DepEd denies hiring 440 consultants, new executives

MANILA, Philippines - Education Secretary Armin Luistro yesterday denied allegations of the department’s employees union that he has illegally appointed several new officials and added an excessive number of consultants to the detriment of the department.

“Every new appointment made in the department is reviewed for legality and compliance with civil service rules,” said Luistro.

He justified the hiring of new consultants and denied that no one was assigned a line position.

As to the allegation that the new consultants have reached 400, he said a majority of those added were janitorial and maintenance personnel in the central office and the Baguio Teachers Camp.

Also among the contractual employees are the Department of Education (DepEd)’s field engineers who assist, monitor, and maintain school buildings and educational facilities around the Philippines.

DepEd said records showed that the contracts of these employees were renewed during the term of the former administration to facilitate transition and avoid work disruption.

“Meantime, we allowed existing personnel under contract to continue with their services for a limited time only. We can say that transition is still going on and these contracts are being reviewed. Whether they may be allowed to continue after the expiration of their current contracts will depend on the outcome of the review. We cannot, in one fell swoop, fire all the department’s contractual employees, otherwise, we would cripple our operations as well as expose the department to legal liability,” Luistro said.

“Concerns like these serve as my guide,” he said. “This is a kind of feedback mechanism that will help us improve our job and be better public servants.”

Many contracts of service will end on Sept. 30, 2010 and a few others on Dec. 31, 2010.

Luistro said that since he assumed office, he entered into separate 30-day contracts with two undersecretaries and four assistant secretaries who were separated from the service by Memorandum Circular 1, because they needed time to turn over their duties and files to their successors.

The department has also re-hired two former undersecretaries and one assistant secretary under three-month contracts to allow them to conclude specific projects and initiatives, which were formerly within their purview.

“Other than those, I think we have only hired two people to perform specific duties for 3- to 4-month periods,” said Luistro.

“On the issue of volunteers, I will welcome any well-meaning, committed individuals who wish to help us. However, let me emphasize that we do not allow volunteers to usurp the authority of duly appointed officials,” he said.

DepEd union wants Luistro out

But the employees union of the Department of Education are up in arms and are calling for Luistro’s resignation for allegedly illegally appointing new officials and an excessive number of consultants that has now allegedly reached 440.

“We are calling for the resignation of Secretary Armin Luistro because of his incompetence and mismanagement,” lawyer Domingo Alidon, DepEd Central Employees Union president, told The STAR.

The agency’s union questioned the appointment or the re-hiring of some 67 consultants of the DepEd that were unnecessary because of the lapse of their supposed task or mandate.

Alidon said that there was even a move to hire more consultants.

“Some coterminous officers were converted into consultants despite the lack of need for their service,” he said.

Alidon also bared the illegal appointment of a volunteer lawyer, Tony Umali, to serve as a virtual assistant secretary for legal and legislative liaison, which was a flagrant violation of civil service laws.