The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said it will propose a fat-trimming measure in government agencies that may affect about two million state workers, but could save roughly P14.8 billion in taxpayers money annually.
Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman said on Wednesday, July 13, that the Marcos administration is planning to rationalize the functions of 187 government agencies, including some state-owned corporations.
Based on the DBM initial estimates, five percent of civil servants that are currently holding various government positions in the whole bureaucracy could be right-sized. But she admitted DBM has not yet identified which government agencies would be scrapped or combined with other agencies. The figure of two million job cuts and the expected P14.8 billion savings were only cited as example.
“The overall objective of this plan is to have a slimmer bureaucracy, and make it agile and responsive to keep up with modern society,” Pangandaman said in an interview with DZBB.
Once implemented, Pangandaman said the government would allocate the P14.8 billion savings to other programs and projects that need additional funding such as infrastructure, social services, health, and agriculture.
She added that the fund that would be saved from the implementation of rightsizing would be used to provide additional benefits to employees, which may also help lure private sector talents to become civil servants.
“Those who would lose their jobs could apply to the new positions which will be created by the rightsizing bill. We will also have retooling programs for other affected personnel in cooperation with the Civil Service Commission,” Pangandaman said.
Meanwhile, affected state workers who are eligible for retirement will be offered appropriate packages, she said.
Pangandaman, however, clarified that the rightsizing plan will not include teaching, medical, and military personnel, as well as positions in state-firms covered by the government owned and controlled corporation governance act.
But Pangandaman admitted that the rightsizing plan would require approval of Congress.
“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.
The DBM chief said the proposed rightsizing bill will be submitted to Congress before President Marcos’ first State of the Nation Address on July 25 and would be included in the priority bills listed by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council.
Last July 8, Finance Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno said President Marcos’ economic team will revive the right-sizing bill seeking to remove redundant, ineffective, and inefficient government bodies.
Under the plan, Congress will give the President authority within one year to rightsize the government bureaucracy.