Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Mina F. Pangandaman lauds President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.'s decision to extend the engagement of employees in government under contract of service (COS) and job order (JO) for another year.

The President's decision was made during a sectoral meeting held at the Malacañan Palace on 24 April 2024 with officials from the DBM, Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), Civil Service Commission (CSC) and Commission on Audit (COA). During the meeting, the current rules and regulations on the engagement of COS and JO workers, as outlined in Commission on Audit (COA)-DBM Circular No. 2, s. 2020, among other topics, were discussed. 

"I am delighted to hear about the decision of our beloved President to extend the engagement of COS and JO workers whose contracts are set to expire by end of this year. Malaking kapanatagan po ito sa ating mga empleyado na ma-extend pa ng isang taon ang kanilang mga kontrata sa trabaho. Alam naman po natin na malaking ginhawa ang naibibigay sa isang pamilya kung ang isang kaanak ay may trabaho," Secretary Pangandaman said.

"On our part po sa DBM, what we can assure po is that we will adhere to the directive of the President to help in the conduct of a thorough study of the current state of our government workforce," she added.

Undersecretary Wilford Will L. Wong, who represented the DBM at the sectoral meeting, said that as of 30 June 2023, there were approximately 832,812 COS/JO workers  engaged by various government agencies across the country. This represents a  22.90% increase from the previous year’s figure of  642,077 COS/JO workers.