MANILA – “Unacceptable” was how Budget secretary Benjamin Diokno described the more than 200,000 job vacancies in government.
“We cannot deliver our programs and services as efficiently and effectively as possible without our civil servants doing the work,” Diokno said of the “vacuum.”
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) disclosed that the government has 264,000 job vacancies.
Of the number, 125,000 teaching and teaching-related jobs are available as of July 30, said the DBM.
The government is also in need of more than 90,000 general civil servants, 34,000 military and uniformed personnel, and 14,000 medical personnel.
Diokno said they will issue a circular directing all agencies to fill all authorized positions available.
Positions left unfilled after five years from creation will be abolished, he stressed.
According to the secretary, the DBM expects to create more positions for government employees through the 2019 budget.
Thousands of new positions for teachers, police officers, fire officers, and jail officers will be opened next year, Diokno said.
“We are funding these positions so we want them to be filled. We want qualified individuals to apply and help contribute to a better functioning bureaucracy,” he said./PN
