Duterte urges Congress to pass gov’t rightsizing bill

President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday called on lawmakers to pass a long-pending measure to rightsize the national government, a priority legislation of his administration.

"I urge Congress to pass the government rightsizing bill to reconfigure the existing Metro Manila-centric bureaucracy streamlined government systems in order to deliver services without delay, and within a short timeline," Duterte said in his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA).

The Rightsizing of the National Government bill; along with Security of Tenure Bill, Budget Reform Act, National Land Use Act; which remain pending in the legislative branch were among the urgent measures recommended by the Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council, according to Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia. 

In 2017, the House of Representatives approved on third and final reading House Bill No. 5707, otherwise known as the proposed "Act Rightsizing the National Government to Improve Public Service Delivery." 

The measure, however, failed to gain ground in the Senate.

The bill aims to eliminate redundant and overlapping functions in government, as well as reduce overhead costs and re-channel government resources to core and priority programs and projects.

It covers all agencies under the executive branch and all other entities attached to or under their administrative supervisions and government-owned or controlled corporations (GOCCs) not covered by the GOCC Governance Act of 2011.

The legislature, judiciary, constitutional commissions, the Office of the Ombudsman and local government units are likewise provided the optional adoption of the rightsizing program.

Under the bill, a committee on rightsizing the executive branch will be created with the executive secretary as chairman, the budget secretary as co-chairman, and the socioeconomic planning secretary, the chairman of the Civil Service Commission, and the head of the Presidential Management Staff as members. The committee will oversee the implementation of rightsizing the government. — BM, GMA News