Rightsizing bill gets House nod

MANILA, Philippines — Voting 292-3, the House of Representatives yesterday approved on third and final reading a priority bill of President Marcos, which seeks to rightsize by way of streamlining the 1.6-million strong bureaucracy.

Administration lawmakers approved House Bill 7240 or the National Government Rightsizing Program that would carry out what they called “rightsizing” in all government offices to save about P15 billion a year in public funds.

Reps. Rufus Rodriguez and Stella Luz Quimbo – chair of the House committee on constitutional amendment and senior vice chair of the appropriations committee, respectively – said the bill deserves support.

The measure is expected to save almost P15 billion in taxpayers’ money yearly.

Rodriguez, of the second district of Cagayan de Oro City, said there are many redundant agencies, councils, offices, task forces and similar executive and legislative creations that could be abolished or merged without sacrificing the functions of the surviving entities.

“Just look at the annual budget and one will find that there are councils and offices in many departments that overlap or duplicate the functions of the bureaus or agencies under these departments,” Rodriguez said.

He said these redundant offices should be the first to go in the rightsizing program as overlapping of functions has created friction between or among government agencies.

Quimbo, who represents the second district of Marikina, said that rightsizing would ensure that the entire bureaucracy is “sufficiently and optimally manned with rationalized functions.”

“This will save billions that can be used to support economic recovery programs and the provision of basic social services,” Stella said. “I believe the key driver for rightsizing efforts should be e-governance. Now is the time for the government to go digital.”

“Rightsizing means the number of staff positions in government is sufficient to ensure that all mandates are fulfilled at the lowest possible cost. It means that outdated and redundant positions can be abolished, while new but necessary positions can be created,” she said.

Quimbo said many inefficiencies in governance could be addressed by a digital pivot.

An economist by profession, she observed that personnel services account for P1.4 trillion or 28 percent of the total national budget, as shown in the 2022 General Appropriations Act.

“Even an incremental reduction of total payroll costs can provide significant funding for much needed initiatives, including fuel subsidies and ayuda or financial assistance for our farmers and MSMEs,” Quimbo said, referring to the micro, small and medium enterprises.