Senator Imee Marcos revealed that the government has as many as 178,000 vacant posts that can help address the unemployment problem that many Filipinos are currently facing because of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
She stated that should these positions be left vacant until the end of the year, the budget for hiring personnel then becomes year-end savings which are allegedly divided up among officials.
“When government positions are left unfilled, the unused budget for hiring personnel is later declared as year-end savings. These suspicious savings become bonuses divided up among agency officials,” said Senator Marcos who challenged the Civil Service Commission (CSC) to fill out all vacant posts, as per reports from GMA News.
The senator also called out a total of Php7.6 billion from the CSC’s Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund meant for newly-hired government personnel that remains unused to date.
“The CSC will have difficulty justifying its proposed budget for next year if no initiatives are made for better housekeeping,” warned Senator Marcos.
