Palace suspends granting of career executive rank to NDCP grads

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued an executive order (EO) imposing a moratorium on the granting of career executive service rank (CES) to the graduates of the National Defense College of the Philippines (NDCP).

Under EO No. 35, Marcos Jr. suspended the implementation of EO No. 145, which was issued by then-President Rodrigo Duterte in 2021 to reinstate the granting of the CES rank to students graduating from the Master of National Security Administration program (MNSA) of the NDCP.

"One of the strategies on good governance and improving bureaucratic efficiency under the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028 is to guarantee competent and agile human resources in the government, which includes strengthening the CES through the continuous updating of its programs, and the development of a new competency framework for the public sector," the executive order dated October 2 reads.

"There is a need to re-evaluate the foregoing policy of granting CES rank to graduates of the MNSA program of the NDCP, in order to ensure that its objectives are consistent with existing laws, rules, and regulations," it added.

Marcos Jr. also asked the Career Executive Services Board (CESB) to submit a comprehensive report on the policy implications of EO No. 145 within 60 days and recommend whether to lift the moratorium or revoke the previous executive order. — BAP, GMA Integrated News