Gov’t workers granted 5-day special calamity leave

The Civil Service Commission (CSC) has issued a resolution granting a five-day special emergency leave
for government employees directly affected by natural calamities or disasters.

“With the increasing risks brought about by climate change and global warming, the Commission saw it
necessary to offer assistance to state workers affected by natural calamities in the form of special leave.
We hope that this would give affected employees respite and ample time to recover,” said CSC Chair
Francisco T. Duque III.

In CSC Resolution No. 1200289 issued on February 8, state workers in officially-declared calamity areas
may avail of the special emergency leave for five straight working days or on staggered basis. Said
special leave is separate and will not be deducted from the employee’s leave credits, and may be availed
of within 30 days from the first day of calamity declaration by proper government authorities.

A natural calamity or disaster may include “earthquakes, flooding, volcanic eruption and landslide that
have profound environmental effect and/or human loss and frequently cause financial loss”.

The policy covers state workers affected by typhoons Pedring, Quiel and Sendong in 2011, and other
natural calamities such as landslides and flashfloods that occurred after the onslaught of typhoon Ondoy
in September 2009. It will be implemented retroactively, thus, affected employees whose leave credits
were previously deducted may request these to be restored.

The leave may be used by employees stranded in affected areas, for urgent repair and clean-up of
damaged house, for recovery from disease/illness, or for caring for immediate family members affected
by natural calamity.

The CSC policy orders heads of offices to take full responsibility in granting special emergency leave and
in verifying the employee’s eligibility to avail of such. In doing so, heads of offices may validate the place
of residence of the affected employee based on latest available records, or verify if the place of
residence is covered in the declaration of calamity area, among others.