flvil.

SERV|G (0MM'5510N
Republic of the Philippines

ABAYA-CERCENIA, Alma S.
Re: lnvalidated Appointment;
Violation of the Three Salary Grade
Limitation on Promotion
(Petition for Review)
(N1720027318)
x

NOT CE OF DECISION
Sir/Madam

The Commission promulgated on February 7,201.9 Decision No. L9OO24 on the

above-cited case, copy attached. lts original is on file with this Commission.

February B, 2019

Very truly yours,

-f^
Commission Secretariat and Liaison Office

Colty frrrttislttd:

Ms. Alma S. Abaya-Cercenia The COA Resident Auditor

Laguna Lake Development Authority Laguna Lake Development Authority
LLDA Green Building LLDA Green Building
National Ecology Center National Ecology Center
East Avenue, Diliman East Avenue, Diliman
1100 Quezon City 1100 Quezon City

Atty, Edgar Angelo A. Macam Director lV Judith D. Chicano

Counsei for Appellant Civil Service Commission National Capital Region
Unit 2401, 24'n Floor Atlanta Center No. z5 Kaliraya Street, Barangay Dofla.Josefa
Anna polis Street, Greenhills rroo Quezon City
1500 5an iuan

General Manager Jaime C. Medina

Laguna Lake Development Authority
LLDA Green Building
National Ecology Center
East Avenue, Diliman
1100 Quezon City
R ELEASED,
cslolSSDlAPSlNABlvcc
[)ate: J I FEB 2019

Bawat Kawani, Lingkod Bayani

CSC Building, IBP Road, Batasan Hllls, 1 I 26 Quezon City E (02) 931 -793 5/(O2\ 931-7939/(02) 931 €092 fi' cscphil6ucsc.gov.ph @ www.csc.gov.ph
 t

OYII SERYIG Co[4Mlsslofri

Republic of the Philippines

ABAYA-CERCENIA. Alma S. N um lrer 1 gil02,i

Re: lnvalidatedAppointment:
Violation of the Three Salarv Grade Prom ulgated: 0 7 FEB 20ls
Limitation on Promotion
(Petition lbr Revieu,)
(N I 7200273 18 )

DECISION

Alma S. Aba;-a-Cercenia. Licensing Officer I\'. Laguna Lake Development Authoriq

(LLDA). Quezon Cit-r. through counsel. files a Motiorr for Reconsideration. treated as a
Petition for Revieu. of Decision No. 170518 dated Juli 7.2017 of the Civil Service
Commission National Capital Region (CSC NCR). Quezon Cit;-. which affirmed the
invalidation bv the Civil Service Commission Field Office-Depanment of Environment and
Natural Resources (CSC FO-DENRt. of her permanent promotional appointment as
Licensing Officer lV (SC 22). same agenc). for violation of ltem No. l5 of CSC
MenrorandumCircularNo.3.s.200l datedJanuan'26.200lrorthe'['hrcc(3tSalarr.'Grade
Lirnitction on Prornorion

The dispositive portion of Decision No. 170518 dated Jull'7.2017 of the CSC NCR
reads. as follora,s:

.xr.1

"WHEREFORE, the appeal o.f Alrno S. Aba.va-Cercenia. Engineer

II. Laguna Lakc Det,elopment Authorin', i.s lrcreb.t, DISMISSED.foT lack o.f
merit. Accordingll', the di.sapprotal of het' appointment to the position of
Licensing Oficer II'h.r'the CSC FO-DENR, l.r AFFIRMED."

In her Petition for Revieu. Abava-Cercenia raised the follorr,,ing arguments:

.rr.\
"ll
cannot be denied tlnt the onl.t, lacking requirement rc validatc
tha appointment o./' Cercenia v)a.\ the .iu,stification that 14,e.\ to bc
accomplished bt,the then General Managet'. ./.R. Nereus O. Aco,sta;
"Ancl accctrding t<t
ll4r ,Acostu. lhe rcasott v,h.t' he ditl not .jt.tstifi' or
promote Cercenia is that allegedl.t the .{ormer received cctmplainls again.st
Cercenia.
-\-.I -\

Rer ised Policies on Merit Protnorion Ptan

ME@!mEni
e A P. SALONGA
Specialist
and Llaison Office
EO BO0rtr15
Civil Scwice Commisrion
Effiffi
Bawat Kawani, Lingkod Bayani
Cn1, e (02) 931-7935/(021931-7939/(02) 931€092 Eit cscphil6csc.gov.ph @ www.csc.gov.ph
9 CSC Building, IBP Roaci, Batasan Hills, I 126 Quezon
I

rV ABAYA-CERCEh'lA, Alna S.
Page 2 of 6

t is wh1' the Personnel

Select ) and her aPPointment
pqper, , itted to the C'SC FO;

"l.f Mr. Acosra onl.t' submitted the .iustification required o.f him. the
appointment of' complctinant Cercenia would have been approved bt' the
CSC FO'
Records shou,rhar on l\larch 17.2016. then LLDA Ceneral Manager J.R. Nereus O.
Acosta issued a promotional appointment to Abaya-Cercenia as Licensing Officer I\/ (SC 22)
under permanenr status. Prior thereto. Aba-r'a-Cercenia held the position of Engineer II (SC
l6)

As a matter of course. Abava-Cercenia's appointment \\'as submitted to CSC FO-

DENR for its aftestation. Meantime. Acosta sent a Letter dated September 30.2016 to the
CSC FC)-DENR categoricalli manifesting that he will not give justification on the
appointnrent of Abaya-Cercenia to exempt it from the Three (3)-Salar)' Crade Limitation on
Promotion.

Then. on 15. 2016. CSC FO-DENR invalidated Abaya-Cercenia's appointment

April
for violation of ltem No. 1 5. CSC Memorandum Circular No. 3. s. 2001 '-

Aggrieved. Abaya-Cercenia filed on October 26.2016 an Appeal with the CSC NCR.
Acosta filed a Cornment/Opposition on the Memorandum of Appeal filed b.n.' Abaya-
Cercenia.

On Jul1, 7. ?017. the CSC NCR rendered its Decision dismissing the Appeal of
Abaya-Cercenia for lack of merit. Consequentll,. the invalidation of her appointment was
affirmed.

filed. on Augr.rst 2i.2017. a Motion for Reconsideration

l-.rndaunted. Abaya-Cercenia
with the CSC NCR. Treating it as a Petition for Revieu'. the CSC NCR forwarded. on March
5.2018. the Motion for Reconsiderarion of Abaya-Cercenia. together with the complete
records of the case. to the Commission.

Acting thereon. the Commission. through the Office for Legal Affairs (OLA). directed
Abaya-Cercenia to submir cenified true copies of the Personnel Selection Board (PSBI
comparative assessment for the position of Licensing Officer I\/. the Minutes of Proceedings
of the PSB during its deliberation. and the Personal Dara Sheet (PDS) she used in support of
her application for the sub.iect position.r On Jull 31.2018. Abaya-Cercenia complied u'ith
accordingll.

- Revised Policies on Merit Promotion Plan

' Orcier dated .lune I 9. 20 I E

P. SALONGA
Resource Sp€cralist
Secretariat and Liaison Office
! Service Commission
,l

/V ABAI'A-CERC'ENlA. Almn S.
Page -1 of 6

The issue to be resolved is '*,hether the invalidation of'the appointment of Abaya-

Cercenia as Licensing Officer IV is in order.

The qualification standards l'or the Licensing Officer [\' position as prescrlbed irt the
1997 Revised Qualification Standards Manual vl.r-c)-r'l.r the qualifications of Abaya-
Cercenia as rellected in her Personal Data Sheet (PDS) dated March 23.2016 shor,r. as
follows:

Factors Qualifi cations Stantlards for Qualifi cations of Abava-Cercenia

Licensing Officer IV position based on her PDS dated March 13.
under the 1997 ILevised 2016
alifi cation Sta ntlards Man ual
Educatiorr S egree AC OT crence rn Civil
Engineering
. Bachelor of Science in Nursi
nce l
ree (3) -vears of relevant . Engineer I1 (01/01/94 to tl
enence
Training S ixteen ( I 6 ) hours of re levant . Environmental Management
training Comnrinee Planning Workshop - 24
hours
.Othersa
Eligibilitr r Professional . Civil Engineer license
Second Level Eli oi hi itr,\

As can be gleaned fronr the foreeoing qualification table. it is shorvn that Aba-n-a-
Cercenia meets the education and experience requirements of the position. She has Bachelor
of Science in Civil Engineering and Bachelor of Science in Nursing. and had been an
Engineer ll
of the LLDA for the past twentv-two (22) vears. Also. she satisfies the training
requirement having earned rnore than sixreen (16) hours of relevant hours of relevant
training. Likewise. she meets the eligibility,reguirement as she is a Iicensed Civil Engineer.
Insofar as the sixteen (16) hours of'relevant training is concerned. Abaya-Cercenia had rnore
than sixteen (16) hours of relevanl training. Clearll. Abaya-Cercenia is fulll'qualified forthe
position.

However. her appointrnent was invalidated tbr violation of ltem No. 15. CSC
Memorandum Circular No. 3. series of 2001 (Revised Policies on Merif Promotion
Plan). which provides:

"An entplo.vee mo): he prontoted or trqns'ferred ra a position which

rtot ntore than three r3.t soian,', pa)', or .joLt grarie-s higher than the
is'
cmployee .\ pre.\enl po.sition. cxce?t inven nteritorious case.s. suclt as: if lhc

position indicated in the age nq,staffinc panern ' (Lrnderscoring supplied)

'Other rrainings no longer enumerared as Cercenia alreadv nreers the sixteen (16) hours olrelevanl. trar n r ng

n a+!Att^a
Aii I'. -)-rlL(,NtIJ}.
Resource Specidlst
Secretariat and Liaison Ofhce
I Service Commisslon
t

/V ABAYA-CERCENIA, Almu S.
Poge 4 o-f 6

Corollarl ro this. the Commission issued CSC Resolution No. 1600732 dated Jul.v 7.
2016.] as circularized in CSC Memorandum CircularNo. 18. s.2016 dated August23.2016.
to -suide on what constirutes meritorious cases in order to continuousl)' ensure that promotion
is granted only to deserving emplovees and to limit. if not totallr eradicate situations where
favored employees are promoted to nruch higher positions than thel"would normalll'deserve.
lf the case does not fall on an\ of those enumerated cases. then the Three-Salary Grade
Limitation applies. Portions o1'the CSC Memorandum Circular No. 18, s. 2016 dated
August 23. 2016 read. thus:
rr-T
"Prrsuant ro CSC Re.solution N'ct 160073) ciated Jult -. 2016. thc
C-ontnti,s.sion approted rhc polict ptidelitrcr governing lhc threc-salan'
grctde lintitation on pntmotictn. os /ollov'.t.

asa
lt the P
ton nI'
ls v,it
exceptions:
"a. The position occupied b), the person i.t next-in-rank to the vaconl
po.sition as ideitified in the Meril Selzction Plan ond the Svsrcnt of Ranking
Positi<>n.t (SRPt of the agencr.

"b. The vecanl po,sition i'r a lonc or entrance pctsition, as indicated

in the agencv stafing pauern.
"c. The r)acant position is hord to.fill. such as Accountant, Medical
Oficer/Specialist. Attdrne.)', or Inforntariott Technolog' Officer/Conlpuler
P rogramnter po sit ion.s.

"d. The vacant pct.sitictn i.s unique andtor highlt'specialized, sttch as

A c tuar i al, A i rw at's C onun un ic at o r po.s t t t o t'ts.

"c. The candidcttes pas,sed through a deep selection process. taking

into considerali<tn thc candidarcs' superior quali./ications in regard to:
". Educat ional achievements
"' Highll' specialized trainingt
". Relevant work experience
''. C'onsistent high perfornrance ratingtranking
"f. Tlrc vacent po.sition Ltelongs to ll?e clo'sed career.trlslent. i.e..
those that are scientific.'t>r highh'tecniical in nature that include the.faculrt
qncl acacientic' ,;taff o.f .starc colleges and universilies' and the scientific and
technical positiorrs in scientific'or research in.stitutions, all o-[ u'hich
eslablish and rnainruin their ov,n merit svsrcms.

t Policu Cuicielines on rhe Three- racie Linriution on PromcrLion

/\\'^1
-i . -r,'ll,\/iv\v[
^^-
Resource SPecnlBt
Secretariat and Llaison Ofli,ce
Civll Sewice Commission
, I

IV ABAI'A-CERCENI,4, AIMI S,
Pagc 5 of 6

"g Other meritoriou,\ co-se.\. .\ttch as:

". y,hen fhe appoirtree is lhc lone applicant v,ln meets all fhe
'thc
requirement,t of po.sirion and pas.sec[ through the deep seleuion
proces.\
y,aived their right over
"'. v,hen thc qualified ncxl-itt-rank entplotees
lhc vctcant po.sitiott in u'riting
". when llie next-ut-rank po-sition. as identifiecl in the agerlcv SRP i.s
tlacanl
"'when lhe next-irt-rank emplovee/s is/ore not quali/ied
"' v'hen thc qualified next-in-rank entplo.vec't did not apph'"
(Underscoring suppl ied)

ln this case. the promotional appointment of Abava-Cercenia as Licensing Officer IV

does not fall under an1 ofthe circumstances mentioned above. and therefore. her case cannot
be considered as exclpted from the application of the Three-Salarl' Grade Limitation on
Promotion.

ln her Petition for Revier,i,. Abaya-Cercenia contends that her appointment falls as an
exception to the Three-Salary Crade Limitation on Promotion because it passed through a
deep selection process. taking into consideration her superior qualifications' ln order to
validate the conrenrion of Abaya-Cercenia. the OLA directed her to submit the PSB
Comparative Assessment. Minutes of Proceedings of the PSB during the deliberation for the
sub.iect position.

Hou,ever. records disclosed that in the PSB Deliberation dated Februarl' 1.2016 and
the PSB Tabulation Sheet submined b1, Abaya-Cercenia. she onll' ranked third in the
evaluation. There was no proof in said PSB Deliberation evincing that she had superior
qualifications over the other candidates insofar as her educational achievements' highll'
specialized trainings. relevanr work experience. and consistent high performance rating were
concerned.

Moreover. records further disclosed that Acosta himself, in his Comment/Opposition

to the Memorandum of Appeal filed b1 Abaya-Cercenia with the CSC NCR, stated that there
\\/as no meritorious grornd he can off". to .iustif, the promotional appointme-nt of Abaya-
Cercenia. He was of-ttre position that Abava-Cercenia's appointntent does not fall under anv
of the exceptions to justifl,exemprion from the Three Salar-\, Grade Lirnitation on Promotion.
Finall1.. he emphasiied thatto still proceed with the.iustification even without sufficient merit
would run counter to the best interest of public servlce.

ln viera of the fbregoing disquisition. the Commission finds no cogent reason to

reverse or modifv the Decisi-on olth. CSC NCR afflrrning the CSC FO-DENR's invalidation
of Abaya-C"r."niu', appointment on the ground of violation of the Three Salary-Grade
Limitation on Promotion.

In
sum. the invalidation of the promotional appointment of Abaya-Cercenia as

Licensing Officer I\; is found in

P. SALOTGA
Resource SpriCbt
Secretanat and Lhlsoo Ofltcr
Civil Service Commlssion
/V, ABAI'A-CERCENIA. AINTU S.
Poge 6 of 6

WHEREFORE. the Petition for Revieu' filed br ,Alma S. Abaya-C.ercenia. Lrcensing

Officer l\i. Laguna Lake Development Authoritl (LLDA). is herebr DISMISSED.
Accordingll'. Decision No. 170518 dated jull 7.2017 of the Civil Service Commission
Narional Capital Region (CSC NCRl. Quezon Citl. r.r,hich affirmed the invalidation b1 the
Civil Service Comrnission Field Office (CSC FO)--DENR. Quezon City. of lrer permanent
appointnrent as Licensinc Officer I\/ (SC l2). LLDA. tbr violation of ltem l5 of CSC
Menrorandunr Circular No. i. s.2001 or the Revised Policies on Merit Protnotion Plan. is
AFFIRMED.

Nevertheless. Abava-Cercenia shall be entitled to receive the salaries and benefits of

the Licensing Officer 1\i' position as a dc'.facto officer for actual services rendered from the
time of the issuance of her appointnrent on March 17- 2016 up to the time this Decision
becomes executor\. Abava-Cercenia shall be reverted to her former position in the LLDA.

Copies of this Decision shall be {urnished the Cornmission on Audit (COA)-LLDA.

and the LLDA. for their reference and appropriate action.

Quezon Crt1,
/

| -lt ''u,,'/
LEOPOLD O ROBERTO W. \/ALDEROSA, JR.
\t Commissioner

AIL LOURI) IZADA

Conrmissi

Attested br'

DOLO B. BONIF to
I\
Commission Secretariat and Liaison Office

OL.{-? .\'5(t )'50 obs))019 CSLO aang

Dec ts t o t t-.4 bo t'tt- ( e rce n k;,,1 t ttt t;
(o-()-011!ls-

P. SALONGA
Resource Sp€ctalist
Secretariat and Liaison Office
Civil Service Commission