Case Study 2 Qualification Standards

Background of the Case

Qualification Standards refer to the descriptions of the minimum requirements
necessary to perform for a particular occupation successfully and safely. These minimum
requirements may include specific job-related work experience, education, medical or
physical standards, training, security, and or license.

In job recruitment, selection, and placement, qualification standards served as the

basis for choosing the applicant best qualified for a certain position. Thus, every item or
position to hold has qualification standards, particularly regular permanent position in
government offices.

In the Philippines, the Civil Service Commission (CSC) integrated competencies to

every Human Resource System of the government agencies from its recruitment process to
placement or appointment. In this regard, Competency-Based Recruitment and Qualification
Standards (CBRQS) was created. With this program the CSC recognizes that hiring and
retaining of best employees will lay the foundation for developing high performing,
competent, and credible civil servants.

The background of the case study points to the qualification standards set for the
position of Chief Revenue Officer IV. Accordingly, minimum requirements as follows:
Master Degree holder (Education Qualification); 4 years in position/involving management
and supervision (Experience); 24 hours of training in management and supervision
(Training); and Career Service Professional (Eligibility).

The qualifications of Teresita S. Luchico to hold the position are as follows: A.B.
Economics; Certificate in Development Economics (Education), Chief Revenue Officer III
from 02-01-82 to 01-01-85, Chief Revenue Officer IV, 08-01-95 to 08-01-88, Chief Revenue
Officer IV, 03-07-96 to 11-01-97 (Experience); IMF Course on Public Finance/Seminar on
Tax Research/Change of Management (Training); Career Service Professional (Eligibility).

Facts Presented/ Identification of Main Issue

 The main issue in the case study is the invalidation of the renewal of the appointment
of Teresita S. Luchico as Chief Revenue Officer IV at the Bureau of Internal Revenue. The
reason for such invalidation was because Luchico failed to meet the masteral degree
requirement for said position.

Facts presented include the Qualification Standards of the position temporary hold by
Teresita S. Luchico as Chief Revenue Officer IV at the Bureau of Internal Revenue. The
qualification standards for the position are as follows: Master Degree holder (Education
Qualification); 4 years in position/involving management and supervision (Experience); 24
hours of training in management and supervision (Training); and Career Service Professional
(Eligibility).

The qualifications of Teresita S. Luchico to be qualified for the positions are as

follows: A.B. Economics; Certificate in Development Economics (Education), Chief
Revenue Officer III from 02-01-82 to 01-01-85, Chief Revenue Officer IV, 08-01-95 to 08-
01-88, Chief Revenue Officer IV, 03-07-96 to 11-01-97 (Experience); IMF Course on Public
Finance/Seminar on Tax Research/Change of Management (Training); Career Service
Professional (Eligibility).

Analysis of the Key Issues

From the Qualification Standards sets by the Civil Service Commission for the
position of Chief Revenue Officer IV at the Bureau of Internal Revenue, it was very obvious
and evident that Teresita S. Luchico was not able to meet one of the qualification standards
for Education, the Master Degree, for she was not a Master Degree Holder.

However, several justifications were given by the Former Commissioner Liwayway

Vinzons-Chato of the Bureau of Internal Revenue and incumbent Commissioner Beethoven
L. Rualo to justify their appeal from the invalidation by the Director, Civil Service
Commission - National Capital Region (CSC-NCR) of the appointment (renewal) of Teresita
S. Luchico as Chief Revenue Officer IV at the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
1. Mrs. Luchico had already held the item of Chief Revenue officer IV, on a
permanent basis, for at least three and a half years, from November 1985 to
February 1989. She was reinstated to the same item upon her (Former
Commissioner Liwayway Vinzons-Chato) return to the Bureau in 1996, albeit on
a temporary basis, due to the Civil Service requirements. A copy of Mrs.
Luchico's Service Record was appended in the petition.

2. While Mrs. Luchico does not possess a Masteral Degree, her experience as a
revenue official has served her well in the discharge of her duties and functions.
Thus the petitioners believe that her lack of a Master's degree has in no way
prejudiced the quality of her service to the Bureau; indeed, the knowledge and
experience she gained over years of dedicated service are certainly comparable to
those of any Master's degree holder.

3. Mrs. Luchico is a holder of an ECONOMIST Examination Rating, aside from her

other civil service eligibilities, and is one of the very few revenue officials to
possess such a qualification. At a time when the government is in urgent need of
economists and experts in its allied fields, to compel Mrs. Luchico to leave the
revenue service is to deny the Bureau her much-needed services in this field of
discipline.
“"In point of fact, Mrs. Luchico's designation as Head Revenue Executive
Assistant of the Policy and Planning Service was premised not only on her
achievements as a revenue official, but also on her qualifications as an economist.
The nature of the Service's responsibilities, particularly with regard to the crucial
function of annual collection forecasting, require the unique knowledge and
insights of an economist, Mrs. Luchico has so ably provided. She has, in truth
often been designated as the Bureau's official representative to meetings held at
the Department of Finance to discuss the effect of the country's economic
situation on the Bureau's overall performance, or to assess the Bureau's position
and capabilities in light of IMF requirements, which task she has accomplished
with consummate skill.”

4. Mrs. Luchico's application for Career Executive Service (CES) eligibility is

already in process. She passed the Management Aptitude Test Battery given by
 the CES Board last December 8, 1996, and is scheduled to undergo the second
stage of the eligibility process, the Assessment Center, on June 19 to 21, 1998. A
copy of the letter dated 27 January 1998 of CES Executive Director Elmor D.
Juridico, informing Mrs. Luchico of this development as attached in the petition.

Observations:
It is true that Mrs. Teresita S. Luchico was not a Masteral Degree holder. However,
her experiences at work in the Bureau of Internal Revenue for the longer years were more
than enough as comparable to those of any Master’s degree holder. In addition, Luchico was
a holder of Economist Examination Rating and holder of Certificate in Development
Economics aside from the eligibilities which was an edge over others.

Thus, beside the fact that fact that Mrs. Teresita S. Luchico was not a Masteral Degree
holder which is the minimum qualification for the position was not meet, her experiences in
the workplace and the Certificate she obtained by Luchico may be considered equivalent to a
Masteral Degree.

Conclusion:

Thus, the Commission of Civil Service had to consider the qualifications of Mrs.
Teresita S. Luchico, hence her meritorious achievements are more than earning a degree in
masteral program. Besides, two chiefs of the agencies attended to her qualification as a
person high caliber for the position.

From the forgoing presentation of the case study, I think Mrs. Luchico will be
qualified for the renewal of her position because she has some qualifications which were her
edge over the minimum requirements which could be comparable or equivalent or much
more than equivalent to the lacking qualification of Master Degree holder. Besides, the
justifications of the former Commissioner of the BIR and the incumbent Commissioner
during that time, were more than enough to prove that Mrs. Luchico was a person best
qualified to hold the position. Thus, the invalidation of the appointment of Mrs. Luchico by
the Commission of the Civil Service has to be denied.