TWG on PH Agriculture Act Consults CSC on Qualification Standards for RAgr

The Technical Working Group (TWG) from the Professional Regulation Commission-Professional Regulatory Board of Agriculture (PRC-PRB Agric) and Philippine Association of Agriculturists, Inc. (PAA) conducted a consultation meeting with the Civil Service Commission (CSC) last July 8, 2025 to support the goals of Republic Act 12215 or the Philippine Agriculturists Act, which aims to enhance the quality of workforce in the agriculture sector and provide effective services to stakeholders.

The discussion focused on the revision of the CSC Memorandum Circular (MC) No.1, series of 2013 Qualification Standards (QS)) for agriculturists positions to align the provisions on Section 31 (Employment of Agriculturists in the Government) of RA 12215. Moreover, the CSC also discussed MC No. 5 series of 2016: Revised Qualification Standards for Division Chief and Executive/Managerial Positions. Based on this MC, RA 1080 eligibles be exempt from master’s degree requirement for division chief and executive/managerial positions the duties and responsibilities of which involve practice of profession or belong to the same occupational group or functionally related positions as that of the professions regulated by bar or board laws.

The CSC emphasized that the said qualifications, particularly those in the Local Government Units (LGUs) align with the Local Government Code. The minimum requirement of a Bachelor’s Degree is set to consider the supply of MS graduates to serve in the municipalities/cities.

The meeting resulted to the following agreements:

- The PRC Board of Agriculture will submit the revised Qualification Standards for Agriculturists positions to CSC, for review and issuance of revised CSC MC;

- The PRC Board of Agriculture, CSC and DILG will have a joint dialogue on CSC MC No. 5, series of 2016 related to the provision of practice of profession in all levels of government; and

- Inclusion of existing plantilla positions in LGUs, such as Agriculture Center Chief I, II, III, and Farm Superintendent I, II, III based on IOS for LGUs 2021;

- The requirement of a Master’s degree in SG 22 and above positions may be included in the merit selection plan of an agency as approved by the regional CSC, but is not required in the revised QS as this may lead to shortage in the agriculture workforce with postgraduate degrees.

Following the meeting, the TWG is currently revising the proposed QS for submission to CSC.