MANILA, Philippines – Inihayag ni Senate President Francis “Chiz” G. Escudero na gagawing prayoridad ng Senado ang pagsasabatas sa panukalang rightsizing bill o pagbabawas sa sobrang taba ng burukrasya sa pambansang pamahalaan bago magtapos ang 19th Congress sa Hunyo.
Sa ginanap na consultative meeting nitong Martes, sinabi ni Escudero, awtor at isponsor ng Senate Bill No. 890 o ang Rightsizing National Government Act, tinalakay dito ang ilang inputs ng mga ahensiya na sasakupin ng panukala kabilang ang pagsasama-sama ng iba’t-ibang bersiyon na isinalang sa Mataas na Kapulungan.
Ayon kay Escudero, umabot sa mahigit limang oras ang consultative meeting na may layunin na pabilisin ang proseso sakaling magsimula ang intepelasyon sa pagbubukas ng sesyon sa susunod na linggo.
“We wanted to address most, if not all, of the possible concerns that could be raised on the rightsizing bill during the period of interpellations. Once we get all the submissions from the relevant agencies, we will incorporate these in the substitute bill and use these as the bases of our forthcoming debates next week,” aniya.
Nilinaw ni Escudero na mali ang pakahulugan sa rightsizing bill na itinuturing na downsizing ng burukrasya.
“Rightsizing is about streamlining the bureaucracy. It also means the possible creation of new positions, new offices, upgrading and upscaling personnel to help them fill up much needed positions and put them on the path toward career advancement,” ayon sa Senate chief.
“The objective of rightsizing for me is not about saving money. It’s being able to deliver services to the people more efficiently,” dagdag niya.
Sa Lunes, isang substitute bill ang isusumite kabilang ang lahat ng pagbabago at isyu na kailangang tugunan, ayon kay Escudero.
“We have more or less three weeks left before we go on break for the elections, so we need to work fast if we want to have this measure approved this 19th Congress,” giit ni Escudero.
Nakatakdang magbalik ang sesyon sa Enero 13 at magkakaroon naman ng bakasyon mula February 8 hanggang Hunyo 1 para sa campaign period ng May 2025 midterm elections.
Babalik ang sesyon ssa Hunyo 2 at magtatapos sa Hunyo 13 kapag nagsagawa ng sine die adjournment ang Kongreso.
Isang priority measure ng administration, layunin ng rightsizing bill na eliminate redundancies, eliminate functions na may duplikasyon at simplify rules, regulations at ang proseso.
Hindi kasama sa rightsizing ang Sangay ng Lehislatura, Hudikatura, constitutional commissions, Office of the Ombudsman, local government units, at military and uniformed personnel, kabilang ang teaching-related positions sa education sector.
“While they are not covered by the rightsizing program, they are enjoined to rightsize their respective offices in order to improve the overall efficiency in their operations,” ani Escudero. Ernie Reyes
