THE House committee on reorganization yesterday approved a measure backed by President Marcos Jr. that seeks to “rightsize” the bureaucracy to improve public service delivery by minimizing duplication, redundancy or overlapping functions.
Lawmakers approved the consolidated bill which provides that the rightsizing will cover only government agencies under the Executive Department, excluding teachers and medical-related posts under the Executive, including hospitals and medical facilities.
Also not covered are all uniformed personnel as well as positions in the government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) and government financial institutions (GFIs) which are already under the jurisdiction of the Governance Commission on GOCCs.
Budget Undersecretary Wilford Wong agreed with Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo, one of the authors of the bills, who said that the rightsizing should be implemented only after an evaluation of government agencies, which should be done in six months.
Rep. Jude Acidre (PL, Tingog), co-author of HB 12 along with Speaker Martin Romualdez and fellow Tingog party-list Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez, said the proposal would grant the President the authority to rightsize the operations of the executive branch and the creation of a committee for such purpose.
“In support of the agenda of the present administration to fast track the delivery of essential services and improve efficiency of services it is high time that we pass this priority legislative measure,” Acidre said.
Rep. France Castro (PL, ACT) expressed fears that the proposal “will only effect massive layoffs, retrenchment, displacement, and worsen contractualization.”
“The rightsizing of national government agencies is no different from the rationalization schemes of past administrations which caused untold damages to government workers and to public service. Instead of answering the just demand of government employees and workers for salary increase and regularization, government through rightsizing will only effect massive layoffs, retrenchment, and displacement, and worsen contractualization,” Castro said.
The consolidation and substitution of the bills were done on November 15 during the initial deliberation on various proposals to rightsize the government.
The panel tasked its committee secretariat to draft the substitute bill to House Bills 12, 2423, 2787, 2885, 3096, 3227, 3385, 3473, 3529, 3539, 4015, 4086, 4120, 4411 & 4816, authored by Speaker Romualdez, Reps. Richard Gomez, Patrick Michael Vargas, Margarita Ignacia Nograles, Teodorico Haresco Jr., Michael Romero, Keith Micah Tan, Jonathan Keith Flores, Paolo Duterte, Edvic Yap, Luis Raymund Villafuerte Jr., Gustavo Tambunting, Quimbo, Virgilio Lacson, and Joseph Gilbert Violago, respectively.
