THE Department of Budget and Management (DBM) yesterday said government’s plan to rightsize government agencies will not automatically result in a reduction in the number of their personnel.
In an interview with dzMM radio,
She said that compared to downsizing which automatically means reduction in the number of personnel, rightsizing may also mean strengthening the requirements of an agency.
“It’s possible that there will be offices that will be strengthened and will be given a bigger mandate, and then it will be possible that there will be an increase in the number of people and in the budget,” Pangandaman said in Filipino during an interview with dzMM radio.
Asked what agencies may undergo strengthening, she no definite agencies have yet been identified.
Pangandaman on Wednesday said at least 187 government agencies, with a total workforce of about 2 million, will undergo review to determine which of them have “repetitive or overlapping functions.” She also said the rightsizing effort will include merging and abolition of agencies, and retiring, retraining or transferring employees.
The planned rightsizing, which aims to save and repurpose taxpayers’ money, excludes teaching and teaching-related positions, medical and allied medical positions or those in the health sector, and the military and other uniformed personnel, she said.
Referring to a proposed bill on rightsizing that will be sent to Congress, Pangandaman said yesterday, “The law that we are laying out is to give the President the power to study the bureaucracy and review the mandate and functions of existing agencies. When the executive is given (such) powers, we’ll have a timeline during which departments can be abolished, merged or even created,” she said.
Pangandaman said the education and health sectors can be strengthened.
“Based on our draft and initial study, we can upsize the education sector, as well as the medical sector,” she said.
She added that government personnel who would be displaced may be transferred to the “upsized” agencies.
“They can be retooled and retrained and then maybe we can put them in another agency which we upsized or strengthened,” she said.
Pangandaman noted that President Marcos Jr. has instructed the Cabinet to look into their respective departments for possible rightsizing and also for positions which have been rendered redundant by digitalization efforts.
She further clarified that the two million earlier mentioned was not the actual job cuts but rather the total number of government employees and the five percent mentioned is not a target but an example to highlight a point.
“Assuming 5 percent of the two million will be reduced, so that’s P14 billion worth of savings for our personnel services,” she said.
“And the said savings can be allocated to other priority programs and projects of the government like health care, agricultural support, infrastructure and others,” Pangandaman added.
In line with the rightsizing order, Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual said the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will review the organizational structure and processes and cut bureaucratic layers.
Pascual said with the shift to digital technology, DTI will improve employees’ digital expertise and skills and empower them in their respective jobs.
“The DTI will be transformed into an agile organization and to fully harness the capabilities of our people, DTI will break down silos between departments and between DTI and its attach agencies and GOCCs.
MINIMAL DISPLACEMENT
Labor Secretary Bienvenido Laguesma assured personnel of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) there will be minimal displacement amid the planned rightsizing efforts of the Marcos administration.
“At the Department of Labor and Employment, our mandate is to promote employment, sustainability, and create more jobs,” he said in a briefing.
“What I want to commit is that the last thing we want to see or happen is to have displacement of workers,” he added,
He also expressed belief the planned rightsizing is necessary.
“The bottom-line is we want to make the department or the bureaucracy capable of effectively and quickly delivering the services and be deserving of the public funds allocated to them,” said Laguesma. — With Irma Isip and Gerard Naval
