Next CSE-PPT: 14 March 2027 · Professional & Subprofessional
Civil Service Exam reviewer on rules for government employees: leave credits, working hours, habitual absenteeism and tardiness, appointments, nepotism, performance, awards, administrative offences and retirement.
Passing the Civil Service Exam is the first step into government service. Once appointed, employees follow rules set mainly by the Administrative Code of 1987 and the Civil Service Commission: how many leave days they earn, what counts as habitual tardiness, how appointments and promotions work, and what happens in administrative cases.
This set covers the basics every new government employee should know. Rules are updated by CSC memorandum circulars from time to time, so always check the current issuance when a specific case arises.
Correct answer: C. 15 days each per year, or 1.25 days each per month of service
Government employees earn fifteen days of vacation leave and fifteen days of sick leave each year, credited at 1.25 days per month of service. Unused vacation and sick leave credits are cumulative.
Read detailsCorrect answer: D. Five working days annually
The forced leave rule requires officials and employees with ten or more days of vacation leave credits to go on vacation leave for at least five working days each year. Credits not used for it are forfeited.
Read detailsCorrect answer: D. Three days
Special privilege leave of up to three days a year may be used for personal milestones and emergencies. It is non-cumulative and non-commutable, meaning unused days do not carry over and cannot be converted to cash.
Read detailsCorrect answer: A. A medical certificate
Sick leave is filed immediately upon the employee's return. A medical certificate is required when the sick leave exceeds five days, and the head of office may require one even for shorter absences when there is reason.
Read detailsCorrect answer: D. Forty hours
Government employees render eight hours a day for five days a week, or forty hours a week, exclusive of time for lunch. The CSC allows flexible working arrangements under its rules, but the total working hours must still be met.
Read detailsCorrect answer: C. Three months in a semester or three consecutive months during the year
Habitual absenteeism is unauthorised absence exceeding 2.5 days a month for at least three months in a semester or three consecutive months during the year. It is an administrative offence with penalties up to dismissal.
Read detailsCorrect answer: C. Two months in a semester or two consecutive months during the year
Habitual tardiness is being late ten times a month, regardless of minutes, for at least two months in a semester or two consecutive months during the year. It is a light offence; repeated violations bring heavier penalties.
Read detailsCorrect answer: B. Third civil degree of consanguinity or affinity
Section 59 of Book V of EO 292 prohibits appointments in favour of relatives of the appointing or recommending authority, the chief of the bureau or office, or the immediate supervisor, within the third civil degree of consanguinity or affinity.
Read detailsCorrect answer: A. A person employed in a confidential capacity
Section 59 exempts persons employed in a confidential capacity, teachers, physicians and members of the Armed Forces, provided that full disclosure of the relationship is made to the CSC in their appointments.
Read detailsCorrect answer: C. Twelve months
Temporary appointments last for a period not exceeding twelve months, and the appointee may be replaced sooner if a qualified eligible becomes available. This is one reason eligibility from the CSE is so valuable.
Read detailsCorrect answer: B. Do not render government service and are not covered by civil service law and rules
Contract of service and job order workers are not government employees: their services are not counted as government service, and they do not enjoy the benefits of regular employees such as leave credits and the year-end bonus.
Read detailsCorrect answer: B. Personal Data Sheet (CS Form No. 212)
The Personal Data Sheet, CS Form No. 212, is required for appointments in government. False statements in it can lead to charges of dishonesty and falsification. Attendance, by contrast, is recorded in the Daily Time Record, CS Form No. 48.
Read detailsCorrect answer: C. Strategic Performance Management System (SPMS)
The SPMS aligns office and individual targets with the agency's goals. Ratings are used for decisions such as promotions, performance-based incentives and, for poor performance, separation from the service after due process.
Read detailsCorrect answer: D. Presidential Lingkod Bayan Award
The CSC Honor Awards Program includes the Presidential Lingkod Bayan Award, the Outstanding Public Officials and Employees (Dangal ng Bayan) Award and the CSC Pagasa Award. The Ramon Magsaysay Award is given by a private foundation.
Read detailsCorrect answer: A. Three years of continuous satisfactory service in the same position
A step increment within the same salary grade is granted for every three years of continuous satisfactory service in the same position. Employees may also earn a step increment based on meritorious performance under agency rules.
Read detailsCorrect answer: B. Dismissal from the service
Serious dishonesty and grave misconduct are grave offences punishable by dismissal on the first offence. Dismissal carries accessory penalties such as cancellation of eligibility, forfeiture of retirement benefits and perpetual disqualification from public office.
Read detailsCorrect answer: A. 90 days
Preventive suspension is not a penalty; it keeps the employee from influencing witnesses or tampering with records while the case is investigated. It may be imposed for up to ninety days, after which the employee is reinstated if the case is not yet decided, unless the delay is due to the employee.
Read detailsCorrect answer: D. 65 years
Government employees must retire at 65. They may retire optionally at 60 if they have at least fifteen years of service. Extension of service beyond 65 is allowed only in limited cases approved under CSC rules.
Read detailsCorrect answer: A. 11466
RA 11466, known as SSL V, raised salaries of civilian government personnel in four annual tranches. RA 6758 of 1989 was the original Compensation and Position Classification Act that introduced salary grades.
Read detailsCorrect answer: B. Program to Institutionalize Meritocracy and Excellence in Human Resource Management
PRIME-HRM assesses and recognises agencies according to the maturity of their HR systems in four areas: recruitment, selection and placement; learning and development; performance management; and rewards and recognition.
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