World Bank OKs $67.34 million loan to improve civil service

MANILA, Philippines — The World Bank has approved a $67.34-million loan to support a project aimed at modernizing the Philippines’ civil service system.

In a statement yesterday, the multilateral lender said its board of executive directors approved the support package for the Philippines Civil Service Modernization Project to strengthen civil service recruitment, learning and development, performance management, as well as rewards and recognition.

The project will be implemented by the Civil Service Commission in partnership with the Department of Budget and Management and the Department of Information and Communications Technology.

It will be piloted in around 40 agencies, including the implementing agencies, as well as the National Economic and Development Authority, Department of Finance, Department of Education and the Department of Health.

To improve workforce planning, career development and succession planning of the civil service, the project will involve setting up an integrated, government-wide, web-based Human Resources Management Information System (HRMIS) and payroll system.

In addition, it will put in place a human resource certification system to standardize and increase the competence of human resource management officers.

Hosted on the government’s central cloud and data center infrastructure, the system is designed to withstand and recover from disruptions or attacks.

“The digitization of HR records and the implementation of the HRMIS will enhance the government’s resilience to climate-related disasters by minimizing the risk of service interruptions, delays and loss of information, enabling continuous and effective public service delivery in times of shocks and disaster events,” World Bank task team leader Davit Melikyan said.

The new system will also enable improved cash management by allowing the government to budget based on the actual number of staff, rather than plantilla (establishment) positions.

Between 2020 and 2023, personnel services accounted for around 28 percent of the national government budget.

In 2023, the country’s civil service included 2.18 million plantilla positions, with nearly two million filled and over 830,000 employees hired through job orders and service contracts.

“Strong public institutions are fundamental to achieving inclusive growth and development,” World Bank country director for the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei Darussalam Zafer Mustafaoglu said.

“Global experience shows that countries with high-quality public administrations, including a merit-based civil service, raise more revenues, deliver better services and create a more supportive environment for inclusive growth,” he added.