The Ilocos Norte provincial government announced the opening of more than 300 job vacancies, both new and old, at the capitol this year.
Governor Cecilia Araneta-Marcos said Tuesday that hiring is necessary following the passage of Provincial Ordinance No. 2026-01-037, establishing three mandatory offices, and Provincial Ordinance No. 2026-01-038, creating permanent positions across departments.
Both ordinances were certified as urgent by the governor and were unanimously passed by members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan (SP or provincial council) on Monday afternoon.
“We are creating more local jobs and hopefully, this will make our constituents stay in the province,” Marcos said in a media interview.
To better serve the public, the provincial government is creating the Procurement Division of the General Services Office, Cooperative Development Division at the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist, and Disability Affairs Division of the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office.
Each will be staffed by three top-level permanent positions with Salary Grade 22 (minimum PHP78,000), including a disability affairs officer with Salary Grade 15 (minimum PHP40,000).
According to Civil Service Commission (CSC) guidelines, new positions may be transferred to incumbent employees and staff of the designated offices, provided their actual duties and responsibilities directly relate to the functions of the newly established divisions.
Meanwhile, the provincial government upgraded some casual positions, creating 31 permanent (Plantilla) positions with Salary Grades 6 (about PHP19,000) to 22 and 315 casual plantilla positions with minimum Grade 22.
A permanent plantilla position requires professional eligibility from the CSC.
A casual plantilla position, on the other hand, is a non-career position for essential services when regular staff is insufficient, with a duration not exceeding 12 months.
Most of the positions will be for the SP, General Services Office, Governor Roque B. Ablan Sr. Memorial Hospital and Provincial Agriculture Office.
As public hospitals throughout the province continue their upgrades, the provincial government also announced the need for more specialists, nurses, and other healthcare and social service providers to join the public sector. (PNA)