Recently, Congress passed a bill seeking to institutionalize the creation of a human management resource office in all local government units in the Philippines.
Under House Bill 4296, co-authored by Laguna 2nd District Representative Ruth Mariano-Hernandez and recently approved before the House Committee on Local Government, the human management resource officer (HRMO) shall be responsible for the formulation of a resource development plan that will enhance personal management processes in the local government.
The HRMO will also institutionalize central records of personnel development documents; conduct continuing human resource development programs and other capacity building interventions to enhance the competency of officials and employees, and monitor and evaluate the implementation of performance management systems in the LGU.
According to the bill’s authors, the absence of the Human Resource Management Officer (HRMO) has resulted in a highly “politicized” situation where the accountability for human resources is lodged in the local chief executive.
And it’s no secret that the management of human resources in many local government units, especially here in Laguna province, are too often subjected to the changing winds of local politics.
It’s a sad reality, not only in Laguna province but in many other LGUs in the Philippines, that the security of tenure of many local employees are at the mercy of local executives who are wont to replace or retain employees not on the basis of merit or performance but on the basis of loyalty to the local executive.
The same goes for the appointment of various key posts and the prevalence of “job-order” positions, which local executives have found a convenient way to pay back the “utang na loob” to supporters or benefactors during elections.
As a result of this trend, professionalism and efficiency of many government functions tend to be neglected. Employees are inclined to be lackadaisical, or even rude, in performing their duties.
Through the institution of human management resource offices in LGUs, it is hoped that the local civil service will finally achieve the professionalism, efficiency and work ethics that we have come to take for granted in many private corporations.
Take note, too, that the bill mandates that the appointment of HRMOs will be at the hand of the Civil Service Commission (CSC), a practice that some government agencies such as the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has instituted.
It will take a long time and a long process, but this measure is a step forward in ensuring that Filipinos will finally get the quality service they have long demanded from the government.