Pursuant to the provisions of Sections 3 and 4 of Republic Act No. 123 and the directive of the Office of the President in its letter dated November 9, 1948, the regulations concerning the appointment, promotion and separation of officers of the commissioned service of the Bureau of Quarantine are hereby promulgated for the information and guidance of all concerned:

A
Commissions

1.  Corps of Commissioned Officers - Quarantine officers and nurses shall constitute a corps of commissioned officers of the Bureau of Quarantine in accordance with Section 4 of Republic Act No. 123.

2.  Manner of Commissioning - Officers shall be commissioned by the President of the Philippines upon the recommendation of the Director of Quarantine in accordance with Section 4 of Republic Act No. 123.

3.  Ranks of Commissioned Officers - The Director of Quarantine shall have the rank of a colonel or higher and all officers under him shall have the ranks of lieutenant colonels, majors, captains and lieutenants in accordance with Section 4 of Republic Act No. 123.

4.  Initial Commissions - The initial commission of a medical quarantine officer shall be a 1st lieutenant and that of a quarantine nurse, a 2nd lieutenant.  The Efficiency Board created under sub-paragraph 1 of paragraph B of this Administrative Order shall select from civil service eligibles for quarantine officer or nurse who shall be considered for initial commission.  The personal qualifications, special experience and training of an applicant for quarantine medical officer or nurse shall be the primary consideration in determining his or her eligibility for an initial commission. Initial commissions shall be considered probationary for six months.  At the termination of such period any officer with probationary commission may either be retained, promoted or separated from the Bureau depending upon the quality of service rendered.  If at the end of the probationary period, no recommendation is made for the separation of a commissioned officer from the service, his or her probationary commission automatically becomes permanent.

In cases where there are two or more temporary appointees who are candidates for an existing vacancy or vacancies for initial commissions of either quarantine officers or nurses, the Efficiency Board, as described below shall consider and deliberate on the merits and demerits of the candidates concerned.  Their efficiency and adaptability to the service shall take precedence as factors in the consideration of the choice for the initial commission and only when both or all candidates for the initial commission have the same qualifications and efficiency ratings, shall seniority be made the deciding factor.

Seniority shall mean the length of continuous service in the Bureau of Quarantine and/or in any governmental entity prior to the consideration of the commission in the Bureau of Quarantine.

5.  Number of Commissioned Officers - The number of commissioned officers shall be that as prescribed in the annual Appropriation Act unless otherwise provided for in a subsequent order of the Office of the President or by legislation.

6.  Commissions of Part-time Officers - Officers assigned at minor ports of entry of the Philippines occupying items of part-time quarantine officers of the Bureau may be commissioned as 1st lieutenants or higher grades part-time, and allowed to wear the corresponding prescribed uniforms, ranks and service insignia, but shall not be entitled to the actual pay of the corresponding ranks, subsistence and quarter allowances authorized for officers with full time commission.  Acting quarantine officers delegated to represent the Bureau in any port in the Philippines or in certain ports of entry such as those located in US Army and US Naval Bases may be designated as Acting Quarantine officers with or without compensation on the recommendation of the Director of Quarantine and approved by the Secretary of Health.  Both part-time quarantine officers and acting quarantine officers in foreign bases and regular ports in the Philippines may be appointed regardless of their citizenship.

7.  Requirements -

a.      General requirements - Only citizens of the Philippines of good moral standing are eligible for original commissions excepting those serving in foreign bases and part-time quarantine officers in minor ports of entry as provided in the preceding section.  Any physician or nurse applying for such commissions must be a civil service eligible and must not have reached his/her thirty-fifth birthday on the date of application. Physicians must be not less than 5 feet 4 inches in height and nurses not less than 5 feet 3 inches in bare feet.  The height requirement may, however, be waived if there are other superior qualifications to offset deficiencies in height but not less than 5 feet 3 inches for physicians and 5 feet 2 inches for nurses.  They must be in good health and free from physical defects. Those selected for commissions will be required to undergo a physical and medical examination which shall be conducted by a Board of Medical Officers convened for the purpose by the Director of Quarantine.  Excessive overweight and underweight defective vision, color blindness diabetes and other major physical defects shall be causes for rejection.  Preference shall be given to medical officers and nurses of the Philippine Armed Forces or to veterans of the Philippine Army.

b.      Education and experience -

1.    For physicians - Applicants for the position of quarantine officers must be duly licensed to practice medicine in the Philippines and must have had (a) at least two years of experience as resident physician in general hospitals, or two years of experience in public health work, or (b) two years of teaching or laboratory experience in medical institutions or recognized standing plus two years of active general practice, or (c) four years of continuous active private practice in the Philippines, or (d) service in the medical corps of the Philippine Armed Forces.

2.    For nurses - Applicants for the position of quarantine nurse must be duly licensed to practice nursing in the Philippines and must have had at least one year experience in nursing in a general hospital or in any public health agency or in any airline or shipping company in the capacity of a nurse or stewardess or in the nursing corps of the Philippine Armed Forces.

B
Promotions

1.  Creation of an Efficiency Board - There is hereby created in the Bureau of Quarantine, an Efficiency Board to be composed of the Director of Quarantine or the Executive Officer of the Bureau, as chairman, one representative of the Department of Health and two officers in the Bureau with grades not below captains as members.

2.  Duties of the Board - The Efficiency Board shall have the following functions:

a.    It shall look into the merits of all applicants for the commissioned service of the Bureau.

b.    It shall determine when required by the Director of Quarantine, the eligibility for promotion of officers and prepare a promotion eligibility list hereinafter described.

c.    It shall inquire into and report upon the record and efficiency of particular officers who are charged with misconduct, dereliction of duty and immoral habits. It shall make recommendations on penalties on officers found guilty by the Board.

3.  Seniority and Efficiency List - This list shall be prepared for the approval of the Secretary of Health, by the Board of Efficiency mentioned in the preceding paragraph.  It shall state the names of all officers excluding the Director of Quarantine in accordance with the ranks and seniority they presently carry, dates of commission of their present ranks and their efficiency ratings every six months.

4.  Promotion of Officers - Whenever a vacancy occurs in a grade between that of 1st lieutenant and lieutenant colonel inclusive, it shall be filled by promotion of the senior officer in the next preceding grade, provided that such officer has had an average efficiency rating for the last preceding year of not less than 85%.  In case his rating is less than 85%, the next senior officer in the same grade shall be eligible for promotion instead.  In determining the seniority of officers in the grades they occupy, only the dates of their actual commissions in such grades shall be reckoned with.  In case all the candidates entered the service at the same time their length of service in the government will be the deciding factor to determine who is senior among the candidates.

Notwithstanding the foregoing rules, however, the commissions of lieutenant colonel and colonel may be filled by qualified officers selected from among the captains and majors.

Candidates for promotion must pass a satisfactory physical examination to be performed by a Board of Officers expressly appointed for the purpose.

C
Separations and Demotions

1.  Causes for Separation - Officers in the commissioned service of the Bureau of Quarantine may be separated or demoted from the service if found guilty of the charges enumerated below.  Demotions may consist of reversion to the next lower rank or seniority in the rank the officer holds.

a.    Wilful failure to perform his/her Duty - This charge shall embrace habitual tardiness, inability to follow instructions from superior officers, inability to instruct subordinates and supervise their work, incapacity to make decisions and inaccuracy of judgments, inability to meet time limits' deadline of assignments given to him by superior officers; ineffectiveness to promote high working morale among his co-workers; and inability to get along with persons in and outside the Bureau.

b.    Habitual tardiness - Habitual tardiness shall mean tardiness in office attendance, in attending official meetings, tardiness in boarding vessels and aircraft and other tardiness in connection with official duties.

c.    Vicious or immoral habits - This may include the following: (1) lack of tact and courtesy in dealing with others, (2) disregard of superior officers, (3) overbearing attitude to subordinates, (4) habitual laziness, (5) inability to cooperate with members of the staff, (6) dishonesty in all forms, (7) vicious or immoral habits, (8) lack of initiative and resourcefulness, (9) conviction in any court of competent jurisdiction for misdemeanor, (10) conduct unbecoming an officer, and (11) gambling in any form not legalized by the government.

d.    Intemperate use of drugs or alcoholic beverages - This shall mean not only addiction to the use of prohibited drugs but also the injudicious administration of such drugs to patients under his or her care and the indiscriminate use of alcoholics which should not be misconstrued with the temperate drinking of such alcoholics on social occasions.

2.  Investigation of Officers - The investigation of any officer charged with any of the charges stated in the preceding paragraph shall be undertaken by the Board of Efficiency.  The Board is empowered to summon witnesses who may substantiate any charge against any particular officer and any officer thus charged has the right to employ the services of counsel in his defense.  The findings of the Board and its recommendations shall be submitted to the Director for transmission to the Secretary of Health with recommendation for action.

Adopted: 1 Dec. 1949

(SGD.) REGINO G. PADUA
Acting Secretary of Health

Effective: 1 December 1949