The House of Representatives on Tuesday endorsed for Senate approval a measure implementing a rightsizing program in the national government (NG), which is expected to result in P14.8 billion in savings.
This after, lawmakers—voting 292 affirmative, 3 negative and without abstention, approved on third and final reading House bill 7240 or the “National Government Rightsizing Act.”
The bill will be transmitted to the Senate for its own approval.
The Department of Budget and Management disclosed that the rightsizing of the bureaucracy would result in P14.8 billion in savings at the expense of an estimated 2 million government employees who have been determined to have redundant or overlapping functions.
The bill grants authority to the President of the Philippine to rightsize the Executive branch in order to eliminate redundant, duplicate and overlapping functions.
It also provides for optional adoption of the rightsizing program by the legislature, judiciary, constitutional commissions, Office of the Ombudsman and local government units.
The bill grants retirement benefits and separation incentives for personnel who may be affected by the program.
It also provides a three-year timeline to implement the rightsizing program.
The bill seeks to create the Committee on Rightsizing the Executive Branch (CREB) to the best interest of the State to reorganize, merge, streamline or abolish agencies and offices.
Under the bill, the committee shall be composed of the Executive Secretary as chairperson, and the Secretary of the Department of Budget and Management as co-chairperson, with the Secretary of the Socio-Economic Planning, chairperson of the Civil Service Commission and the director general of the Anti-Red Tape Authority as members.