RHONA GRACE A.

DELOS REYES-PEROLA
MPA 642 - HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
PROF. ADAM V. RAMILO

MY JOURNEY IN BECOMING A PART OF DILG

I was a teacher for four years before I joined the Department of the Interior and
Local Government. As part of the selection process for any Local Government Operations
Officer nationwide, I took the Pre-Qualifying Exam (PQE) at the DILG Central Office which
was a very exhausting test I never expected to pass: firstly, it has a 20 item Math equation
which needs to be solved without any option and lastly, the time was impossible to finish all
the items, maybe that’s intended that way. I then received an unexpected e-mail notifying
me that I passed the exam and instructing me to report to the Regional Office where I
submitted my application letter.

As oriented, passing the PQE is not an assurance that we’d get to be hired by the
Department. So as expected, I was then called together with the other applicants for another
set of test at DILG-NCR Regional Office. I couldn’t remember how long it took for us to be
called again for the Technical Oral Examination which is comprised of the Individual Oral
Exam and the Group Dynamics.

The individual oral exam tested how socially aware we are about the current events
through one on one interview with a panel. The next one was group dynamics where we are
given a problem to resolve as a team while the members of the Recruitment, Promotion and
Selection Board observes.

After months of waiting, I got a call from the Personnel Department for the schedule
of the final interview with the Regional Director and immediately a week after, I finally got a
congratulatory text message that I got the position and was instructed to report to the office.

My co-hirees and I were all given a temporary position as Local Government

Operations Officers (LGOO) because part of the requirement for the permanent status was
at least 80 hours of trainings. I was assigned at the Parañ aque Field Office and with the trust
of my superiors, I was able to complete my training hours. The requirement was a new one
during our time because the previous batches had to undergo first the LGOO Training and
pass all the corresponding exams before getting the permanent status.

In our case, we took an oath as permanent employees upon the completion of 80

hours of attending workshops and seminars. We still went through the series of trainings for
the 51st batch of DILG Officers. The mandatory training for LGOOs composed of one week
General Orientation on the roles and functions of DILG as a Department, more than a month
of webinar on Local Government Code and DILG programs, two months of in-house training
at the Local Government Academy and three months of field immersion with requirements,
presentation of project proposal and finally the revalida.

The training, aside from being a requirement for promotion, is also aimed to develop
and strengthen the core, leadership and functional competencies which are essential for
DILG Field Officers to live up to the Department’s brand as Matino, Mahusay at Maaasahan.