Merger, abolition, restructuring next
BY JOCELYN MONTEMAYOR and ANGELA CELIS
AT least 187 government agencies are set to undergo review as part of government’s streamlining efforts aimed at saving and repurposing taxpayers money, Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman said yesterday.
The review will determine which of the 187 government agencies and state-owned corporations, which have a total of around 2 million workers, will be rightsized.
The planned rightsizing excludes teaching and teaching-related positions, medical and allied medical positions or those in the health sector, and the military and other uniformed personnel.
As to savings, Pangandaman said, initial estimates showed a reduction of the bureaucracy by at least 5 percent could save the government about P14.8 billion which could then be used to fund infrastructure, social services, health, and agriculture programs.
Pangandaman said a proposed bill will be prepared to cover the rightsizing effort which will include merging and abolition of agencies, and retiring, retraining or transferring employees.
“The overarching objective of rightsizing is to have a leaner bureaucracy that is agile and responsive to the times. We will fix the programs of agencies that have repetitive or overlapping functions,” she said in mixed English and Filipino.
She said the proposed rightsizing bill will be submitted to Congress before President Marcos’ first State of the Nation Address on July 25 and may be included in the priority bills that will be listed by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council.
“Our plan is to prepare a proposal to Congress that will give power to the President and the executive to rightsize or reorganize the national government, which is under the executive,” Pangandaman said.
On the projected savings, she said it would be used to provide additional benefits to employees, which may also help lure private sector talents to become civil servants.
As to personnel who will be affected, they may apply for positions that will be created as an effect of the rightsizing, she said.
President Marcos Jr. last week said he is leaving it to the different agencies to determine how they would streamline their offices to generate savings for government.
The reorganization of government offices started also last week with the abolition of the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission, the Office of the Cabinet Secretary, and the Office of the Presidential Spokesperson.
The move is part of the Marcos administration’s efforts to provide “simple, economical and efficient” public service.
Social Welfare Secretary Erwin Tulfo, in an interview with ANC yesterday, said the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD’s) contribution to the streamlining efforts of government is to clean the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) of unqualified beneficiaries.
Tulfo said close to a million households may be disqualified and removed from the current 4.4 million 4Ps list.
‘LONG OVERDUE’
Senators welcomed the planned rightsizing of the bureaucracy.
“There are government agencies that have functions that overlap or are redundant. This makes them ineffective and inefficient, and these also entail unnecessary expenses.
Government efforts must be redirected toward carrying out its fundamental duties for the efficiency and effectiveness of service delivery,” Sen. Loren Legarda.
She also said she will file a similar measure she filed in the 17th Congress.
Sen. Juan Edgardo Angara said streamlining the bureaucracy “is probably long overdue.”
“I think the call to streamline the bureaucracy has been there for some time and is probably overdue. I personally would not be averse to delegating the power to the executive particularly the DBM as that is part of its mandate,” he said, adding Marcos also functions as a manager of human resources.
Sen. Francis Escudero said he rightsized the provincial government of Sorsogon when he was its governor “not only to save money but also to make the delivery of services more efficient.”
Escudero said that the country economic managers should study which positions are redundant or unnecessary so that those who will be affected “are given proper compensation.”
He also said rightsizing the bureaucracy is a long process which will be also be met with resistance but in the end it will be for the best interest of the country and people.
Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III said agencies and bureaus created by law should be abolished by Congress.
“The role of the executive branch is to identify these government agencies to Congress so that the corresponding relevant bill can be drafted. First step is with the executive. But the formal decision to abolish rests with Congress,” Pimentel said. — With Raymond Africa
