Senator Christopher “Bong” Go has expressed his support for efforts of the government to streamline the bureaucracy by rightsizing to ensure a more efficient, responsive and reliable government.
Nonetheless, Go said it is imperative for the state to ensure the welfare of government workers who would be affected by the rightsizing program.
“Sinusuportahan ko ang mga hakbang para ma-streamline ang burukrasya upang maging mas mabilis, maayos, at maaasahan ang serbisyong nakukuha ng mga tao (I support the moves to streamline the bureaucracy to make public services faster, orderly and efficient),” Go said in a statement.
“Ngunit sa lahat ng ito, dapat ding ikonsidera ang kapakanan ng mga kawani ng gobyerno na posibleng mailipat, mapalitan, o matanggalan ng mandato o trabaho (But in all these, we should also consider the welfare of government workers who would possibly be reassigned, or removed from their jobs),” he continued.
The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has proposed to “rightsize” the bureaucracy to eliminate redundancies in government agencies and their overlapping functions, and help the government to save up to P14.8-billion annually.
Under the said proposal, the DBM will decide which of the 187 government agencies and government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) may be streamlined by merging, restructuring or abolition.
The proposal also came after President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. signed his first executive order seeking to reorganize the Office of the President and abolishing the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) and the Office of the Cabinet Secretary.
“When it comes to rightsizing, there should be a careful balance between eliminating redundancies and inefficiencies in the bureaucracy in order to provide public service that can help uplift the lives of Filipinos, while at the same time, protecting the welfare of public sector workers,” Go stressed.
“We must make sure that government workers who may be affected are given proper compensation, due process in accordance with civil service rules and other regulations, and when deemed necessary, alternative employment opportunities to start anew especially amid these trying times,” the lawmaker reiterated.