Next CSE-PPT: 14 March 2027 · Professional & Subprofessional
Civil Service Exam reviewer on Article IX-B of the 1987 Constitution and the civil service system: coverage, merit and fitness, security of tenure, ban on partisan activity, and the CSC.
As future government employees, Civil Service Exam takers are expected to know the rules of the civil service itself. This set covers Article IX-B of the 1987 Constitution: who belongs to the civil service, appointment by merit and fitness, security of tenure, the ban on partisan political activity, restrictions on appointing elective officials and losing candidates, the right to organise, and the role of the Civil Service Commission.
Many questions quote Article IX-B almost word for word, so pay attention to exact phrases such as "merit and fitness" and "except for cause provided by law". The explanations point out the key phrase in each provision.
Correct answer: B. With original charters
The civil service covers government-owned or controlled corporations with original charters, meaning those created by a special law. GOCCs organised under the general corporation law are not covered by civil service rules.
Read detailsCorrect answer: A. Merit and fitness
Article IX-B, Section 2(2) requires appointments according to merit and fitness, to be determined, as far as practicable, by competitive examination. This is the constitutional basis of the Civil Service Exam itself.
Read detailsCorrect answer: D. Policy-determining, primarily confidential or highly technical
Section 2(2) excepts positions which are policy-determining, primarily confidential or highly technical from the competitive examination requirement, because they depend on trust or special expertise.
Read detailsCorrect answer: A. Security of tenure
Article IX-B, Section 2(3) guarantees security of tenure: civil servants cannot be removed or suspended except for a cause provided by law and after due process.
Read detailsCorrect answer: D. Any electioneering or partisan political campaign
Civil servants may vote, but they must not engage in electioneering or partisan political campaigns. This reflects the norm of political neutrality in RA 6713.
Read detailsCorrect answer: B. Guaranteed by Article IX-B, Section 2(5)
Section 2(5) provides that the right to self-organisation shall not be denied to government employees. Public sector unions operate under rules issued by the CSC and the Public Sector Labor-Management Council.
Read detailsCorrect answer: B. One year after the election
Article IX-B, Section 6 provides that no candidate who has lost in any election shall, within one year after such election, be appointed to any office in the Government or any GOCC or its subsidiaries.
Read detailsCorrect answer: D. Not eligible for appointment or designation in any capacity to any public office, unless otherwise allowed by law or by the primary functions of their position
Article IX-B, Section 7 bars elective officials from appointment or designation to any public office or position during their tenure, unless otherwise allowed by law or by the primary functions of their position.
Read detailsCorrect answer: A. Unless specifically authorised by law
Section 8 prohibits additional, double or indirect compensation unless specifically authorised by law, and prohibits accepting gifts or titles from foreign governments without the consent of Congress.
Read detailsCorrect answer: C. An independent constitutional commission
The CSC is one of three independent Constitutional Commissions under Article IX. Article IX-B, Section 3 makes it the central personnel agency of the Government, responsible for a career service and merit-based personnel practices.
Read detailsCorrect answer: A. 1900
Act No. 5, passed on 19 September 1900, established a civil service board, marking the start of the Philippine civil service. This is why September is celebrated as Philippine Civil Service Month.
Read detailsCorrect answer: C. September
September is Philippine Civil Service Month, in remembrance of the establishment of the civil service on 19 September 1900. The CSC marks it with activities honouring public servants.
Read detailsCorrect answer: C. Three
Career service positions are grouped into three levels: the first level (clerical, trades, crafts and custodial), the second level (professional, technical and scientific), and the third level (the Career Executive Service).
Read detailsCorrect answer: D. The Career Executive Service
The third level covers positions in the Career Executive Service, such as undersecretaries, assistant secretaries, bureau directors and regional directors, which require career executive eligibility rather than the CSE.
Read detailsCorrect answer: B. First level
According to the CSC, the Career Service Subprofessional Eligibility is a first level eligibility appropriate only for first level (clerical) positions that do not involve practice of a profession and are not covered by special laws.
Read detailsCorrect answer: C. RA 1080
Republic Act No. 1080 declares the bar and board examinations civil service examinations, so their passers are automatically considered civil service eligibles, as recalled in the CSC's examination announcements.
Read detailsCorrect answer: B. Civil service examinations
RA 9416, the Anti-Cheating Law, makes cheating in civil service examinations, and the unauthorised use or possession of CSC examination materials, unlawful, and gives the CSC jurisdiction over such cases.
Read detailsCorrect answer: A. Executive Order No. 292
Executive Order No. 292, the Administrative Code of 1987, includes Book V on the Civil Service Commission and the civil service. PD 807 was the earlier Civil Service Decree of 1975.
Read detailsCorrect answer: A. Such protection as may be provided by law
Section 2(6) states that temporary employees of the Government shall be given such protection as may be provided by law. Temporary status does not automatically become permanent.
Read detailsCorrect answer: C. Merit and fitness
Choosing the most qualified applicant through a fair and transparent process puts into practice the constitutional rule that appointments be made according to merit and fitness (Article IX-B, Section 2(2)).
Read details