Civil service exam in HK eyed for November

OFWs in Hong Kong take the licensure exam for teachers in 2014. (DFA photo)

Labor Attaché Jalilo Dela Torre has proposed to the Civil Service Commission (CSC) the holding of a civil service exam here in Hong Kong in November.

Dela Torre said the CSC earlier suggested that the exam be held next month but he turned down the suggestion because the Professional Regulation Commission is holding a licensure exam for teachers (LET).

“OK na yung civil service exam pero ang gusto nila September. Ang sabi ko, ‘Impossible.’ Kako, anong gagawin ninyo sa amin? Papatayin ninyo kami?” Dela Torre jokingly said in an interview.

“Nagcounter (proposal) ako ng November para, at least, may time. Hindi pa sila nakasagot kung OK sila sa November,” he added.

Dela Torre said that those who want to take the civil service exam should be at least 18 years old and should have finished a four-year course in college. There is no age limit.

“Maraming gustong kumuha niyan kasi maraming trabaho sa gobyerno, Dela Torre said.

“Yun naman mga registered professionals—mga PRC board passers– may automatic (civil service) eligibility na sila,” he said.

Meanwhile, the number of applicants for the LET next month has reached 696- 334 applicants for elementary teachers and 355 for high school teachers. Five of the applicants are overseas Filipino workers from Macau.

The PRC will email to the Philippine Overseas Labor Office the final list of those who can take the exam. These would-be teachers will have to pay an exam fee of US$45.

For those who have questions, please call Gloria at 2866-0640 (POLO landline), 5529-1880 (POLO hotline), or leave a message on the POLO-HongKong SAR Facebook page.

The salary of a public school teacher in the Philippines under the 2016 Salary Standardization Law (Teacher 1, entry level, Salary Grade 11, Step 1) is P19,077 per month, including a personal emergency relief allowance of P2,000.

There are also other benefits such as one-step increment pay for every three years of satisfactory performance; hardship allowance equivalent to 15 to 25 percent of basic pay if he/she is assigned in hardship posts and if he/she is a mobile teacher or multi-grade teacher.

A public school teacher could also receive honoraria for teaching overload but is subject for fund availability.

On the other hand, Cebu Rep. Raul Del Mar has filed a bill increasing the basic monthly salary of public school teachers to at least P36,000. It seeks to upgrade the salary grade level of teachers in public elementary and secondary schools from the present Salary Grade (SG) 11 to SG 20.

“Teachers are considered to be the prime mover of the education system; hence, the government needs to give priority to their interest and welfare,” Del Mar said.

Del Mar said based on the third phase of the Salary Standardization Law (SSL 3), public school educators currently receive a minimum salary of P18,549. Government employees under SG 20, meanwhile, have a basic monthly rate of P36,567.