The government is partnering with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) on the rightsizing and a public financial management (PFM) institute for local agencies, the Department of Budget and Management said.

Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman said that ADB has been aiding the government in passing the National Government Rightsizing Program (NGRP) bill, which is one of President Marcos’ priority measures.

“They're helping us... They're helping us with the study of a right-sizing program, that's one we are pushing in Congress now. In fact, they're giving us technical assistance for that,” Pangandaman told reporters in a briefing on Wednesday, Jan. 17.

The legislative measure aims to reduce redundancy or duplication of functions in the bureaucracy, and lower government spending.

In this sense, rightsizing government functions does not automatically mean a reduction in the number of personnel in government agencies, the budget chief noted, saying that it may also mean strengthening the skills of personnel to fit certain criteria of other offices.

Apart from rightsizing, Pangandaman said that the government coordinates with the ADB to create a PFM institute for local government units.

Based on the agency’s website, PFM is a system of rules, procedures, and practices for the government to manage public finances encompassing budgeting and accounting, among others.

“Kasi yung underspending po, hindi lang po yan sa national government. It also happens in... In the LGUs. They also follow the same process. May COA [Commission on Audit] din sila. They also follow yung procurement process natin, tsaka yung mga guidelines natin sa national government,” Pangandaman said.

[The underspending issue is not limited to the national government; it also occurs in the LGUs. They adhere to the same processes, have a COA, and follow the procurement process and guidelines set by the national government.]

“Para turuan po sila, para i-capacitate sila on how to use their budget, naisip namin, bakit hindi tayo magkaroon ng institute within the DBM with other national government agencies, maybe with Department of Finance, with Department of the Interior and Local Government to continuously train and capacitate our local government planning officers and budget officers,” she added.

[To educate and empower them in budget management, we considered the idea of establishing an institute within the DBM in collaboration with other national government agencies such as the Department of Finance and the Department of the Interior and Local Government. This institute would provide ongoing training and capacity-building for our local government planning and budget officers.]

Further, the budget chief also said that the government is aiding the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao in managing its budget as anchored in the Philippine Development Plan.

“Sa BARRM [Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao], Ongoing po lagi yung capacity building natin sa kanila. Kasi bago yung gobyerno nila eh. Bago yung budget department nila,” she stated.

[In the BARRM, our capacity-building efforts with them are ongoing, as their government is relatively new. This is especially important for their budget department.]