MANILA -- Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman today, July 13, 2022, said that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) supports the thrust of the Marcos Administration for a lean, efficient and responsive government workforce.
In an interview with Mike Enriquez over DZBB, Sec. Pangandaman revealed 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," Secretary Pangandaman emphasized.
According to Sec. Pangandaman, the proposal for rightsizing will determine which among the 187 government agencies and government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) with more or less 2-million personnel, may be streamlined through merging, restructuring or abolition.
The Budget Secretary stressed that with the proposed rightsizing, government will be able to save a significant amount of the budget which may be used to fund priority projects such as in building much-needed infrastructure, for social services, programs in the health sector, agriculture, among others.
"Halimbawa po, kung 5% po ang maapektuhan ng programa, ang katumbas po nito ay P14.8 billion po kada taon na matitipid natin sa ating personnel services," she noted.
The Budget Chief said that affected personnel may apply to positions that will be created as an effect of the rightsizing. Government will also provide a retooling program for personnel so they may apply in vacant positions. Those who opt to retire will receive appropriate retirement benefits.
“Pwede po silang (affected personnel) mag-apply doon sa ibang position na pwede nating gawin at mabuo because of the rightsizing po. Iyong iba, magbibigay tayo ng tamang programa para sa kanila for retooling. Kasama po natin possible po ang Civil Service Commission. ‘Yung mga magreretire po, meron naman tayong ibibigay na mga retirement benefits po para sa kanila,” Sec. Pangandaman said.
The proposal for rightsizing, however, excludes teaching and teaching-related positions, medical and allied medical positions or those in the health sector, and the military as well as other uniformed personnel. (DBM)
