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REGEVED,

Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 4580

Introduced by HON. JOY MYRA S. TAMBUNTING

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Public service delivery is a vital measure of institutional efficiency. It is essential in ensuring
Progress toward sustainable development. The current setup of the bureaucracy in the Philippines
is riddled with redundant and overlapping functions, and irrelevant bodies which have long served
their purpose. As it is the duty of the state to ensure efficient delivery of services to the public, it

Legislature, the Judiciary, the Constitutional Commissions, and the Office of the Ombudsman and
local government units may also rightsize their respective offices.

This bill is based upon House Bill No. 5707 which was approved on third and final reading during
the 17" Congress.

‘On behalf of the people of Parafiaque City’s Second District, and for the common good of the
Filipino people, the approval of the said measure is earnestly sought.

i AGA,

MYRA S. TAMBUNTI!
2nd District, Parafiaque


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

EIGHTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILLNO. 4580

Introduced by HON. JOY MYRA S. TAMBUNTING

AN ACT RIGHITSIZING THE NATIONAL GOVERNMENT TO IMPROVE PUBLIC
‘SERVICE DELIVERY

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress
assembled:

SECTION 1. Short Title. — This Act shall be known as “Rightsizing the National Government
Act".

SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy. ~ It is hereby declared the policy of the State to promote and
maintain effectiveness, efficiency and economy in the government and enhance institutional
capacity to improve public service delivery, and to ensure the attainment of the country's societal
and economic development goals and objectives. Consistent with this, the government shall focus
its functions and resources on the essential role, scope, and level of governance, and minimize,
if not eliminate, redundancies, overlaps and duplication in its operations and simplify its rules and
regulations, systems and processes.

SEC. 3. Coverage. - This Act shall cover all agencies of the executive branch, including
departments, bureaus, offices, commissions, boards, councils, and all other entities attached to
or under their administrative supervision, government-owned or-controlled corporations (GOCCs)
not covered by Republic Act No. 10149 or the "GOCC Governance Act of 2011".

The Legislature, the Judiciary, the Constitutional Commissions, and the Office of the Ombudsman
may, within their respective authorized appropriations, likewise rightsize their respective offices,
consistent with the principles and guidelines contained in this Act.

Local government units (LGUs) may also rightsize their respective offices, consistent with the
governing principles and guidelines contained in this Act and the provisions of Republic Act No.
7160 or the "Local Government Code of 1991", and subject to their financial capability.


‘The Governance Commission for GOCCs (GCG) shall continue to exercise its authority under
Republic Act No. 10149 to reorganize, merge, streamline, abolish, or privatize any GOCC, in
consultation with the department or agency to which the GOCC is attached.

SEC. 4, Principles and Guidelines. - The National Government shall implement a Rightsizing
Program in accordance with the following principles and guidelines:

(@) The role of government and the scope, level and prioritization of government activities
shall be determined in accordance with the constitutional mandate, political and
socioeconomic objectives of the government, and available resources;

(b) The government shall establish a conducive policy environment to encourage active
private sector engagement in the production and delivery of goods and services;

(©) The delineation of responsibilities between the National Government and the LGUs in the
provision, production, and delivery of goods and services shall be clearly defined;

(d) A whole-of-government approach shall be adopted to ensure seamless operations of
agencies within and across sectors and to be more responsive to public needs;

(e) Government operations shall be simplified so that the departments/agencies can focus on
the performance of their core functions and implementation of programs and projects that
will lead to the attainment of the desired sectoral and national goals and outcomes;

(f) Government systems and processes shall be simplified and modernized to facilitate the
delivery and upgrade the quality of frontline services, as well as to improve policy
formulation, planning and performance evaluation, and raise overall productivity of the
public sector;

(a) Government rules, procedures, and requirements shall be rationalized to reduce the
regulatory burden on citizens, businesses, and other stakeholders, as well as reduce the
administrative burden on the part of the government; and

(h) The organizational structure of an agency shall be designed to facilitate the effective,
efficient, and economical implementation of programs and projects, and the attainment
of organizational outputs and outcomes; rightsized and the appropriate staffing mix shall
be determined based on the skills and competencies required to effectively and efficiently
carry out the agency's mandate and functions.

SEC. 5. Authority of the President of the Philippines to Rightsize the Operations of the
Executive Branch. - Pursuant to the governing rules, policies, standards and guidelines
stipulated in this Act, the President of the Philippines is hereby granted the following authority in
the rightsizing of the operations of the different agencies of the Executive Branch:

(2) To pursue the following functional shifts/modifications:

(1) Strengthen functions of the agency which directly contribute to the targeted ultimate
societal outcomes of the National Government and/or the targeted sector/subsector
‘outcomes of the agency;

(2) Scale down, phase out, eliminate or discontinue functions, programs, and projects that
can better be carried out or undertaken by the private sector, or have already been
devolved to LGUs consistent with the governing principles provided in this Act; and


(3) Transfer/integrate functions from one agency to another which can better perform the
same.

(b) To undertake the following organizational actions:

(1) Regularize ad hoc offices whose functions are vital and significant, thus must be
continually undertaken by the government;

(2) Merge or consolidate agencies whose functions are necessarily overlapping or
duplicating and can be undertaken by a single entity; or clients are similar or related
to rationalize the use of government resources;

(3) Split agencies with multifarious functions which are deemed distinct and equally serve
important aspects of governance;

(4) Transfer offices to other agencies wherein their functions are more aligned; and

(5) Abolish agencies: (i) which functions are already redundant or no longer relevant or
necessary, or better undertaken by another entity; (ii) which are no longer achieving
the objectives and purposes for which these were originally created; (iil) which are
not cost-effective since these do not generate the desired levels of outputs and
outcomes vis-d-vis the resource inputs; and/or (iv) which have already become
nonoperational, dormant and/or outlived their purposes.

(©) To undertake other functional/organizational actions, as necessary, consistent with the
Policies, principles, framework, and standards of this Act;

(0) To develop and provide safety nets, including their implementation strategies, for
employees of departments/agencies who may be affected by the government's rightsizing
efforts; and

(€) To formulate an organizational development program to strengthen the institutional
capacity of the agencies and improve productivity of employees.

SEC. 6. Creation of a Committee on Rightsizing the Executive Branch. — A Committee on
Rightsizing the Executive Branch is hereby created to oversee the implementation of the
Rightsizing Program in accordance with the provisions of this Act.

‘The Committee shall be composed of the Executive Secretary as Chairperson, and the Secretary
of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) as Co-chairperson, with the Secretary of
Socio-Economic Planning, Chairperson of the Civil Service Commission (CSC), and the Head of
the Presidential Management Staff, as members.

‘The Committee shall be organized within fifteen (115) days from the effectivity of this Act.
The Committee shall also organize Subcommittees composed of experts on government

operations, organizational development, and human resource management to assist in the
performance of its functions.


The DBM shall provide the necessary secretariat services to the Committee and its
‘Subcommittees.

In the spirit of transparency and participatory governance, the Committee shall consult the
departments/agencies concerned and accredited public sector unions, and other stakeholders,
relative to the implementation of the Executive Branch Rightsizing Program.

SEC. 7. Powers and Functions of the Committee on Rightsizing the Executive Branch.
— The Committee shall have the following powers and functions:

(a) To develop the policies, framework, strategies, and mechanisms to be adopted in the
implementation of the Executive Branch Rightsizing Program;

(b) To conduct studies on the functions, program, projects, operations, structure, and
manpower complement of the different departments/agencies;

(©) To develop and prepare the rightsized organizational structure of departments/agencies
concerned and the corresponding executive issuances for approval by the President;

(d) To develop and prepare the overall change management program. including
communication plans, to effectively manage the transition and ensure the smooth
implementation of the Rightsizing Program;

(©) To formulate the mechanisms to safeguard the welfare of employees who may be affected
by the rightsizing efforts, as well as the appropriate organizational development program,
for approval of the President;

(f) To monitor the implementation by the different agencies of their respective approved
Rightsizing Plans, and report to the President any issue that must be addressed;

(g) To engage the services of experts/consultants, through the DBM, to assist the Committee
and its Subcommittees in the performance of their functions; and

(h) To formulate the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of this Act.

SEC. 8. Submission of the Rightsized Organizational Structure and Proposed
Executive Issuances to the President. - The Committee on Rightsizing the Executive Branch
shall submit to the President the rightsized organizational structure of agencies concerned and
the corresponding executive issuances within two hundred fifty (250) days from the effectivity of
the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of this Act.

SEC. 9. Submission of the Detailed Organizational Structure and Staffing to the DBM.
~The heads of agencies shall prepare and submit to the DBM the detailed organizational structure
and staffing of their respective agencies within ninety (90) days after the approval of the proposed
executive issuances by the President Provided, That assistance in the preparation of
organizational structure and staffing pattern has been extended to the agency by the DBM and
the CSC.

SEC. 10. Retirement Benefits and Separation Incentives for Personnel Who May be
Affected by the Executive Branch Rightsizing Program. - The affected personne! hired on
a permanent basis and with appointments attested by the CSC, shall be entitled to retirement
benefits and separation incentives.


(@) The affected personnel shall be given the option to avail themselves of any of the following
retirement benefits under existing laws, if qualified:

(1) Retirement gratuity provided under Republic Act No. 1616 (An Act Further Amending
Section Twelve of Commonwealth Act Numbered One Hundred Eighty-Six, as
‘Amended, by Prescribing Two Other Modes of Retirement and for Other Purposes), as
amended; or

(2) Retirement benefit under Republic Act No. 660 (An Act to Amend Commonwealth Act
Numbered One Hundred and Eighty-Six Entitled "An Act to Create and Establish a
Government Service Insurance System, to Provide for its Administration, and to
Appropriate the Necessary Funds Therefor," and to Provide Retirement Insurance and
for Other Purposes); or

(3) Retirement, separation or unemployment benefit provided under Republic Act No.
8291 (An Act Amending Presidential Decree No. 1146, as Amended, Expanding and
Increasing the Coverage and Benefits of the Government Service Insurance System,
Instituting Reforms Therein and for Other Purposes).

The retirement gratuity benefit of affected personnel who are qualified and shall avail
of Republic Act No. 1616 shall be paid by the Government Service Insurance System
(GSIS). The GSIS shall no longer pay the refund of retirement premiums (both
personnel and government shares) of the affected personnel who shall avail of
Republic Act No. 1616 benefits.

(b) In addition to said retirement benefits, the affected personnel who would opt to retire or
be separated shall be entitled to the following applicable separation incentives:

(1) One half(%) of the actual monthly basic salary for every year of government service,
for those wbo have rendered Jess than eleven ( 11) years of service;

(2) Three fourth (3/4) of the actual monthly basic salary for every year of government
service, computed starting from the first (1*) year, for those who have rendered
eleven (11) to less than twenty-one (21) years of service;

(3) The actual monthly basic salary for every year of government service, computed
starting from the first (1*) year, for those who have rendered twenty-one (21) to less
than thirty-one (31) years of service; and

(4) One and one fourth (1. 1/4) of the actual monthly basic salary for every year of
government service, computed starting from the first (15) year, for those who have
rendered thirty-one (31) years of service and above.

The actual monthly basic salary shall refer to the salary of the affected personnel as
of the date of approval of the agency's detailed organizational structure and staffing
by the DBM.


A minimum of five (5) years of government service is required in order for an affected personnel
to be entitled to avail of the Program's separation incentives under Section 1 (b) of this Act:
Provided, That for the purpose of computing the total amount of separation incentives that an
affected personnel shall receive, only the government service up to age fifty-nine (59) and a
fraction thereof shall be counted. Government service starting at the age of sixty (60) shall no
fonger be subject to the separation incentives provided herein, without affecting the original
incentive factor determined as applicable based on the actual years of service of the affected
personnel: Provided, further, That for the purpose of complying with the required number of
years of service under Republic Act No. 8291, the portability scheme under Republic Act No. 7699
(An Act Instituting Limited Portability Scheme in the Social Security Insurance Systems by
Totalizing the Workers' Creditable Services or Contributions in Each of the Systems) may be
applied, subject to existing policies and guidelines.

The affected personnel, if with permanent appointment attested by the CSC, who will not opt to
retire from the service shall be placed in a manpower pool to be organized and administered by
the CSC. The CSC, in coordination with other government agencies and relevant private
institutions, shall retool the subject personnel and deploy them to agencies which require their
qualifications, skills, and competencies.

The number of personnel who will avail of the separation incentives under Section 10 of this Act
shall in no case exceed the number of positions declared for abolition.

‘The specific guidelines to carry out the provisions of this section shall be prescribed in the IRR of
this Act

SEC. 11. Other Benefits of Retired/Separated Personnel. - The affected personnel who
retire or are separated shall, in addition to the applicable benefits above, be entitled to the
following:

(@) Refund of Pag-IBIG contributions, both personal and government of all affected members,
pursuant to existing rules and regulations of the Home Development Mutual Fund; and

(b) Commutation of unused vacation and sick leave credits of the affected personnel in
accordance with existing rules and regulations.

SEC. 12. Period of Availability of the Retirement Benefits and Separation Incentives.
= The retirement benefits and separation incentives provided in this Act shall be available within
sixty (60) days upon approval by the DBM of the detailed rightsized organizational structure and
staffing of departments/agencies concerned.

SEC. 13. Prohibition on Reemployment of Personnel Retired/Separated from the
Service. - Personnel who retire or are separated from the service as a result of the
implementation of the Rightsizing Program shall not be reemployed in any agency of the Executive
Branch, including in GOCCs, for a period of five (5) years, except as teaching or medical staff in
educational institutions and hospitals, respectively.


The retired/separated personnel under the program, who are reemployed within the prohibited
period shall refund the separation incentives received under Section 10(b) of this Act on a
prorated basis.

‘The retired/separated personnel under the program who undertake in consultancy services for
the government shall be governed by Section 7 of Republic Act No. 6713 (Code of Conduct and
Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees).

SEC. 14. Join Congressional Oversight Committee on the Rightsizing Program. - There
is hereby created an oversight committee to oversee, monitor and evaluate the implementation
of this Act.

(@) The oversight committee shall be composed of five (5) members each from the Senate
and the House of Representatives which shall include members of the Senate Committee
‘on Civil Service, Government Reorganization and Professional Regulation, the Senate
Committee on Finance, the House Committee on Government Reorganization and the
House Committee on Appropriations.

SEC. 15. Conduct of an Impact Assessment. - The DBM shall commission the conduct of an
independent impact assessment on the Executive Branch Rightsizing Program three (3) years
from its completion to, among others, determine the effects of, and gains from, the
implementation of the Program.

SEC. 16. Report to Congress. - The President shall submit a report to Congress on the results
of the Program after the completion of its implementation.

SEC. 17. Sunset Provision. - The authority given to the President under this Act, as well as
the existence of the Committee on Rightsizing the Executive Branch, shall end three (3) years
after the effectivity of this Act.

SEC. 18. Implementing Rules and Regulations. — The Committee on Rightsizing the
Executive Branch shall formulate the necessary IRR within thirty (30) days from the organization
of the Committee. The IRR shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in a newspaper
of general circulation.

SEC. 19. Provisions Applicable to Other Branches of Government, Constitutional
Commissions, Office of the Ombudsman and the LGUs. - The governing principles, policies,
standards, and guidelines, as well as the conditions and limitations provided in this Act, shall be
followed in the implementation of the Rightsizing Program by other branches of government,
Constitutional Commissions, Office of the Ombudsman and the LGUs.

The beads of offices shall issue their respective IRR and furnish a copy thereof to the Joint
Congressional Oversight Committee on the Rightsizing Program and the DBM.


‘SEC. 20. Funding Requirements. — The amount necessary for the initial implementation of
this Act shall be sourced against any applicable appropriation items under the current General
Appropriations Act. Subsequent amount needed to continue the implementation of the Executive
Branch Rightsizing Program in the Executive Branch shall be included in the succeeding
appropriations.

In the event that the Legislature, Judiciary, Constitutional Commissions and the Office of the
Ombudsman implement the rightsizing under this Act, the funding requirements shall be included
in the succeeding appropriations.

SEC. 21. Separability Clause. — If any provision of this Act is declared unconstitutional or
invalid, the other provisions not otherwise affected shall remain in full force and effect.

SEC. 22. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive orders, rules and regulations, and
‘other issuances or parts thereof which are inconsistent with this Act are hereby repealed,
amended or modified accordingly.

SEC. 23. Effectivity. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in the
Official Gazette or in any newspaper of general circulation.

Approved,