By HENRY EMPEÑO | 

SUBIC BAY FREEPORT — The Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) will outsource the services of workers hired through contract of service (COS) scheme starting February 2019 in order to comply with national government directive to end contractualization in government service.

SBMA Senior Deputy Administrator for Support Services Ramon Agregado said a huge chunk of contractuals maintained by the agency will be absorbed by outsourcing companies that will provide janitorial, ground maintenance, building security and housing security services for SBMA.

He said a total of 307 contractual personnel will be covered by the February outsourcing, while a total of 655 COS workers will be retained possibly until December 31, 2020, the new government deadline for government agencies to terminate hiring under contracts of service or job orders.

Agregado announced this on Friday during a general assembly at the SBMA Gym here wherein agency officials discussed outsourcing and position reclassification procedures with concerned personnel who were first notified in writing last April.

“This is a requirement of the government—of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).  We are simply complying with the requirement,” Agregado explained.

He said the DBM had recommended the outsourcing of security, janitorial, and ground maintenance positions as early as September 2013.

“Please bear in mind that we are doing our best in order for you to keep your jobs,” he assured workers.

Meanwhile, Agregado said the SBMA hopes to hire the remaining 655 qualified personnel for plantilla positions once the agency’s proposed restructuring plan gets approved by the DBM.

 

He said that In the meantime, the SBMA has begun reclassifying COS positions and salary grades so that these workers may eventually fit into the new organizational structure, assuming they obtain the requisite eligibility.

The outsourcing and position reclassification procedures, SBMA officials said, actually serve as safety nets to avert financial ruin for workers affected by the order to end contractualization in government service.

SBMA Deputy Administrator for Administration Ruel John Kabigting noted that the SBMA had been called out at the House of Representatives for having some of the most number of contractuals among government agencies.

He added that other free ports like Clark and Bataan had since outsourced their personnel accordingly.

Kabigting recalled that under Joint Circular No. 1 issued on June 15, 2017 by the Civil Service Commission (CSC), Commisison on Audit (COA) and DBM, government agencies were allowed to renew contracts of service or job orders only until Dec. 31, 2018.

He said that while another joint circular dated Nov. 9, 2018 extended the deadline to Dec. 31, 2020, the DBM had directed the SBMA in a September 2013 memorandum to refrain from hiring personnel under contract of service and instead fill up its regular plantilla positions “to have semblance of continuity in service.”

He added that in 2015, the Office of the President required the SBMA to reduce its manpower complement from contract of service to 3% per annum, while the DBM in October 2016 again directed the SBMA to outsource janitorial and security services “as a matter of policy.”

Kabigting said the SBMA Board of Directors approved the outsourcing scheme on April 12, 2018 and the program underwent the processes of notification, bidding and endorsement until the contract was awarded to winning service providers early this month.

The outsourcing scheme, the SBMA said, will provide job security in the private sector to the affected workers, as well as holiday pay, 13th month pay, overtime pay, and benefits from Social Security System, Pag-Ibig and Philhealth that they don’t otherwise enjoy as contractual workers of the government.