siya. one reason why she is offering Luz a pacifier — a transfer to other post which is still unknown.
tungkol naman kay Carpentero, don’t you think dapat si Luz ang mag-dusa? Luz is just following the example of pandak. so if Carpentero is glued to her post because of Luz, it’s just the unwritten administrative policy of pandak — to appoint non-CESOs. but it does not follow that appointing Carpentero is already a sufficient reason to sack Luz. di naman yan nakasulat sa administrative code, diba? kaya nga untouched din si pandak hanggang ngayon considering na mas marami siyang na-appoint hindi lang sa ranks ng bureaucracy but also sa military and even sa comelec.
kay legazpi? consultant yun so no problem naman kung CESO o hindi. tanong niyo sa CSC.
green_pack
September 27th, 2005 at 3:41 pm
kailian,uray anya ti ibagbaga tayo ditoy nu saan tayo met ag gunay,awan ti mapasamak.
kadagiti kailian nga ilokano, masapul aggunay tayo met. ta nu saan,urayen tayo a puro presidential appointee ti agtugay ditoy gobyerno- a kayat na sawen: MAYMAYSA A TAO TI MANGDIKTAR TI AMIN A PILIPINO. enjoyen tayo a nu isu ti kuna yo…………
Alecks Pabico
September 27th, 2005 at 3:51 pm
Green_pack,
While we acknowledge that views are expressed best in one’s native tongue, we hope you would also consider writing in a language that can be understood by everyone posting comments on this blog. Thanks.
ANAK_NG_JUETENG
September 27th, 2005 at 4:04 pm
eto na yata yung administration na pinakamaraming kasalanan.
Talo kay Marcos at Erap. sunod sunod grabe
hulseye
September 27th, 2005 at 5:38 pm
tinanggal na ba di ba gusto lang siyang ilipat o kaya gawng floating ang status niya.
mariatoo
September 27th, 2005 at 5:52 pm
thanks, indio lawless.
kavenishi, maybe we can take up some of the suggestions of mlq3 in his column yesterday in the inquirer.
maybe, the official statement of mike luz will help clearing some issues discussed here…or not. 😉 but in any case i think it’s worth reading.
INSIDE PCIJ: Stories behind our stories » Luz’s official statement
September 28th, 2005 at 12:57 am
[…] CSC Chairperson Karina Constantino-David has asked to be present at the meeting. […]
simulator
October 4th, 2005 at 2:27 pm
i hope everyone is as critical a thinker as benigno. that would be great for the government and for our nation.
elena
October 7th, 2005 at 11:20 am
Di lang sa DepEd may mga non-CES eligibles holding high positions. Sa Department of Trade and Industry, pinasok nila si Carrisa Cruz, stepdaughter ni House Speaker De Venecia. Ginawa nilang Assistant Secretary last year, tapos middle of this year they promoted her to the Undersecretary position. Okay lang sana kung qualified at performing, di nga pumapasok sa opisina. Go lang sya kung feel nya. Wala makareklamo kasi Child of the Speaker nga naman. Kaya nga never expect the Philippine bureacracy to be functioning properly unless political accommodation is still a byword and practice. Wala na talagang pag asa ang Pilipinas. Mangibang basa na lang tayo!!!! Kawawang Pilipinas!!!!
tonyboy
October 8th, 2005 at 11:16 pm
sa mahigit 20 taong pagtratrabaho ko sa decs ngyon lang ako nakakita ng opisyal na kapit na kapit sa posisyon, na-media na kapit pa rin. totoo maraming nadisplaced na career employees to si luz kasi ang tingin niya sa mga tao sa decs e mga corrupt at ang pakiramdam niya siya lang ang makakasalba dito. kaya nga kung umasta yan e mas secretary pa sa talagang secretary. aba’y dun sa isang seminar sinabi niyang decs can run without a secretary hindi ba arrogante. kasi yan hindi yan kumikilala sa awtoridad, kaya nga nung sinisibak siya sabi niya i am staying put kasi dapat daw si GMA ang pipirma ng knyang papers. kaya hindi nakakapagtaka kung bakit nagkaganoon ang nangyari sa tseke, ang tanong ko bakit hindi niya ikinunsulta sa oic ang tungkol sa tseke? bakit siya nagdesisyong mag-isa? tapos kinabukasan nag painterview siya sa media para ano? ano ba ang motibo? magmalinis? kilala mo ang sarili mo mike luz hindi ka malinis na opisyal alam mo yan sa sarili mo kaya tama na ang pagmamalinis. konsensiya mo ang tutugis sayo. ang ipinagtataka ko bakit gustung-gusto niya sa decs? ano ba ang meron dito? ang alam ko lang naman decs ang may pinakamalaking budget at kung ikaw maging usec for finance aba’y nuknukang napaka makapangyarihan mo, biro mo ang P120B pesos budget e hind maibabahagi ng walang basbas mo? ika nga what are we in power for? tapos lahat ng gusto mong ipasok na mga empleyado ay puede mong gawin dahil ikaw ang appointing authority ng prerogative selection board hindi ba? tapos may rationalization pa e di me bakante na naman ipapasok mo na namn ang kung sinong hindi ceso tapos kung makipagtalo ka kay ermita e akala mo sumusunod ka sa CSC ? sus tama ka na, pareng mike magbago ka na, tama na ang kaplastikan.
kayong mga NGO kung gusto nyo si mike aba di kunin ninyo nang makita nyo kung ano talagang ugali meron yan. alam mo ako’y matagal na sa decs kahit paano nasisipat ko kung talagang sinsero ang opisyal. sayang sa aim pa naman siya galing, sayang at nag-aral pa namn siya sa canada ba yon?
kyo namang pcij bakit hindi nyo iniimbestigahang itong si Luz? kasi kaibigan ninyo? akala ko ba e balanse kayo mag report? nariyan ang COA silipin ninyo ang files. me nakita pa ako dito sa ombudsman silipini ninyo? ano ang nangyari sa inyo, aba’y may kinikilingan pala kayo e…
ay naku sa tanda kung ito ako’y tuluyan ng nawawalan ng pagasa sa decs kada palit ng administrasyon pare-pareho lang ang nangyayari.. nakakasawa na…
INSIDE PCIJ: Stories behind our stories » Luz sues Malacañang
October 14th, 2005 at 2:43 pm
[…] The Civil Service Commission (CSC) after that issued an opinion that Luz could not be dismissed from government service because he is a career executive service officer (CESO) and holds a regular item in the government plantilla. The CSC said Luz could not be removed from the position without cause and due process: "The termination clearly did not mention any cause or reason for termination." After this, Malacañang announced that Luz had been "terminated as undersecretary but not as CESO" and that he will be reassigned to some other position of the same rank. […]
Dep Ed needs to do its homework | radical chick
July 28th, 2011 at 11:02 pm
[…] that keep them from being more involved in students’ learning, given the civil service code that allows tenured and regularized gov’t employees and teachers to stay on in positions regardless […]