MANILA – Two lawmakers in the House of Representatives have expressed support for the administration’s policy to rightsize the bureaucracy to save almost PHP15 billion a year in taxpayers’ money.
“This effort deserves the support of Congress. In fact, the legislature should match it with a similar undertaking,” Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said in a statement on Thursday.
Rodriguez said many redundant agencies, councils, offices, task forces, and similar executive and legislative creations could be abolished or merged without sacrificing the functions of the surviving entities.
“Just look at the annual budget and one will find that there are councils and offices in many departments that overlap or duplicate the functions of the bureaus or agencies under these departments,” he said, adding that these redundant offices should be the first to go in the rightsizing program.
Rodriguez said the overlapping of functions has created friction between or among government agencies, as he cited the recent tug-of-war between the Department of Labor and Employment under then labor secretary Silvestre Bello lll and the newly created Department of Overseas Filipino Workers.
He called on Congress to go slow in acting on proposals to create new agencies until the executive branch has determined the “right size” of the bureaucracy and its proposed streamlining program is enacted into law.
“We should reduce or deny appropriations to offices the executive branch wants to phase out or merge,” Rodriguez said.
He said the affected personnel should be offered additional retirement and separation benefits in addition to what they are entitled to under existing laws.
Marikina City Rep. Stella Quimbo said ensuring that the bureaucracy is "sufficiently and optimally manned", with rationalized functions, would save billions worth of people’s money that could be used to support economic recovery programs and the provision of basic social services.
Quimbo noted that under the 2022 General Appropriations Act, personnel services account for PHP1.4 trillion or 28 percent of the total budget.
She said an incremental reduction in total payroll costs could provide significant funding for much-needed initiatives, including fuel subsidies and financial assistance (ayuda) for farmers and micro, small, and medium enterprises.
"Rightsizing means that the number of staff positions in government is sufficient to ensure that all mandates are fulfilled at the lowest possible cost. Rightsizing means that outdated and redundant positions can now be abolished, while new but necessary positions can be created," Quimbo said.
She also said the key driver for rightsizing efforts should be e-governance, as she pushed for the government to go digital.
"Going digital allows for a more efficient delivery of basic services. As government transactions become digital, a number of staff positions will be abolished, but at the same time, staff positions in the ICT (information and communications technology) division will need to increase. Hence, rightsizing is not all about cutting jobs, but also about creating new jobs, which are more useful in a digital economy," Quimbo said.
She said rightsizing initiatives would also facilitate the implementation of important laws, such as the Universal Health Care Act, which mandates that every Filipino must be registered with a primary provider.
Quimbo said the move to rightsize the government at this point would allow concerns of understaffing in essential sectors to be addressed, especially since there is a lack of primary care providers in the public health system.
She, however, noted that the government must provide the necessary safety nets, such as sufficient early retirement packages and retooling programs for those who want to remain in public service.
"(The) DBM’s (Department of Budget and Management’s) objective of rightsizing the government to become responsive in the modern era must be coupled with taking new and bigger strides towards digital governance. I call on the government to prioritize this policy in its first 100 days," Quimbo said.
In a radio interview on Wednesday, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said her department supports the thrust of the Marcos administration for a lean, efficient, and responsive government workforce.
Pangandaman disclosed that a proposal to rightsize the bureaucracy is being polished for submission to Congress before the delivery of the President's State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA).
"Ang overarching objective nito (rightsizing) ay magkaroon ng maliit na burukrasya na agile at responsive sa makabagong panahon. Aayusin po ng programang ito ‘yung mga ahensya na mayroong repetitive functions or overlapping functions (The overarching objective of this rightsizing is to have a small bureaucracy that is agile and responsive to modern times. This program will fix the agencies that have repetitive or overlapping functions)," she said.
Pangandaman said the proposal for rightsizing will determine which among the 187 government agencies and government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) with about two million personnel may be streamlined through merging, restructuring, or abolition. (PNA)
