The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said the passage of the rightsizing bill entails necessary public consultations, even as the agency hailed the approval of the legislative measure by the House of Representatives recently.
In a statement, the DBM said the timely passage of the rightsizing law is necessary in achieving the current administration’s “vision of a lean, efficient and responsive government workforce.”
Earlier this week, the House of Representatives endorsed for Senate approval the legislative measure that would implement a rightsizing program in the national government (NG), which is expected to result in P14.8 billion in savings.
The DBM explained that the NG Rightsizing Program (NGRP) will streamline the NG’s agencies through “regularization, merging, restructuring, abolition, or transfer of government agencies to create a more efficient bureaucracy.”
“This will enable the government to save a significant amount of budget, which may be used to fund priority projects such as much-needed infrastructure, social services, programs in the health sector, agriculture, among others,” the DBM said.
“Rightsizing will, likewise, upgrade the government’s institutional capacity to perform its mandate and provide better services while ensuring optimal and efficient use of resources,” the DBM added.
The DBM said it will continue to “closely work” with senators and “cooperate” with Congress in ensuring the passage of the rightsizing bill into law.
“It is also important to note that the measure will involve public discussions and consultations,” it said.
“We are one step closer to making the bill a reality, with the strong support of our hardworking legislators, who share the Chief Executive’s vision of a well-functioning government that ensures quick and responsive delivery of public services,” it added.
Earlier, Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman expressed confidence that a law to rightsize the government would be passed within the year.
“If the rightsizing [law] will be passed within the year, then we can start it already,” Pangandaman added.
The budget chief noted that the rightsizing law is among the administration’s priority measures and part of the common legislative agenda (CLA) of the executive and legislative branches of government.
