JO and COS in 2026: What’s Next for JO, COS workers in government in 2026?

Is it true that national government agencies will no longer hire or renew the individual contracts of their Job Order (JO) and Contract of Service (COS) workers for 2026?

We will answer this question in this post based on the recent guidelines issued by the CSC, COA and DBM.

What is the fate of JO, COS workers in government for FY 2026?

In 2024, there were around 800,000 job order and contract of service workers in the Philippine government and many of them, if not all, were hired on individual contract. Individual contract means they were hired in person and not through a company, office or service provider.

Since 2017 and every year thereafter, government agencies were authorized to engage job order and contract of service on individual contract.

In fact in 2024, the government extended once more the engagement of job order and contract of service workers through individual contracts until December 31, 2025, pursuant to COA-DBM Joint Circular No. 2, s. 2024.

The subject Joint Circular provides the following:

11.0 Transitory Provision

11.1 Departments/agencies may engage the services of new COS/JO workers through individual contracts and renew the individual contracts of their existing COS/JO workers until December 31, 2025.

Thereafter, the engagement of services of COS/JO workers shall be in accordance with the provisions of COA-DBM JC No. 2, s. 2020 as well as any subsequent guidelines, rules and regulations issued by the COA, DBM and other concerned parties.

(emphasis and underscoring ours)

What does COA-DBM JC No. 2, s. 2020 provides?

COA-DBM JC No. 2, s. 2020 provides that until December 31, 2022, which was extended several years thereafter until December 31, 2025 by various COA-DBM Joint Circulars, agencies may engage the services of new COS/JO workers through individual contracts and renew the individual contracts of their existing COS/JO workers.

Thereafter, the engagement of COS/JO workers shall be in accordance with the provisions of DBM-COA JC No. 2, s. 2020, which means, the engagement of JO, COS workers will no longer be through individual contract but through institutional contract. For this reason, these workers are asking, what will happen to them in 2026.

CSC-COA-DBM Updated Rules and Regulation on the Engagement of JO, CO workers in the national government

On December 15, 2025, the Civil Service Commission (CSC), Commission on Audit (COA) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) approved the revised rules and regulations on the engagement of COS and JO workers in the national government through CSC-COA-DBM Joint Circular No. 1, s. 2025. The subject Joint Circular is applicable to all NGAs, GOCCs with original charters, SUCs and constitutional bodies engaging the services of COS or JO workers.

On the other hand, the Joint Circular in not applicable to COS and JO workers whose service payments are accounted as Engineering and Administrative Overhead Expenses (EAOE) of the concerned departments, as authorized in the particular year’s General Appropriations Act (GAA) and COS or JO workers engaged by the local government units (LGUs).

Can government agencies still engage the services of COS and JO workers in 2026?

According to the subject new CSC-COA-DBM Joint Circular, government agencies may still engage the services of COS and JO workers, subject to conditions and limitations.

Engagement of Contract of Service Workers

Institutional Contract of Service (COS)

What is Institutional Contract?

Institutional Contract refers to the agreement between the government agency and contractor or service provider duly-registered and recognized by authorized government agencies to provide services such as janitorial, security, consultancy and other support services.

As a general rule, government agencies may engage outsourced services through institutional COS which covers lump sum work or services to perform janitorial, security, consultancy and other support functions, subject to the provisions of Republic Act (RA) No. 12009 or the New Government Procurement Act (NGPA) and its implementing rules and regulations (IRR), and further subject to pertinent budgeting, accounting, and auditing rules and regulations.

Individual Contract of Service (COS)

Government agencies may enter a COS with individuals subject to the following conditions:

• Limited only to consultants, learning service providers, and/or technical experts to undertake special projects or job within a specific period, provided, that the term of contract between the agency and the individual contractor shall be for a maximum period of one (1) year, renewable at the option of the head of the agency, but in no case shall exceed the term of the latter.

• The project or job to be undertaken by the COS worker shall not be part of the regular functions of the agency, or the expertise is not available in the agency, or it is impractical or more expensive for the agency to directly undertake the service provided by the individual or institutional contractor.

• The COS worker shall not be made to perform the job or work of the agency’s regular employees nor shall they be designated to positions exercising control or supervision over regular and career employees.

Engagement of Job Order workers

Government agencies may hire JO workers subject to the following conditions:

• The services of a JO worker are either paid according to an agreed contract amount for the piece of work or on a daily wage basis.

• Contracting the services of the JO workers shall be subject to pertinent budgeting, accounting, and auditing rules and regulations.

• Hiring of the JO workers shall be limited to emergency or intermitted work, such as clearing of debris on the roads, canals, and waterways, etc. after natural/man-made disasters/occurences, other trades and crafts, and manual tasks, such as carpentry, plumbing, painting, electrical, and the like which are not part of the regular functions of the agency.

• Hiring JO workers shall be of short duration and for a specific piece of work.

• JO workers shall not be made to perform the job or work of the agency’s regular employees nor shall they be designated to positions exercising control or supervision over regular and career employees.

Ways forward for agencies in 2026 and years thereafter

Considering the above discussion, government agencies may still engage the services of COS and JO workers in 2026 and years thereafter, unless totally discontinued later, provided, their services are consistent with the limitations and conditions provided in CSC-COA-DBM Joint Circular No. 1, s. 2025 and subsequent issuances.

However, agencies are no longer allowed to increase the number of their COS and JO workers beyond the current or existing number.

Government agencies are mandated to review their systems of operations to address gaps, if any, and determine the appropriate staffing complement for the performance of their regular functions and undertaking of PAPs or limited duration or temporary in nature.

In this regard, government agencies shall consider their existing COS and JO workers in the preparation of their respective Optimization Plans, pursuant to the RA No. 12231 or the Government Optimization Act. This is vital in order to absorb the qualified COS and JO workers in the plantilla positions that will be created in agencies concerned, in line with the implementation of the government optimization law.

The existing qualified COS and JO workers shall be considered for appointment by the government agencies to their vacant positions, subject to the existing civil service laws, rules and regulations. Also, they shall include a provision in their institutional contracts with a contractor or service provider stipulating that the existing qualified COS and JO workers of the agency shall be considered during the recruitment or hiring processes of the contractor or service provider.

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