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President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered a further assessment of the present set-up in the executive department to determine redundant positions as well as functions that could be merged following a sectoral meeting on the National Government Rightsizing Program (NGRP) on Tuesday.
Mr. Marcos assured state workers that rightsizing efforts are not aimed at terminating employees but to serve as a tool to upskill and reskill the current government workforce to improve state services and programs.
Present during the sectoral meeting were Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo, Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil, DBM Undersecretary Wilford Will Wong, DBM Director John Aries Macaspac, Secretary Mark Llandro Mendoza of the Presidential Adviser on Legislative Affairs and Assistant Secretary Rose Virginie B. Iñigo of the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office.
The Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO) and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) updated the President during the meeting in Malacañan Palace on the status and salient features of the proposed National Government Rightsizing Bill.
The legislation has already passed the third reading at the lower house of Congress.
Section 6 of House Bill No. 7240, or the National Government Rightsizing Act, authorizes the President to rightsize the operations of agencies in the executive branch.
These include pursuing functional shifts and modifications, implementing organizational actions based on the recommendation of the Committee on Rightsizing the Executive Branch (CREB), undertaking other functional or organizational actions, developing and providing safety nets, and formulating an organizational development program to strengthen agency institutional capacity and to improve employee productivity.
Among the salient provisions of HB No. 7240 is the mandatory coverage of all agencies of the executive branch, including departments, bureaus, offices, commissions, boards, councils, and all other entities attached to or under their administrative supervision, and government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs) not covered under Republic Act No. 10149 or the GOCC Governance Act of 2011.
Excluded from the NGRP are teaching and teaching-related positions in schools, medical and allied-medical items in hospitals and other medical facilities, military and uniformed personnel, and GOCCs and government financial institutions covered by the Governance Commission for GOCCs.
The legislature, judiciary, Office of the Ombudsman, constitutional commissions, and local government units (LGUs) may likewise rightsize their respective offices consistent with the principles and guidelines contained in the NGRP.
President Marcos, during his 2022 State of the Nation Address, sought the passage of the NGRP to enhance the government’s institutional capacity to perform its mandate and provide better services to the people while ensuring optimal and efficient use of resources.
Compared to previous government reorganization efforts, the NGRP, the President said, would entail a comprehensive strategic review of the functions, operations, organization, systems, and processes of different government agencies.
It will also involve massive and transformational initiatives in the agencies concerned, such as mergers, consolidation, splitting, transfer, and even the abolition of some offices. — Vince Lopez
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