The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and the Philippine Information Agency-National Capital Region (PIA-NCR) will convene the members of the Association of Information Officers in Metro Manila (AIMM) today, Thursday, in Manila to tackle two critical issues facing the Philippine government—bureaucratic rightsizing and the Mandanas-Garcia Supreme Court ruling.
Composed by information officers (public information officers or PIOs) from various government agencies and nongovernment organizations, AIMM is the biggest information and communication network in NCR.
DBM Undersecretary and AIMM President Goddes Hope Libiran highlighted the critical role of the communication sector in promoting understanding of the key issues to the public and generate support from the public.
“We recognize the importance of these critical issues and are committed to bring together professionals in this field to exchange ideas and learn from each other’s experiences and this assembly provides an opportunity for information officers to share best practices and innovative strategies to help the government address these issues,” Libiran said.
The assembly will feature a series of discussions from experts, covering topics such as the impact of bureaucratic rightsizing on government operations, the implications of the Mandanas-Garcia ruling and level of readiness of both national and local government agencies, and effective communication strategies to address these issues.
The administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. is keen on implementing a program of bureaucratic rightsizing, which aims to improve efficiency and reduce costs by streamlining government agencies and eliminating redundancies. However, this has raised concerns about job losses and disruptions in government services.
The Mandanas-Garcia ruling, on the other hand, granted local government units a bigger share of national taxes, which has significant implications for their fiscal autonomy and development.
“We understand that these issues are complex and have far-reaching consequences, and we hope that this assembly will help information officers gain a deeper understanding of these challenges and explore new strategies to address them,” Libiran added.
