[ SC ADMINISTRATIVE CIRCULAR NO. 18-2003, March 14, 2003 ]

[ SC ADMINISTRATIVE CIRCULAR NO. 18-2003, March 14, 2003 ]

[ SC ADMINISTRATIVE CIRCULAR NO. 18-2003, March 14, 2003 ]

DIRECTING THE FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE REORGANIZATION OF THE RECORDS DIVISION OF THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF ATTORNEY

WHEREAS, on 17 February 1995, Chief Justice Andres R. Narvasa approved for inclusion in the 1996 budget the reorganization of the clerical staff of the Office of the Chief Attorney into Records Division;

WHEREAS, the duly approved reorganization involved the creation of the position items of Records Officer V, Records Officer IV, Records Officer I, and Utility Worker I (which now appears in the plantilla of the Office of the Chief Attorney as Utility Worker II) and the conversion or reclassification of the following position items with their respective salary grades:

2 Information Officer III to 2 Records Officer III 18 to 18

2 Information Officer I to 2 Records Officer II 11 to 14

1 Clerk IV to Records Officer I 8 to 10

1 Clerk III to Computer Programmer II 6 to 15

1 Clerk III to Computer Operator IV 6 to 14

1 Clerk III to Computer Operator III 6 to 12

1 Court Stenographer I to Computer Operator III 8 to 12

1 Clerk III to Computer Operator II 6 to 9;

WHEREAS, the said reorganization has been partially implemented by the appointment of the Chief (Records Officer V) and the Assistant Chief (Records Officer IV) of the Records Division in 1997 and 1998, respectively, and the filling up of the positions of Records Officer I and Utility Worker I (now Utility Worker II) thereafter, as a consequence of the inclusion of such created position items in the Personal Services Itemization (PSI) of this Court;

WHEREAS, the conversion of the position items enumerated above in the reorganized Records Division has not been implemented on account of the failure or refusal of the Department of Budget and Management to reflect the same in the Personal Services Itemization (PSI), notwithstanding the approval of the reorganization by then Chief Justice Narvasa;

WHEREAS, the funds for conversion of items have been consistently included in the budget estimate for the Office of the Chief Attorney for the past years since the former Chief Justice approved the reorganization of its Records Division and therefore included in the annual appropriations for personnel services for the Court;

WHEREAS, the failure to fully implement the duly approved reorganization of the Records Division has caused detriment to, and demoralization of, the personnel therein whose position items have not yet been actually converted or reclassified, as well as the distortion of the organizational set-up of the same Division, thereby adversely affecting the interest of the service;

NOW, THEREFORE, by virtue of the (1) constitutional mandate of fiscal autonomy of this Court that includes the power to disburse such sums as it may prescribe in the course of the discharge of its functions; (2) administrative supervision of this Court over courts and personnel thereof; and (3) General Appropriations Act for FY 2002 authorizing the Judiciary and other constitutional bodies with fiscal autonomy to "make adjustments in the personal services itemization including, but not limited to, the transfer of item or creation of new positions in their respective offices," the Office of Clerk of Court, the Office of Administrative Services (OAS), and the Fiscal Management and Budget Office (FMBO) are hereby directed to

(a) cause the full implementation of the approved reorganization of the Records Division of the Office of the Chief Attorney, and

(b) furnish the Department of Budget and Management with a copy of this Circular for the purpose of recording the converted or reclassified position items in the Personal Services Itemization of this Court.

The Court En Banc approved this Administrative Circular and set its date of effectivity on 1 March 2003 in the Resolution of 11 February 2003 in A.M. No. 03-1-01-SC (Full Implementation of the Reorganization of the Records Division of the Office of the Chief Attorney), which was amended in the Resolution of 11 March 2003 to reflect the correct classification of two of the converted positions, in accordance with the DBM Index of Position-Titles and Salary Grades.

Issued this 14th day of March 2003.

(Sgd.) HILARIO G. DAVIDE, JR.

Chief Justice