OPINION: A government job posting ‘for formality’ is insulting to genuine applicants if the position is already filled

Applicants deserve a fair evaluation and genuine job openings.

A government job posting should be an opportunity to compete for public employment, not a formality that makes a hiring decision look legitimate.

Yet some applicants say they have spent time preparing documents and submitting applications, only to learn that the position was filled before the advertised deadline.

A Reddit user said a Department of Education vacancy was “just for publishing,” with the agency reportedly telling them the position had already been filled despite an application deadline of May 11. Other commenters shared similar experiences, though the accounts do not establish how widespread the practice is.

The concern is not new. In 2017, the Civil Service Commission (CSC) said it had received reports of agencies posting vacancies to comply with publication rules while telling interested applicants that the positions had already been filled.

Republic Act No. 7041, or the Publication Law, was enacted to promote transparency and equal opportunity in government recruitment. It requires agencies to publish authorized vacancies before filling them.

Under CSC rules, vacancies in national government agencies, state universities and colleges, and government-owned or controlled corporations with original charters must be posted for at least 10 calendar days. Local government vacancies must be posted for at least 15 days.

These requirements are especially relevant in a challenging job market. The Philippine Statistics Authority estimates that there were 2.77 million unemployed Filipinos and 5.90 million underemployed workers in August 2026.

Those figures cover the labor market as a whole, but they help explain why applicants take public vacancies seriously—and why a posting that offers no genuine chance to compete can feel like a waste of time, money, and hope.

Government agencies are not required to hire every applicant, and a qualified incumbent may still be selected through a proper process. But the public deserves assurance that advertised vacancies are real and that applicants are evaluated fairly.

When a position is effectively reserved before the application period ends, it undermines the merit-based hiring system the rules are supposed to protect.

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