Rightsizing aims to upskill state workers – Marcos

MANILA, Philippines — The rightsizing program being pushed by the administration is not meant to lay off state workers but rather to “upskill” and “reskill” them to improve government services, President Marcos said yesterday.

Marcos gave the assurance during a sectoral meeting at Malacañang where he was also briefed on the status of the National Government Rightsizing Program (NGRP) bill, which is a priority measure of his administration.

Present at the meeting were Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Special Assistant to the President Antonio Lagdameo, Presidential Communications Office Secretary Cheloy Garafil, Budget Undersecretary Wilford Will Wong and Secretary Mark Llandro Mendoza and Assistant Secretary Rose Virginie Iñigo of the Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO).

The PLLO and the Department of Budget and Management provided the President with updates on the status and salient features of the proposed bill.

Marcos ordered a further assessment of the present set-up in the Executive branch to determine redundant positions as well as functions that could be merged.

The proposed NGRP bill passed the third and final reading at the House of Representatives on March 14.

On the other hand, three Senate bills on the NGRP remain pending at the committee level.

Section 6 of House Bill 7240 authorizes the President to right size 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, 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.

HB 7240 or the NGRP measure covers 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 not covered under Republic Act 10149 or the GOCC Governance Act of 2011.

Excluded are teaching and teaching-related positions in schools, medical and allied-medical items in hospitals and other medical facilities, military and uniformed personnel, government-owned and controlled corporations and government financial institutions covered by the Governance Commission for GOCCs.