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TO:	THE CHAIRMAN, CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION ALL HEADS OF MINISTRIES, BUREAUS, OFFICES AND AGENCIES OF THE GOVERNMENT

WHEREAS, the recruitment and selection of personnel in the civil service as well as the promotion of those already in the service is crucial in establishing, developing and maintaining a truly competent, efficient and effective civil service to carry on the affairs of government;

WHEREAS, while a selection and promotion system have already been devised, it is still imperative that additional measures be instituted to improve the selection and promotion system in the civil service to make government administration and operation more vigorous and responsive to the needs of the times; and

WHEREAS, it is necessary to establish Selection Boards and Promotion Boards in every ministry and agency of the government which shall be responsible for personnel selection, recruitment and promotion, to assist the appointing authority, and thereby better implement the merit system ordained by the Constitution and the Civil Service Law;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, FERDINAND E. MARCOS, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby order and direct every ministry and agency of the government, including government-owned and controlled corporations and regional offices, to establish a Selection Board and Promotion Board to assist the appointing authority in the selection and promotion of personnel in the civil service.

The Selection Board shall have the following organization, functions relationships and features:

1. The Selection Board shall be responsible for the screening and selection of candidates for positions in the first and second levels of the career service involving original appointments and cases of reinstatement and reemployment.
2. It shall be composed of three (3) members, one of whom to be designated by the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission and the other two to be named by the head of the ministry or agency concerned.
3. The Selection Board shall draw up a screening procedure and criteria in accordance with existing rules, policies and guidelines in the civil service.
4. For any position to be filled, the Selection Board shall submit to the appointing authority a list of the names of persons whom it considered best qualified for work in the civil service and from which the latter may choose the person to be appointed,
5. As much as possible, filling of vacancies by original appointment, reinstatement or reemployment shall be done in a ministry or agency on a quarterly basis based upon a Manpower Plan which each ministry or agency shall establish, taking into consideration prospective retirements, transfers, resignations and other personnel movements.
6. The Selection Board shall also be guided by the manpower skills requirements which the ministry/agency shall have previously determined and translated into positions for which qualification standards shall have been set up in consultation with the Civil Service Commission.
7. In cases where applicants in an agency or ministry possess qualifications and competencies suitable for vacancies in other ministries or agencies, the former shall refer them for possible placement by the latter which shall extend the necessary cooperation.
8. Ministries or agencies which have adopted methods of selection not in consonance with the foregoing, shall accordingly restructure the same to conform with the requirements hereof.
9. For positions in the 1979 Budget, no appointment shall be approved by the Civil Service Commission without the statement that the appointee has been passed upon by the Selection Board.

The Promotion Board shall have the following organization, functions, relationships and features:

1. Management and rank-and-file employees shall be Represented in the Promotion Board to insure objectivity in the selection of employees for promotion.
2. For purposes of promotion involving positions in the First Level of the career service, membership of the Promotion Board shall be limited to officials and employees of the ministry or agency concerned, as follows:
   
   

   (a)	An official of the ministry or agency directly responsible for personnel management;
   (b)	A representative of the organizational unit, which may be an Office, Department or Division, where the vacancy is;
   (c)	A representative of management;
   (d)	Two representatives of rank-and-file employees who shall be chosen in an election by the employees they shall represent.

   
   At the regional level, the Board shall have three (3) members consisting of the Chief of the Administrative Division, a representative of rank-and-file employees, and a representative of the Division where the vacancy is.
   
   
3. For purposes of promotion involving Second Level positions, particularly such supervisory positions as Director of Hospital, Superintendent of Schools and Chief of divisions and others of equivalent rank, the Promotion Board shall have the following composition and be governed by the following rules:
   
   

   (a)	It shall be composed of five (5) members; one member to be designated by the Chairman of the Civil Service Commission either from the Commission itself or from any other agency of the government; two (2) members to be designated by the head of the ministry or agency concerned, who must have a background in public personnel administration or psychology; and two senior members to come from the organizational unit, which may be an Office, Department or Division, where the vacancy is.
   (b)	Whenever applicable, recommendations made by the Promotion Board at the regional and agency level shall no longer pass the Promotion Board of the Ministry but shall be made to the head of Ministry concerned.
   (c)	Employees who are candidates for promotion shall be informed of the criteria for the procedure on promotion.
   (d)	In making promotions to Division Chief or equivalent position level, the next-in-rank rule shall be initially considered. However, if necessary and so as to choose only the most competent and best qualified for such positions, the Promotion Board and the appointing authority may go into a deep selection process.
   (e)	The establishment of the Promotion Board shall not in any way prevent an employee who feels himself aggrieved by the action of the appointing authority from making a protest pursuant to the Civil Service Law and Rules.
   (f)	The Promotion Board, subject to guidelines, policies, standards and rules of the Civil Service Commission, shall be responsible for formulating criteria for evaluation, conducting tests and interviews, making systematic assessment of the qualifications of the candidates for promotion and recommending to the appointing authority the person who may be considered for promotion.

The Civil Service Commission shall promulgate the necessary rules and regulations to implement this Letter of Instructions.

DONE in the City of Manila, this 29th day of January, in the year of Our Lord, nineteen hundred and seventy-nine.