Governor nixes personnel reclassification

Gov. Pedro P. Tenorio has disapproved a plan that would convert excepted service positions to civil service classified positions under a proposed bill seeking a reorganization of the Commonwealth Ports Authority and the Coastal Resources Management.

A Senate proposal intends to repeal an executive order issued by former governor Froilan C. Tenorio which placed CPA and CRM under the Departments of Public Works and Lands and Natural Resources, respectively. These entities used to be autonomous prior to the implementation of the executive order.

But a provision that calls for the immediate reinstatement of civil service employees who were converted to excepted service pursuant to the executive order to classified position was opposed by Tenorio because of its impact on civil service regulations.

It says employees should be accepted at a grade and step not less than what they would have earned in accordance with the grade step and merit increases had they remained in the classification system.

But with the implementation of Executive Order 94-3 in August 23, 1994, most of the employees of CRM chose to be in excepted service positions because of higher salaries and benefits compared to civil service workers.

“To allow such conversion, now after 5 years under excepted service, and mandating the payment of within grade and merit increase is not fair to other classified employees, nor is it in the best interest of the Commonwealth,” the governor wrote to legislators.

According to Tenorio, within grade increase and merit increase are granted based on performance.

Administration sources said another issue that worries the governor is the sweeping impact of the reinstatement provision on employees working for other entities. While the proposal only refers to workers of CRM or CPA, the way it was written suggests that it would also apply to employees in excepted service positions working for other agencies.

But even if the provision only applies to CRM, the Office of Personnel Management contends that none of the agency’s employees would be covered by the proposed bill, according to sources.

“If there are any CRM employees who would be affected by that provision, the more it will be vetoed by the governor because that mandates a within grade increase and merit increase. These increases are given based on performance and not through an automatic increase,” one source said.

Legislators put into motion the abolition of CPA and CRM to revert their operations and functions into their previous status because their transfer to executive branch departments was unconstitutional.