By IRMA ISIP

Excessive presidential appointees and politics are the root of un-professionalism in the bureaucracy according to Civil Service Commission (CSC) chair Karina Constantino –David.

Speaking before members of the Makati Business Club, David said the agency is pushing for the Career Executive Service System Bill, which rationalizes the hiring system in the bureaucracy and has the effect of limiting the powers of the president to appoint executive positions.

Constantino said the government now has 60 undersecretaries and assistant secretaries in excess of what is allowed by law and of the budget, mostly appointed by the president.

Constantino said the departments of Agrarian Reform, National Defense, Environment and Natural Resources and Interior and Local Government are among government agencies with the most excessive number of undersecretaries and assistant secretaries. The departments and the number of ussecs and assecs in excess are: DILG has six excess, DENR and DND has 7 each and, DAR, 8.

"More than 40 percent of the career positions appointed by the President are not eligible and yet there are 4,000 eligible in government managerial position are waiting to be appointed.

She said more than half, or presidential appointees occupy 3,500, of the 6,000 managerial positions in the executive.

Constantino said of the over 3,000 career positions in these managerial jobs, "less than half are qualified," meaning they have eligibility and passed a battery of tests for career executive service.

"The President appoints 10,000 people. People who are children of this or that mayor...There was even a case where someone was appointed to an executive position when the person does not even have a college degree. We have an amazing list of presidential assistants with ranks of undersecretary or assistant secretary," Constantino said.

She also said there’ are about 90 ex-military and former police personnel now occupying key managerial posts, such as the likes of the Department of Transportation and the Bureau of Immigration.

"They are not necessary qualified (but they are there) just to keep the balance power," Constantino said.

She lashed at the practice of appointing people in "acting capacity" as a form of "presidential control."

"The bureaucracy can only become professional if from the top, the rules are followed," Constantino said.

Constantino noted that the third, and the highest in career level becomes the most vulnerable to politics because they are in direct contact with the politicians and it is in the nature of their jobs.