Senator Sherwin Gatchalian has called on the government to provide permanent positions for qualified contractual employees in its rightsizing plan.

Gatchalian said creating plantilla positions should apply to eligible contractual employees who have been consistently performing the same functions in the bureaucracy for many years.

“I would like to propose some form of language where part of the mandate is to create plantilla positions to accommodate contractual employees who are qualified,” Gatchalian said in relation to the proposed Senate Bill No. 890 or the Rightsizing the National Government Act. 

The senator pointed out many of these contractual employees have held their respective positions for over 10 years and are already compliant with civil service requirements.

“Ang problema lang, walang plantilla item (The only problem is, there is no plantilla item),” he pointed out. 

A plantilla position refers to a permanent position in the government with a budget allocation in the annual General Appropriations Act (GAA). 

The lawmaker pointed out rightsizing should not only focus on enhancing government efficiency but also on providing employees with appropriate positions in the bureaucracy for functions they have already been performing for a long time. 

Furthermore, the lack of plantilla items should not hinder efforts to improve government efficiency in delivering public services, he said.

During a consultative hearing at the Senate, Gatchalian had tasked the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) representatives to provide estimates on the potential savings the government could generate if the proposed rightsizing bill is enacted into law.

As chairman of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, Gatchalian believes that any savings resulting from the rightsizing bill could help improve the government’s fiscal position without resorting to imposing new taxes.