Is the hiring of Job Order and Contract of Service workers requires public bidding?

CSC-COA-DBM Joint Circular (JC) No. 1, series of 2017 clearly defines the difference between a Job Order and a Contract of Service worker, including the conditions in hiring them and the method to be used for the same.

On one hand, Contract of Service refers to the engagement of the services of an individual, private firm, other government agency, non-governmental agency or international organization as consultant, learning service provider or technical expert to undertake special project or job within a specific period.

Contractor or Service provider refers to an individual, a government agency, private or non-government entity, duly-registered and recognized by authorized government agencies to provide consultancy services in their respective field of expertise.

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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 is called Institutional Contract.

On the other hand, Job Order refers to piece work (pakyaw) or intermittent or emergency jobs such as clearing of debris on the roads, canals, waterways, etc. after natural/man-made disasters/occurrences and other manual/trades and crafts services such as carpentry, plumbing, electrical and the like. These jobs are of short duration and for a specific piece of work.

Support services may include janitorial, security, driving, data encoding, equipment and grounds maintenance and other services that support the day to day operations of the agency.

It can be noted that the engagement of a Job Order and Contract of Service may be through individual or institutional.

Simply stated, a government agency can engage the services of an individual or the services of an institution/company/agency/service provider etc.

This is essential because this is one of the defining factors whether to subject the hiring of Job Order or Contract of Service workers to public bidding.

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According to Item 6.1.1 of the aforementioned JC, Institutional Contract of Service covers lump sum work or services to perform janitorial, security, consultancy, and other support functions, subject to the provisions of Republic Act (RA) No. 9184 otherwise known as the Government Procurement Act.

Likewise, engaging the services of Individual Contractor shall be subject to the pertinent provisions of RA 9184, pursuant to Item 6.2.2 of the same JC.

In the procurement law, public bidding is the default mode of procurement, except when other alternative methods is necessary.

How about the hiring of Job Order workers?

According to the JC, government agencies may hire job order workers subject to the following conditions:

1) the services of a job order worker is either paid according to an agreed contract amount for the piece of work or on a daily wage basis; and

2) contracting the services of job order workers shall be subject to pertinent budgeting, accounting and auditing rules and regulations.

Unlike the engagement of the services of Institutional and Individual Contract of Service, the hiring of Job Order workers is not subject to the provisions of RA 9184, consistent with Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) Resolution No. 09-2012 which states that:

1. The engagement of the services of an individual under Job Order and Contract of Service are not covered by RA 9184;

2. The services of consultants refer to services which require adequate external capability and expertise that are not present in the hiring of personnel under Job Order contracts; and

3. Distinction shall be made between personnel hired individually or through a firm.

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